1 Samuel 20:17
Ver. 17. And Jonathan caused David to swear again,.... Or Jonathan added to make David swears {u}; having sworn himself to make a covenant of friendship with David and his family, he moved and insisted on it, that David should swear to keep covenant with him, and his family:because he loved him; it was not so much for the good and safety of his offspring that he made this motion, and was so desirous of renewing and enlarging his covenant with David, as it was his strong love and affection for him; being on that account desirous that there might be the strictest friendship imaginable retained between the two families; or he made him swear by his love to him, as some understand it, which is not so likely; the former sense is better, for he himself sware by the Lord, 1Sa 20:12;for he loved him as his own soul; or "with the love of his soul" {w}; with the most cordial affection, with a truly hearty and sincere love, see 1Sa 18:1.{u} Poyw "et addidit", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; so the Tigurine version. {w} wvpn tbha "secundum dilectionem animae suae", Pagninus; "amore sui ipsius", Junius & Tremellius. 1 Samuel 20:18Ver. 18. Then Jonathan said to David, tomorrow [is] the new moon,.... The first day of the month, as David had before observed, 1Sa 20:5;and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty; or be inquired after, because not in his usual place at mealtime. 1 Samuel 20:19Ver. 19. And [when] thou hast stayed three days,.... From court, either at Bethlehem, which seems most probable, or in some other place incognito; however, not in the field he proposed to hide himself in, where he could not continue so long for want of food:[then] thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself; which makes it clear that he did not continue there during that time, but went elsewhere; from whence he was to come in haste at the expiration of three days, to the place he first hid himself in, and which was fixed upon to meet at:when the business was [in hand]; when the affair was discoursed of, about getting knowledge how Saul was affected to David, and of informing him of it; or "on the day of work" {x}; or business, on a working day, as the Septuagint; and so the Targum, on a common day; when, as the Vulgate Latin, it was lawful to work on it; and such was the day when Jonathan and David conversed together about the above affair; it being the day before the new moon, or first day of the month, on which day they used not to work: Some render it, "thou shalt three times go down" {y} to that place; and the sense is, that he should come on the morrow, and if he found not Jonathan there, he might conclude that as yet he knew nothing of his father's mind, and therefore should come the day following that; and if he found him not then, to come on the third day, that so he might be on the spot, let him come on which day he would:and shalt remain by the stone Ezel; which, because it signifies "going", the Jewish commentators generally understand it as a sign to direct travellers which way to go; but one would think this should be an improper place for David to be near, since it must be where two or more ways met, and so a public frequented place; others think therefore it had its name from David and Jonathan often going thither, to discourse with each other; the Septuagint calls it Ergab; and so the place where Jonathan, the son of Saul, exercised himself by shooting darts, is called by Jerom {z}; it is said by Josephus {a} to be an hundred fifty furlongs (about nineteen miles), from Jerusalem, and from Jordan sixty, (about eight miles).{x} hvemh Mwyb "in die operis", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; "die profesto", Tigurine version. {y} dam drt tvlv "tertiabis, descendes valde", Montanus; "descendes ter, [vel] tertiabis descendere", Castalio; so Patrick. {z} De loc. Heb. fol. 91. C. {a} Apud Adrichem. Theatrum T. S. p. 17. 1 Samuel 20:20Ver. 20. And I will shoot three arrows on the side [thereof],.... On the side of the stone Ezel; three are pitched upon, according to the number of the days David was missing:as though I shot at a mark; as if he made the stone the mark he shot at; so that his shooting would not be taken notice of. 1 Samuel 20:21Ver. 21. And, behold, I will send a lad,.... That attended on him, and carried his bow and arrows, and fetched his arrows when he had shot them:[saying], go, find out the arrows; where they are fallen, and return them:if I expressly say unto the lad, behold, the arrows [are] on this side of thee, take them; on one side of him, whether the one or the other, which he would bid him take up, and bring them to him:then come thou; David, out of the place where he hid himself:for [there is] peace to thee, and no hurt, [as] the Lord liveth; he might appear, and not be afraid of being seen by any, since by this sign he might be assured that Saul was well affected to him, and would show him favour, and do him no injury; and that he might promise himself prosperity and safety, and be assured of it for the present. 1 Samuel 20:22Ver. 22. But if I say thus unto the young man, behold, the arrows [are] beyond thee,.... Being shot to a greater distance than where the young man was:go thy way, for the Lord hath sent thee away; then he was to depart directly, without staying to have any conversation with Jonathan, which would not be safe for either of them, and so make the best of his way into the country, and escape for his life; for so it was ordered by the providence of God, that he must not stay, but be gone immediately: the signals were these, that if things were favourable, then he would shoot his arrows on one side of the lad, and David might come out and show himself at once; but if not, he would shoot them beyond him, by which he might know that he must flee for his life. 1 Samuel 20:23Ver. 23. And [as touching] the matter which thou and I have spoken of,.... The covenant they had made between them and their families:behold, the Lord [be] between me and thee for ever: as a witness of the covenant, and a revenger of those that should break it; so the Targum,"behold, the Word of the Lord be between me and thee a witness for ever.'' 1 Samuel 20:24Ver. 24. So David hid himself in the field,.... Not directly, but at the time appointed; for he went to Bethlehem, and returned from thence before that time:and when the new moon was come; the first clay of the month, which was a solemn festival:the king sat him down to eat meat; Saul sat down at his table to eat of the provisions that were set upon it; which it is very probable were the peace offerings for that day, which he, his family, and nobles, feasted on together; it is in the Hebrew, "he sat down at the bread" {b}, which is put for all the food on the table, and the provisions of it.{b} Mxlh le "ad [vel] juxta panem", Pagninus, Montanus. 