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1 Samuel 20

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David Seeks Confirmation of Saul's Intent 1–11

1
And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? ​
2
And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. ​
3
And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. ​
4
Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.
5
And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. ​
6
If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. ​
7
If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him.
8
Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? ​
9
And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?
10
Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?
11
And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.

The Covenant Renewed and the Test Planned 12–23

12
And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it thee; ​
13
The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father. ​
14
And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not: ​
15
But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. ​
16
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies. ​
17
And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul. ​
18
Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.
19
And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel. ​
20
And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.
21
And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth.
22
But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away. ​
23
And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever.

Saul’s Fury at the New Moon Feast 24–34

24
So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. ​
25
And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
26
Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. ​
27
And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day? ​
28
And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem:
29
And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table.
30
Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? ​
31
For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. ​
32
And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? ​
33
And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. ​
34
So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. ​

Jonathan Confirms the Danger and They Part 35–42

35
And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.
36
And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
37
And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee? ​
38
And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
39
But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
40
And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.
41
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. ​
42
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Samuel 20

Verse 1

What have I done? what is mine iniquity? — David asks three questions: his act (asah), his iniquity (avon) and his sin (chattah). Naioth in Ramah was where he had gone to Samuel (1 Sam 19:18), and where Saul’s messengers and then Saul himself were taken up in prophesying (19:20–24). He says that Saul ‘seeketh my life’ (baqash nephesh).

Verse 2

God forbid; thou shalt not die — Chalilah, ‘far be it’, is Jonathan’s refusal of the thought; he uses it again in v.9. Saul had earlier sworn, ‘As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain’ (1 Sam 19:6). ‘Shew it me’ is literally to uncover the ear (galah ozen), a phrase used again in vv.12–13.

Verse 3

there is but a step between me and death — Pesa is a step, a pace, and is found only here. David swears by the LORD and by Jonathan’s life, and says Saul knows that he has ‘found grace’ (chen) in Jonathan’s eyes, and so keeps Jonathan uninformed ‘lest he be grieved’ (atsab, the word of v.34).

Verse 5

to morrow is the new moon — The new moon was marked by a burnt offering (Num 28:11) and the blowing of trumpets over the sacrifices ‘in the beginnings of your months’ (Num 10:10). David had a place at the king’s table on this day, and proposes to stay hidden in the field ‘unto the third day at even’ to see whether his absence is noticed.

Verse 6

a yearly sacrifice there for all the family — Bethlehem is ‘his city’ (1 Sam 16:1; 17:12). The ‘yearly sacrifice’ (literally the sacrifice of the days) is the one Elkanah’s household went up to offer (1 Sam 1:21). Jonathan is to give this reason to Saul, and does in v.29: ‘our family hath a sacrifice in the city’.

Verse 8

a covenant of the LORD with thee — Jonathan and David ‘made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul’ (1 Sam 18:3), made in the LORD’s name. Chesed, the ‘kindly’ dealing David asks, is covenant faithfulness; the word returns in vv.14–15. David offers his life in return: ‘if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself.’

Verse 12

O LORD God of Israel — Jonathan swears by the LORD before he speaks. Chaqar, ‘sounded’, is to search out thoroughly. The plan runs to the third day, and Jonathan will ‘shew’ David (galah ozen, uncover the ear, as in v.2) whether Saul’s mind is ‘good toward David’ (tov) or not.

Verse 13

The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan — A self-imprecating oath of the kind found in 1 Sam 14:44 and 25:22. Jonathan binds himself to send David away in peace, and prays ‘the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father’, a blessing resting on the plain fact that the LORD ‘was with’ David and had departed from Saul (1 Sam 18:12, 14).

Verse 14

the kindness of the LORD — Chesed, kindness that holds to a covenant, here named as the LORD’s own kindness. David kept it: he asked ‘Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’ (2 Sam 9:1), and ‘the kindness of God’ (2 Sam 9:3) reached Jonathan’s son.

Verse 15

thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever — Jonathan asks that the kindness never be cut off from his house, even when the LORD has cut off David’s enemies. Karat, ‘cut off’, is the verb of v.16, where it is used for making a covenant. David kept it: ‘I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake’ (2 Sam 9:7).

