Abiathar
From BibleWiki
Meaning: Father of abundance, or my father excels
The son of Ahimelech the high priest. He was the tenth high priest, and the fourth in descent from Eli. When his father was slain with the priests of Nob, he escaped, and bearing with him the ephod, he joined David, who was then in the cave of Adullam (1Sam 22:20; 1Sam 23:6). He remained with David, and became priest of the party of which he was the leader (1Sam 30:7).
When David ascended the throne of Judah, Abiathar was appointed high priest (1Chr 15:11; 1 Kg 2:26) and the "king's companion" (1Chr 27:34). Meanwhile Zadok, of the house of Eleazar, had been made high priest. These appointments continued in force till the end of David's reign (1 Kg 4:4).
Abiathar was deposed (the sole historical instance of the deposition of a high priest) and banished to his home at Anathoth by Solomon, because he took part in the attempt to raise Adonijah to the throne. The priesthood thus passed from the house of Ithamar (1Sam 2:30; 1 Kg 1:19; 1 Kg 2:26). Zadok now became sole high priest.
In Mk 2:26, reference is made to an occurrence in "the days of Abiathar the high priest." But from [[1 Samuel Chapter 22|1 Sam 22]], we learn explicitly that this event took place when Ahimelech, the father of Abiathar, was high priest. The apparent discrepancy is satisfactorily explained by interpreting the words in Mark as referring to the life-time of Abiathar, and not to the term of his holding the office of high priest. It is not implied in Mark that he was actual high priest at the time referred to. Others, however, think that the loaves belonged to Abiathar, who was at that time (Lev 24:9) a priest, and that he either himself gave them to David, or persuaded his father to give them.
what mentions this? (please help by turning references to this page into wiki links)
(Hebrew ebhyathar, Father of plenty, or, the great one is father).
Descendant of Achimelech, Achitob, Phinees, Heli, Ithamar, Aaron, a high priest who escaped from the slaughter at Nob, went to David in his banishment (I K., xxii, 20-23,; xxiii, 6) and assisted him with his advice (I K., xxiii, 9-14; xxx, 7). Together with the high priest Sadoc, he assisted at the transportation of the ark to Jerusalem (I Par., xv, 11, 12), and tried to follow David in his flight (II K., xv, 24), but instead aided him by counsel (II K., xv, 29-36; xvii, 15 sq.; xix, 11; I Par., xxvii, 34). He favoured Adonias (III K., i, 7, 19, 25, 42), and was banished by Solomon to Anathoth (III K., ii, 22-27), thus completing the ruin of the house of Ithamar (I K., ii, 30-36; iii, 10-14). As to II K., viii, 17, see Commentaries.
==Biblical Data==
A son of Ahimelech or Ahijah (melech and yah apparently interchanging; compare 1Sam 14:3, xxii. 9); the chief priest of the sanctuary at Nob. He alone escaped from the massacre of his family by Saul (1Sam 22:20) and found a refuge with David. By means of the priestly ephod which he brought with him, he was able officially to ascertain the will of YHWH (1Sam 23:9, xxx. 7). Having shared David's hardships, he also profited by the exaltation of David to the kingship. At the time of Absalom's rebellion Abiathar remained loyal to his old patron (2 Sam 15:24-36); but later, like Joab, he espoused the cause of Adonijah rather than that of Solomon. On this account he and his family were banished to their estate at Anathoth, and their priestly rights and duties in connection with the Temple were transferred to the rival house of Zadok (1 Kg 2:26-33).
In Rabbinical Literature:
The rescue of the chief priest Abiathar, in the massacre of the priests of Nob ordered by Saul, was fortunate for the house of David; for if he had lost his life, David's descendants would through divine retaliation have been entirely wiped out of existence at the hands of Athaliah (Sanh. 95b). It was David's acts that had really brought about the death of the priests, and to make amends he appointed Abiathar high priest. Abiathar retained the office until he was deserted by the Holy Spirit, without which the high priest could not successfully consult the Urim and Thummim. When David, on his flight from Absalom, recognized this loss in Abiathar, he felt compelled to put Zadok in his place. See Seder 'Olam R. xiv.; Yoma, 73b; Soá¹ah, 48b; Ber. 4a (Rashi); Sanh. 21a. Compare also Ginzberg, "Haggada bei den Kirchenvätern," i., on 2 Sam 15:24, 25.
