87. HE ASKS: What is the true reason that Solomon called him BY THE NAME ANATOT? WHY SHOULD HE CALL HIM WITH A NAME OF DISGRACE? AND HE ANSWERS: He wanted to tell him, during your days, my father lived in poverty, but now THAT I AM RICH, " go to your own fields." FOR A PERSON WHO SERVED DURING THE DAYS OF POVERTY IS NOT FIT TO SERVE DURING THE DAYS OF PROSPERITY. HE FURTHER STATES that we should now explain why Evyatar was called Anatot. Should one assume that it was because he was from Anatot? We have already learned from the verse: "And one of the sons of Achimelech, the son of Achituv, named Evyatar, escaped" (I Shmuel 22:20). And he came from Nov, the city of the priests. We have learned that Nov is also called Anatot and why is it called Anatot - because of the poverty and destitution to which it had been reduced by King Saul through the slaughter of all its priestly inhabitants. Nevertheless, THIS IS NOT THE TRUE REASON FOR THE NAME, BECAUSE Anatot was the name of a village and is not Nov. Rather, King Solomon called Evyatar Anatot, "because you were afflicted (Heb. hit'anita) in all that my father was afflicted" (I Melachim 2:26) - and because he also came from the city of Nov. So the true reason is that, because King David lived in poverty in his days, he called him thus -- ANATOT.
87. אַמַּאי קָרֵי לֵיהּ שְׁלֹמֹה הָכֵי, אֶלָּא אֲמַר לֵיהּ בְּיוֹמָךְ הֲוָה אַבָּא בְּמִסְכֵּנוּ, וְהַשְׁתָּא לֵךְ עַל שָׂדֶיךָ. הַשְׁתָּא אִית לוֹמַר, אַמַּאי אִקְרֵי אֶבְיָתָר עֲנָתוֹת, אִי תֵימָא דַּהֲוָה מִן עֲנָתוֹת, הָא תָּנִינָן דִּכְתִיב וַיִּמָּלֵט בֵּן אֶחָד לַאֲחִימֶלֶךְ בֶּן אֲחִיטוּב וּשְׁמוֹ אֶבְיָתָר, וְהוּא מִנּוֹב הֲוָה, דְּהָא נוֹב עִיר הַכֹּהֲנִים הֲוָה. וְאע"פ דַּאֲמָרוּ דְּהִיא נוֹב הִיא עֲנָתוֹת, וְאַמַּאי אִקְרֵי עֲנָתוֹת, בְּגִין דְּנָחֲתַת לְמִסְכֵּנוּ, וְאִתְאֲבִיד קַרְתָּא עַל יְדָא דְשָׁאוּל, וְאִתְאֲבִידוּ כָּהֲנֵי. אֶלָּא עֲנָתוֹת כְּפַר הֲוָה, וְלָאו הוּא נוֹב, וְעַל דָּא קָרֵי לֵיהּ אֶבְיָתָר עֲנָתוֹת, בְּגִין דַּאֲמַר וְכִי הִתְעַנִּיתָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר הִתְעַנָּה אָבִי, וּמִקַּרְתָּא דְנוֹב הֲוָה, וְעַל מִסְכְּנוּ דְּדָוִד דַּהֲוָה בְּיוֹמוֹי, אִקְרֵי לֵיהּ הָכֵי.