1. 1 Samuel 21:5 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why did David claim that it was usual for him and his men to keep themselves from women whenever they go on an expedition?

1 Samuel 21:5 (ESV)

5 And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?”

Sexual abstinence was a common practice during military operations (see Deuteronomy 23:9–14; 2 Samuel 11:6–13).1