“Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and
said: I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.”
As we read in Samuel 21, David skirted King Saul’s ire and came to Nob, the city that the
Tabernacle called home. Nob was staffed by Ahimelech the Tabernacle’s high priest, along with
associate priests. Immediately after David procured food and weaponry, he left Nob. Next came
a brief, albeit heart-stopping, stopover in Gath, a Philistine city-state before returning to
territory belonging to Judah. “David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave of
Adullam. And when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to
him.” Tracking him, Saul learned of David’s present holdout in Judah. The king fumed. He
blamed and berated his servants for colluding with David, a man whom he publicly vilified.
The king bellowed and charged: “And Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that
were with him; now Saul was sitting in Gibeah, under the tamarisk-tree in Ramah, with his
spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. And Saul said unto his servants
that stood about him: Hear now, you Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you
fields and vineyards, will he make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds?”
First, the king pitted tribe against tribe. Loyalties would be tested: Benjamin (Saul’s tribe) versus
Judah (David’s tribe). Unhinged, Saul vented more spleen, suggesting seditious scheming. “That
all of you have conspired against me, and there was none that disclosed it to me when my son
made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or discloses
unto me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?”
King Saul’s inflammatory speech hit the mark, at least with Doeg the Edomite. Here we will see
how Abravanel evaluates Doeg’s conduct in the Nob Affair, a tragedy that resulted in Saul
executing the residents therein.
Abravanel asks: What was Doeg’s sin? Hadn’t he told the truth about Ahimelech to Saul? Was it
not factual to say that he “saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob etc.?” Was it not accurate to
testify that Ahimelech “inquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the
sword of Goliath the Philistine?” Later, in his trial, Ahimelech himself admits to each of these
three things. That is, upon David’s request, the high priest: consulted the Urim and Thummim,
fed him, and handed over Goliath’s sword.
Lastly, Abravanel entertains that Doeg hadn’t known that King Saul would act out and massacre everyone and everything in Nob. However, if we absolve Doeg of wrongdoing, another question surfaces. It is, why will David later condemn Doeg: “For the Leader. Maschil of David; when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him: David is come to the house of Ahimelech. Why boast you yourself of evil, O mighty man? Your tongue devises destruction; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.” Relentlessly, David further skewers Doeg. “You love evil more than good; falsehood rather than speaking righteousness. Selah. You love all devouring words, the deceitful tongue.” Concluding, David curses Doeg: “God will likewise break you forever.” (Psalms 52)
Abravanel explains Doeg’s misconduct. Doeg did see David in Nob, whom he belittlingly called “the son of Jesse.” The slur sought to score points with Saul, who similarly called David, pejoratively, “the son of Jesse.” Doeg saw David approach Ahimelech in order to have the high priest consult with the Urim and Thummim, though he was not privy to what David sought to ascertain from Above (via the Urim).
Where, then, did Doeg show his true perfidious colors, his manipulation of facts, and deceit? Recall from the last chapter (Samuel 21) that Ahimelech quaked upon seeing David in Nob: “And Ahimelech came to meet David trembling…” When the high priest inquired as to David’s unexpected and unannounced arrival, David improvised by saying that Saul sent him on a confidential, urgent mission.
Doeg, Abravanel posits, must have known about David’s predicament – and fabricated story. Still and all, Ahimelech took David’s words at face value, never questioning him. Thus, Ahimelech provided David with provisions and the Philistine’s sword. But to the point, Doeg certainly knew that the high priest acted in good faith, believing that Saul sent David. Put differently, Doeg reported a one-sided story, as he left out Ahimelech and David’s dialogue. Had Doeg related that conversation, Ahimelech’s rightful defense would have been full proof.
Abravanel adds a second point showing that Doeg was indeed a scumbag. Generally, only a Hebrew king asks a high priest to consult the Urim. Doeg, in essence, accused the high priest of high treason when he asked the Urim on behalf of David, since it implied that Ahimelech acted as if David supplanted Saul. But really, Ahimelech accepted David’s words, believing that he acted on behalf of Saul when he consulted the Urim.
In sum, we have demonstrated that Doeg was a shameless sycophant. David was perfectly justified in exposing Doeg’s duplicity in Psalms. “Why boast you yourself of evil, O mighty man? Your tongue devises destruction; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. You love evil more than good; falsehood rather than speaking righteousness. Selah. You love all devouring words, the deceitful tongue. God will likewise break you forever.”