1 Samuel 22:16

1Sa 22:16 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house.

Ver. 16. Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech.] A bloody sentence, harshly pronounced and as rashly executed, without any pause or deliberation, without any remorse or regret. This was the worst act that ever Saul did, saith Theoderet: {a} and a great cause of his destruction, saith Josephus.

{a} Serm. iii.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 22:16-17. Thou shalt surely die, thou and all thy father’s house — A cruel resolution; for what had the rest of the priests done to deserve such a bloody execution? The servants of the king would not, &c. — In this, undoubtedly, they were praiseworthy; but had been more so had they courageously taken the part of these innocent persons, and remonstrated to Saul against his cruelty, as contrary to all the laws of God and man. And if their reasons and prayers had proved ineffectual, they should have treated this command as the dictate of Saul’s melancholy or evil spirit, and have given the priests some opportunity to escape out of his hands, instead of standing tamely to see them fall, contrary to all laws, divine or human, by the hands of a ruffian, the minister of a tyrant’s cruelty.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the king said, thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech,.... He pronounces the sentence himself, without taking the opinion and advice of others, or further time; which was an act of arbitrary power, and upon an innocent person, which was an act of great injustice:

thou, and all thy father's house; more unrighteous still; but God suffered him to do this to fulfil his will, and execute his threatenings against the house of Eli, which was this priest's father's house, for former wickedness; but this is no excuse for, nor extenuation of the sin of, Saul.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Notwithstanding this truthful assertion of his innocence, Saul pronounced sentence of death, not only upon the high priest, but upon all the priests at Nob, and commanded his רצים, "runner," i.e., halberdiers, to put the priests to death, because, as he declared in his wrath, "their hand is with David (i.e., because they side with David), and because they knew that he fled and did not tell me." Instead of the Chethibh אזנו, it is probably more correct to read אזני, according to the Keri, although the Chethibh may be accounted for if necessary from a sudden transition from a direct to an indirect form of address: "and (as he said) had not told him." This sentence was so cruel, and so nearly bordering upon madness, that the halberdiers would not carry it out, but refused to lay hands upon "the priests of Jehovah."

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

your father's house

The word "house" is a metonym for the family that lives in the house. AT: "your father's family" or "your father's descendants" (See: Metonymy)

the guard that stood around him

"the soldiers standing nearby to protect him"

Turn and kill

Here "Turn" means to turn around or turn away from the king. AT: "Go and kill" or "Kill" (See: Idiom)

their hand also is with David

The word "hand" is a metonym for the work done with the hand. AT: "they also help David" (See: Synecdoche)

would not put out their hand to kill

The word "hand" is a metonym for the work done with the hand. AT: "did not do anything to kill" or "refused to kill" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

king

die

ancestor

house

turn

priest

Yahweh

hand

David

reveal

servant

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.