Verse 16

made a covenant with the house of David — Karat berith, literally to cut a covenant. It binds Jonathan’s house to David’s, and Jonathan asks the LORD to ‘require it at the hand of David’s enemies’, that is, to seek out any who break it. David’s side is remembered in 2 Sam 21:7, where he spares Mephibosheth ‘because of the LORD’S oath that was between them’.

Verse 17

he loved him as he loved his own soul — These are the words of 1 Sam 18:1 and 18:3, repeated here. Nephesh is the soul or life. Jonathan caused David to swear ‘again’ (yasaph), renewing the oath. David’s lament for him in 2 Sam 1:26 says that his love was ‘wonderful, passing the love of women’.

Verse 19

the stone Ezel — The name Ezel is found only here. ‘Hide’ is sathar, the verb of vv.5 and 24. The ‘business’ (maaseh, a deed or matter) probably recalls the earlier occasion when David hid in the field while Jonathan spoke to Saul about him (1 Sam 19:2–3).

Verse 22

the arrows are beyond thee — The sign is fixed beforehand: if Jonathan says ‘the arrows are beyond thee’ (halea), David is to ‘go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away’. The same word is in Jonathan’s cry in v.37. Jonathan treats the departure as the LORD’s sending, not only his own.

Verse 24

the king sat him down to eat meat — ‘Meat’ is lechem, bread, the old English word for food. David hides in the field, and the new-moon meal begins without him. The seating, and Saul’s place by the wall with Abner at his side, is described in v.25; the empty seat is noticed on the second day (v.27).

Verse 26

he is not clean — Saul says nothing on the first day, assuming that ‘something hath befallen him’ (miqreh, a chance occurrence) and that David was ceremonially unclean. The law excluded such a man from the offerings: one who ate of the peace offerings ‘having his uncleanness upon him’ was ‘cut off from his people’ (Lev 7:20).

Verse 27

the son of Jesse — Saul does not say David’s name. He calls him ‘the son of Jesse’ here and in vv.30–31, as he does in 1 Sam 22:7–8, 13. In ‘David’s place was empty’, maqom is a place, here the seat set for him at the table.

Verse 30

Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman — Avah is to twist, bend; mardut is rebellion. Saul’s charge is that Jonathan has ‘chosen’ (bachar) David to his own confusion (bosheth, shame) and to the confusion of his mother’s ‘nakedness’ (ervah), turning the insult on the woman who bore him.

Verse 31

thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom — Kun, to establish, the word Samuel used of Saul: ‘now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever’ (1 Sam 13:13). Saul had been told that his kingdom ‘shall not continue’ (13:14). Jonathan later said to David ‘thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee’ (1 Sam 23:17).

Verse 32

Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? — Jonathan’s question repeats David’s in v.1, ‘What have I done?’, with the same verb (asah). He had argued the same case once before, when he reminded Saul that David ‘hath not sinned against thee’ and had slain the Philistine (1 Sam 19:4–5). Here the answer is a thrown spear.

Verse 33

Saul cast a javelin at him — Chanith, javelin, the weapon of Saul’s earlier attacks on David (1 Sam 18:11; 19:10), now turned on his own son. Kalah, ‘determined’, is an end or full completion, and the matter was settled. Jonathan learns from the throw that his father is resolved to slay David, which was the answer his plan was meant to find out.

Verse 34

he was grieved for David — Atsab, ‘grieved’, is the word David used of Jonathan in v.3, ‘lest he be grieved’. Jonathan rose in ‘fierce anger’ (charon aph) and ate nothing on the second day of the month, because his father had put David to shame (kalam).

Verse 37

Is not the arrow beyond thee? — The words are the sign agreed in v.22, halea, ‘beyond’. Jonathan cries them after the lad (naar), who knows nothing of their meaning, so that David, hidden near, hears the answer to his question in v.1. The lad is sent away in v.40, and David comes out.

Verse 41

fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times — Shachah, to bow low, is the posture of homage that David gives to Jonathan, the king’s son. They ‘kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded’ (gadal, became great): his weeping was the greater of the two.

Verse 42

The LORD be between me and thee — Jonathan’s farewell repeats the words of v.23 and extends them to ‘my seed and thy seed for ever’. Laban used similar words to Jacob at Mizpah: ‘The LORD watch between me and thee’ (Gen 31:49). David’s sparing of Mephibosheth is traced to ‘the LORD’S oath that was between them’ (2 Sam 21:7).