1 Samuel 21:7
New International Version
Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief shepherd.

New Living Translation
Now Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s chief herdsman, was there that day, having been detained before the LORD.

English Standard Version
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen.

Berean Standard Bible
Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief shepherd for Saul.

King James Bible
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.

New King James Version
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

New American Standard Bible
Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

NASB 1995
Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

NASB 1977
Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now one of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Yahweh; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

Amplified Bible
Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

Christian Standard Bible
One of Saul’s servants, detained before the LORD, was there that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, chief of Saul’s shepherds.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
One of Saul’s servants, detained before the LORD, was there that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, chief of Saul’s shepherds.

American Standard Version
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Jehovah; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chiefest of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the Priest gave to him the holy thing because there was no bread except the bread of the presence that was taken from before LORD JEHOVAH, to set hot bread on the day it is taken

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And there was there on that day one of Saul's servants detained before the Lord, and his name was Doec the Syrian, tending the mules of Saul.

Contemporary English Version
It so happened that one of Saul's officers was there, worshiping the LORD that day. His name was Doeg the Edomite, and he was the strongest of Saul's shepherds.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, within the tabernacle of the Lord: and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of Saul's herdsmen.

English Revised Version
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
That same day one of Saul's servants who was obligated to stay in the LORD's presence was there. His name was Doeg. A foreman for Saul's shepherds, he was from Edom.

Good News Translation
Saul's chief herdsman, Doeg, who was from Edom, happened to be there that day, because he had to fulfill a religious obligation.)

International Standard Version
Now, Doeg the Edomite, one of Saul's officials, was there that day, detained in the LORD's presence. He was the chief of Saul's shepherds.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.--

Literal Standard Version
And there [is] a man of the servants of Saul detained before YHWH on that day, and his name [is] Doeg the Edomite, chief of the shepherds whom Saul has.

Majority Standard Bible
Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief shepherd for Saul.

New American Bible
One of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

NET Bible
(One of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the LORD. His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul's shepherds.)

New Revised Standard Version
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds.

New Heart English Bible
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the best of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

Webster's Bible Translation
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdmen that belonged to Saul.

World English Bible
Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before Yahweh; and his name was Doeg the Edomite, the best of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

Young's Literal Translation
And there is a man of the servants of Saul on that day detained before Jehovah, and his name is Doeg the Edomite, chief of the shepherds whom Saul hath.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
David Takes the Consecrated Bread
6So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there but the Bread of the Presence, which had been removed from before the LORD and replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away. 7Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief shepherd for Saul.

Cross References
1 Samuel 14:47
After Saul had assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side--the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed them.

1 Samuel 21:8
Then David asked Ahimelech, "Is there not a spear or sword on hand here? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business was urgent."

1 Samuel 22:9
But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with Saul's servants, answered: "I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob.

1 Samuel 22:22
Then David said to Abiathar, "I knew that Doeg the Edomite was there that day, and that he was sure to tell Saul. I myself am responsible for the lives of everyone in your father's house.

1 Chronicles 27:29
Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon. Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.

1 Chronicles 27:31
Jaziz the Hagrite was in charge of the flocks. All these officials were in charge of King David's property.

Psalm 52:1
Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The loving devotion of God endures all day long.


Treasury of Scripture

Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the most chief of the herdsmen that belonged to Saul.

detained

Jeremiah 7:9-11
Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; …

Ezekiel 33:31
And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.

Amos 8:5
Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

doeg

1 Samuel 22:9
Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

Psalm 52:1
To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech. Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.

herdmen

1 Samuel 11:5
And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh.

Genesis 13:7,8
And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land…

Genesis 26:20
And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

Jump to Previous
Belonged Best Chief Chiefest Detained Doeg Do'eg Edomite E'domite Head Herdmen Herdsmen Kept Saul Saul's Servants Shepherd Shepherds Strongest
Jump to Next
Belonged Best Chief Chiefest Detained Doeg Do'eg Edomite E'domite Head Herdmen Herdsmen Kept Saul Saul's Servants Shepherd Shepherds Strongest
1 Samuel 21
1. David at Nob obtains Ahimelech's hallowed bread
7. Doeg is present
8. David takes Goliath's sword
10. David at Gath feigns himself insane














(7) A certain man.--Among the personages who surround Saul in the Bible story appears incidentally the keeper of the royal mules, and chief of the household slaves, the "Comes stabuli," "the constable of the king," as appears in the later monarchy. "He is the first instance of a foreigner employed in a high function in Israel, being an Edomite, or Syrian, of the name of Doeg--according to Jewish tradition, the steward who accompanied Saul in his pursuit after the asses, who counselled him to send for David, and who ultimately slew him, according to the sacred narrative--a person of vast and sinister influence in his master's counsels." (Stanley, Lectures on the Jewish Church, Lect. 21) Some traditions affirm that the armour-bearer who slew Saul on Mount Gilboa was not Doeg, but Doeg's son.

