The name Ahimelech (meaning “brother of the king” or “my brother is king”) belongs to at least two, and possibly three, individuals in the King James Version of the Bible, with the most prominent being the High Priest whose act of kindness toward a fugitive changed the course of his life.
1. The High Priest of Nob
The principal figure is Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, a priest descended from the line of Eli, who ministered at the city of Nob, where the Tabernacle was then located. He is chiefly remembered for the tragic events surrounding his interaction with the future King David.
When David fled from King Saul, he arrived alone at Nob, where he met the High Priest. David, in a moment of distress and under great pressure, deceived Ahimelech by claiming to be on a secret mission for the king. In his need, David asked for provisions:
“Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? … So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.” — 1 Samuel 21:1, 6 (KJV)
Ahimelech, in a compassionate act of prioritizing life over strict ritual law, provided David with the shewbread, which was consecrated bread lawful only for the priests to eat. He also gave David the sword of Goliath, which had been stored there as a trophy (1 Samuel 21:9).
The Tragic Condemnation
This deed of mercy was witnessed by Doeg the Edomite, one of Saul’s chief herdsmen, who reported it to the jealous and paranoid King Saul. Seeing Ahimelech’s actions as a conspiracy, Saul summoned the priest and his entire household. Despite Ahimelech’s sincere defense—stating his pure motives and ignorance of David’s flight—Saul condemned them all to death:
“Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king. … And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father’s house. … And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.” — 1 Samuel 22:11, 16, 18 (KJV)
This brutal massacre of eighty-five priests by the hand of Doeg, whom Saul commanded after his own guards refused, fulfilled the prophecy against the house of Eli (1 Samuel 2:31-33). Only Abiathar, one of Ahimelech’s sons, escaped the slaughter and fled to David, bringing with him the ephod, the sacred garment used to inquire of the LORD (1 Samuel 22:20; 23:6).
2. Ahimelech the Hittite
Another man bearing this name is mentioned in connection with David while he was still a fugitive hiding from Saul in the wilderness of Ziph.
This Ahimelech was a Hittite, a non-Israelite ally of David, who was asked to accompany him on a secret night expedition into Saul’s camp:
“Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.” — 1 Samuel 26:6 (KJV)
3. Ahimelech, Son of Abiathar
There is also a mention in the later historical accounts of an Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar (2 Samuel 8:17), who served as a priest alongside Zadok during David’s reign. Most scholars regard this as a likely textual transposition or error, and that the text should read “Abiathar the son of Ahimelech,” as it is Abiathar who is consistently named as the chief priest alongside Zadok. However, the mention stands, suggesting that the name was indeed borne by a grandson of the martyred priest:
“And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;” — 2 Samuel 8:17 (KJV)