1 Samuel 22:17

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.

Cross-references

1 Samuel 22:13 Historical context

In 1 Samuel 22:13, Saul accuses Ahimelech of conspiracy — the direct accusation that leads to the death order here. Narrative cause and effect.

In 1 Samuel 14:45, the people rescue Jonathan from Saul's death order — a parallel where subjects refuse to obey a king's unjust command to kill.

In 1 Samuel 20:33, Saul throws a spear at Jonathan for defending David — another instance of Saul's murderous rage against those who protect David.

1 Samuel 2:31 Prophetic fulfillment

In 1 Samuel 2:31, the prophecy of cutting off Eli's house is fulfilled by Saul killing the priests of Nob, descendants of Eli.

1 Samuel 8:11 Prophetic fulfillment

1 Samuel 8:11 warns of a king's oppressive ways — here Saul's command to kill priests fulfills that warning of royal tyranny.

Exodus 1:17 Parallel

In Exodus 1:17, the midwives fear God and refuse to kill Hebrew babies — a direct parallel of fearing God more than a king's command to kill.

In 1 Kings 18:4, Obadiah hides 100 prophets from Jezebel — a parallel act of refusing to kill God's servants and protecting them instead.

Acts 4:19 Parallel

In Acts 4:19, Peter and John declare they must obey God rather than men — the same principle behind the servants' refusal to kill the priests.

In 2 Samuel 11:16, David orders Uriah's death in battle; both kings abuse power to kill innocent men.

In 2 Samuel 21:1, Saul's killing of Gibeonites is recalled; it parallels his slaughter of the priests as unjust bloodshed.

Proverbs 28:15 compares a wicked ruler to a roaring lion — fitting Saul's murderous decree against the innocent priests.

Hebrews 11:37 lists martyrs killed by the sword — the priests of Nob suffered the same fate for their faithfulness.

In 1 Kings 21:11, elders carry out Jezebel's order to stone Naboth; similar to Saul commanding the priests' death.

Psalm 44:22 Parallel

In Psalm 44:22, the faithful are killed for God; the priests were killed for supporting David, God's anointed.