Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.
Saul’s soldiers had too much respect for the priesthood to slay the anointed servants of the Lord (1 Samuel 22:17). Moreover they probably realized that Saul’s order was irrational. Doeg was an Edomite, a foreigner who had less respect for the Mosaic Law (cf. 1 Samuel 21:7). He not only obeyed the king but went beyond Saul’s command and slaughtered all the men, women, children, and animals in Nob (1 Samuel 22:19). Nonetheless Saul was also responsible (1 Samuel 22:21). Earlier Saul had failed to slay all the Amalekites at the Lord’s command (1 Samuel 15:9). Now he was slaying all the Nobites without divine authorization.