What happensPermalink
David continues fleeing from Saul. He asks the king of Moab to shelter his parents, but the prophet Gad warns him to keep moving. Meanwhile, Saul, consumed by paranoia, accuses his servants of conspiracy. Doeg the Edomite tells Saul what happened at Nob, and Saul accuses Ahimelech the priest of aiding David. When the king’s men refuse to kill the priests, Doeg carries out the slaughter: eighty-five priests and the entire town of Nob, including women, children, and livestock.
Why it mattersPermalink
David begins to gather loyal supporters, including a surviving priest, Abiathar. Saul, isolated and enraged, turns to such violence even his own men resist. Doeg’s massacre fulfills God’s earlier judgment on Eli’s house and marks Saul’s moral collapse.
Key versePermalink
And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord.