1 Samuel 21:4
And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women.
Cross-references
In 1 Samuel 21:6, the priest gives David the holy bread — the fulfillment of Ahimelech's offer.
1 Samuel 21:3 records David's request for bread — the priest's reply in verse 4 explains the only bread available is consecrated.
Exodus 25:30 institutes the bread of the Presence — the consecrated bread the priest refers to here.
Leviticus 24:5-9 restricts the showbread to priests — here the priest makes an exception for David's men.
In Matthew 12:3, Jesus cites this event to defend his disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath — showing mercy over ritual.
Matthew 12:4 recounts the same event — David eating the showbread — as a precedent for mercy over law.
Leviticus 15:18 defines uncleanness from sexual relations — the reason the priest requires abstinence for eating holy bread.
Exodus 19:15 commands abstinence before meeting God — the same purity requirement the priest mentions for eating holy bread.