ACHIMELECH. - Son of Ahitub, high priest in the sanctuary of Nob (I Sam. 21-22). He is commonly identified with Ahijah (v.). In reality the two names 'Abitmelek (probably "brother of the king") and 'Abiyyah (probably "brother of Yahweh") are equivalent: "king" is in fact an attribute of the deity. David, unarmed and fleeing Saul's wrath, stopped at A.'s place in Nob. He assured him it was a secret mission and asked for food and weapons. Lacking anything else, A.he gave him the bread of the Presence, the sword of Goliath, and consulted the ephod for him. Saul, furious, had A. and the priests of Nob put to death, while the only son of A., Abiathar (v.), escaped the slaughter.

Jesus recalls this episode to instill the spirit of charity (Mk. 2:26). There the high priest is called Abiathar, instead of A. his father. A gloss or a copyist's error has been suggested; better: Abiathar is named because he is better known and more famous (cf. M.-J. Lagrange, Saint Marc, 5th ed., Paris 1929, p. 53). Francesco Spadafora

@incollection{ec1_achimelek, author = {Spadafora, Francesco}, title = {Achimelek}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {I}, pages = {224--225}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1948}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/achimelek} }

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Achimelech

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