And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD.

1 SAMUEL 22:17KJV
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1 Samuel 22:17 (KJV)

What does 1 Samuel 22:17 mean?

1 Samuel 22:17 shows King Saul treating help given to David as a crime worthy of death. Saul orders his guards to kill the priests of the LORD, but the guards refuse. Their refusal places a limit on what they will do at the king’s command.

Saul claims that the priests knew David was fleeing and deliberately kept that knowledge from him. His charge follows the priest Ahimelech’s defense in verse 15. The phrase “their hand also is with David” pictures the priests as being on David’s side.

The Hebrew behind 1 Samuel 22:17

  • “footmen” — רוּץ (ruts): The word can refer to runners. Here it describes men stationed around the king who served as his guards.
  • “hand” — יָד (yad): The word can mean a literal hand or, in a phrase, someone’s power or support. Saul’s claim that the priests’ “hand” was with David presents them as his helpers.
  • “shew” — גָּלָה (galah): The word often carries the sense of uncovering or revealing. Saul accuses the priests of withholding information from him.

Why 1 Samuel 22:17 matters

  • Saul’s claim about the priests is part of his accusation, not the full account of their encounter with David. Earlier, David told Ahimelech that he was on the king’s business (1 Samuel 21:2).
  • The guards’ refusal stands out because someone else carries out the order. In verse 18, Doeg the Edomite kills the priests after Saul tells him to turn against them.

Where else these words appear

“fall” Hebrew H6293 · used in 43 verses

  • Genesis 23:8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
  • Joshua 19:27 And turneth toward the sunrising to Bethdagon, and reacheth to Zebulun, and to the valley of Jiphthahel toward the north side of Bethemek, and Neiel, and goeth out to Cabul on the left hand,
  • 1 Kings 2:34 So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

“would” Hebrew H14 · used in 52 verses

  • Genesis 24:5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?
  • 1 Samuel 26:23 The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD'S anointed.
  • 1 Chronicles 11:18 And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD,

“fled” Hebrew H1272 · used in 64 verses

  • Genesis 16:6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
  • 1 Samuel 23:6 And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.
  • Job 14:2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

“stood” Hebrew H5324 · used in 75 verses

  • Genesis 18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
  • Numbers 23:6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.
  • 1 Kings 9:23 These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.