The Hebrew words rendered in the English Version, "the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul," are translated in the LXX. by "feeding the mules of Saul;" and in accordance with this reading, in 1Samuel 22:9 also, they have changed "Saul's servants" into "Saul's mules." The Vulg. and the other versions, however, translate as the English Version, "potentissimus pastorum," although in some of the Vulg. MSS. there is an explanatory gloss, evidently derived from the singular interpretation of the LXX., "This (man) used to feed Saul's mules." There can be no foundation in tradition or otherwise for such a reading, as we never read until the days of King David of mules being used by royal princes. (See 2Samuel 13:29; 2Samuel 18:9.) Before David's time, the sons of princes used to ride on asses. (See Judges 10:4; Judges 12:14.) Ewald, disregarding the current Jewish tradition respecting the ancient connection of Doeg with the house of Kish, considers that this influential chieftain of the king probably came over to Saul in his war with Edom. . . .

Verse 7. - David's visit to Nob had probably been dictated simply by a desire to get food while a few attendants were being collected for him, and under ordinary circumstances would have remained unknown to Saul. Unfortunately there chanced to be a person present there who informed the king of it, and brought a second terrible catastrophe upon the house of Eli (see on 1 Samuel 2:33); by working too upon his jealousy he caused Saul to commit a crime which sets him before us as a hateful and remorseless tyrant. This man was Doeg, an Edomite, who had, it seems, long been in Saul's service, as he was his chief herdsman. According to the Septuagint he had charge of the king's mules, but the other versions agree with the Hebrew. As herds would form the main part of Saul's wealth, his chief herdsman would be a person of importance. He was detained before Jehovah. I.e. shut up in close seclusion within the precincts of the tabernacle, either for some vow, or for purification, or perhaps as suspected of leprosy (Leviticus 13:4), or, as some think, as a proselyte. Ephrem Syrus thinks he had committed some trespass, and was detained till he had offered the appointed sacrifice. David at once felt that Doeg's presence boded much ill (1 Samuel 22:22), and it probably was the cause of his taking the rash resolution to flee for refuge to Gath.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Now one
אִישׁ֩ (’îš)
0
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

of Saul's
שָׁא֜וּל (šā·’ūl)
0
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites

servants
מֵעַבְדֵ֨י (mê·‘aḇ·ḏê)
0
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

was there
וְשָׁ֡ם (wə·šām)
0
Strong's 8033: There, then, thither

that
הַה֗וּא (ha·hū)
0
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

day,
בַּיּ֣וֹם (bay·yō·wm)
0
Strong's 3117: A day

detained
נֶעְצָר֙ (ne‘·ṣār)
0
Strong's 6113: To inclose, to hold back, to maintain, rule, assemble

before
לִפְנֵ֣י (lip̄·nê)
0
Strong's 6440: The face

the LORD.
יְהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh)
0
Strong's 3069: YHWH

And his name [was]
וּשְׁמ֖וֹ (ū·šə·mōw)
0
Strong's 8034: A name

Doeg
דֹּאֵ֣ג (dō·’êḡ)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 1673: Doeg -- an Edomite

the Edomite,
הָאֲדֹמִ֑י (hā·’ă·ḏō·mî)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 130: Edomite -- a descendant of Edom

the chief
אַבִּ֥יר (’ab·bîr)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 47: Mighty, valiant

shepherd
הָרֹעִ֖ים (hā·rō·‘îm)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7473: Pastoral, a shepherd

for
אֲשֶׁ֥ר (’ă·šer)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

Saul.
לְשָׁאֽוּל׃ (lə·šā·’ūl)
Article | Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites


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OT History: 1 Samuel 21:7 Now a certain man of the servants (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 21:6
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