Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech came to meet David trembling, and said to him, Why are you alone, and no man with you?
Having previously requested provisions of Ahimelech (1 Samuel 21:3), David now asked for protection, namely, a sword (1 Samuel 21:8). Goliath’s huge sword, which had initially rested in David’s tent (1 Samuel 17:54), was now in the tabernacle wrapped in the priest’s ephod, perhaps because it was a historic relic. David eagerly accepted it from Ahimelech since there was no sword like it. It is interesting that David, and later Solomon, used the same expression to describe the Lord (2 Samuel 7:22; 1 Kings 8:23). Though there was no better protection than Goliath’s sword physically, the Lord was an even better protector spiritually. There is none like Him.