Nob
“High place or elevation”
Summary
Nob was a priestly city in Benjamin near Jerusalem where David received showbread and Goliath's sword from the priest Ahimelech, which led to the massacre of its inhabitants by King Saul.
☩Location
Nob was a sacerdotal city in the tribe of Benjamin, situated on an eminence near Jerusalem. Its position is indicated by Isaiah's description of the Assyrian army's march on Jerusalem, where Nob is clearly placed south of Anathoth as the last station from which the invaders could see Jerusalem and 'shake their hand against the mount, daughter of Zion.' It was thus a place from which the Holy City and the temple were clearly visible. The site has not been definitely identified, though several locations have been proposed, including a rocky hill called es-Sumah south of Gibeah.
☩David's Visit
When David fled from Saul at Gibeah, he came to Nob, where Ahimelech the priest resided with the tabernacle of the Lord. The priest gave David and his followers the hallowed showbread, which was normally reserved for the priests, a precedent later cited by Jesus to justify His disciples' actions on the Sabbath. Ahimelech also gave David the sword of Goliath, which had been kept wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod.
☩The Massacre
David's visit proved fatal to Nob. Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief herdsman, had seen David there and informed the king. Saul summoned Ahimelech and sentenced him and his father's house to death. When no Israelite would raise a hand against the priests of the Lord, Doeg became the tyrant's executioner. He slew eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod, and Nob itself was smitten with the edge of the sword—men and women, children and infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep. Only Abiathar, one of Ahimelech's sons, escaped to join David.
Related Verses11 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Nob," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Nob," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Nob," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).