Mark 2:26

Mark 2:26. When Abiathar was high-priest. The argument is the same as in Matthew 12:3-4. The name here introduced occasions some difficulty. According to 1 Samuel 21 ‘Ahimelech' was the high-priest who gave David the hallowed bread. ‘Abiathar' was the son of Ahimelech (1 Samuel 22:20) and the friend of David. He afterwards became high-priest, being the only one of his father's family who escaped from the anger of Saul. Some have therefore supposed that the title ‘high-priest' is given to him, because he afterwards held the office. But the original (according to the correct reading) is almost equivalent to: during the high-priesthood of Abiathar. Probably both father and son had the two names, Ahimelech and Abiathar. In 2 Samuel 8:17, and 1 Chronicles 24:6, ‘Ahimelech the son of Abiathar ‘is spoken of where the same father and son are undoubtedly referred to, since the time was during the reign of David, after the father had been killed by Doeg (1 Samuel 22). In 1 Samuel 14:3, the father is called Ahiah (‘the son of Ahitub'); in 1 Chronicles 18:16, the son is called, ‘Ahimelech the son of Abiathar.' The father was certainly called ‘Abiathar,' and, as actual high-priest, is here meant. This explanation is the simplest.