1 Samuel 20:25Ver. 25. And the king sat upon his seat as at other times,.... Upon the seat he usually sat on:[even] upon a seat by the wall; on a couch by the side of the wall; or, as Jarchi and R. Isaiah say, at the head of the couch by the wall, which was the most honourable place; and Kimchi observes, it was the custom in those days to eat meat sitting on beds or couches, see1Sa 28:23;and Jonathan arose; either in reverence to his father, when he came in and took his seat, or in respect to Abner upon his coming in, being the son of Saul's uncle, and general of the army; for though he arose, he did not depart, it is plain he sat down again, 1Sa 20:34. Kimchi thinks, that after Jonathan had sat down at the side of his father, he arose and placed Abner there, because he would not be near his father, that if he should be wroth with him on account of David, he might not be near him to smite him:and Abner sat by Saul's side; according to Josephus {c} Jonathan sat at his right hand and Abner on the left, and it was usual for the master, or principal person, to sit in the middle; so Dido in Virgil {d}. Abarbinel places them thus, Saul was at the head of the table, and David was used to sit by him, and Jonathan by David, and Abner by Jonathan; and now the king sat in his place, and Jonathan in his place, and Abner after him; and David's place being empty, Jonathan was left next to his father, without any between; wherefore he now arose from his place, and Abner sat on that side where Saul was, so that Abner was between Jonathan and Saul:and David's place was empty; where he used to sit at table, he not being there, and no one taking it.{c} Antiqu. l. 6. c. 11. sect. 9. {d} "----- mediamque locavit". Aeneid. 1. prope finem. Vid. Servium in ib. 1 Samuel 20:26Ver. 26. Nevertheless, Saul spake not anything that day,.... About David's absence, took no notice of it, said nothing about it:for he thought something had befallen him; some impurity, some nocturnal pollution, see Le 15:16;he [is] not clean, surely he [is] not clean; which he repeated in his mind for the confirmation of it, and in contempt, and to the reproach of David; and in this way he accounted for his absence the first day, and so was easy, it not being lawful and fitting for an unclean person in a ceremonial sense to eat of the peace offerings, which Saul and his family were now partaking of. 1 Samuel 20:27Ver. 27. And it came to pass on the morrow, [which was] the second [day] of the month,.... The Targum is,"and it was on the day after it, which was the intercalation of the second month;''when the beginning of the month was judged of by the appearance of the moon, and there was a difficulty about that, what day it appeared on, two days were kept for it; and Abarbinel {e} is clear for it, that two days were kept in this month; but if this was not the case, since the remainder of peace offerings might be eaten the next day, Le 7:16. Saul and his guests might meet on the second day for that purpose:that David's place was empty: on that day also:and Saul said to Jonathan his son; who he knew was David's friend and confident, and could give the best account of him:wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday nor today; he accounted for his not coming yesterday, because he supposed he might be under some ceremonial uncleanness; but then that only lasted to the evening of that day; but not coming the second day when he was clean, he inquires after him; and not owning him for his son-in-law, by way of contempt, and to lessen him in the esteem of all at table, he calls him the son of Jesse.{e} Comment. in Exod. xii. 1 Samuel 20:28Ver. 28. And Jonathan answered Saul,.... In reply to Saul's question, and to excuse David, he said,David earnestly asked [leave] of me [to go] to Bethlehem; his own city, his native place, where his family lived, whom he was desirous to see, and yet chose not to go without asking leave; and as Saul was not at home, he asked leave of Jonathan, who was next to him, and acted for him; and he was very pressing and importunate in his suit, and therefore Jonathan could not well deny him it; and he hoped this would ben sufficient excuse for his absence, especially when what follows should be observed. 1 Samuel 20:29Ver. 29. And he said, let me go, I pray thee, for our family hath a sacrifice in the city,.... In the city of Bethlehem where they lived, a peace offering on account of the new moon, and as an anniversary thanksgiving for the mercies of the year, 1Sa 20:6; and seeing, though he was not at the feast in one place, he observed it in another, his absence at court was the more excusable; and the rather, since it was kept by him with his own family, in his own city: besides, it is added,and my brother he hath commanded me [to be there]; his elder brother Eliab, whose commands, as a younger brother, he judged he ought to obey; it is probable his father was now dead, since no mention is made of him, and his elder brother took upon him the command of the family:and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, see my brethren: he should take it as a favour to have leave to depart, and be free for the present from waiting upon the king at court, and so have an opportunity of seeing his brethren, for which he had a great desire; having not seen them a long time, not even since he saw them in the camp, when he slew Goliath:therefore he cometh not to the king's table: this was the reason of it, at least one reason of it, and Jonathan was not obliged to tell the whole. 1 Samuel 20:30Ver. 30. Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan,.... For giving David leave to go, and for excusing him in this manner:and he said unto him, thou son of the perverse and rebellious [woman]; most of the Jewish commentators supply it as we do, but the supplement of woman may as well be left out, and be read, "thou son of perverse rebellion" {f}; thou perverse and rebellious wretch, perverse in thy temper, and rebellious in thy conduct; for the design of the expression is not to reproach his mother, for which there seems no provocation, but Jonathan only; and the next clause confirms it, which expresses a concern for his mother's honour and credit; the Targum is,"an obstinate son, whose rebellion is hard,''or intolerable; according to which, Abarbinel says, it may refer to David: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? The above writer observes, that he does not say to his own confusion, because David would not reign in his lifetime, only after his death, but to the shame of Jonathan and his mother; to Jonathan's shame, who would be reckoned by men an arrant fool, to be so friendly to a rival, and who in all probability would jostle him out of the throne; and what would men say of him? that either he was not fit to reign, or had no right to the throne, that a son-in-law took place before him; and that his mother had played the whore, and he was no son of Saul, having nothing of his genius, temper, and disposition in him, as appeared by loving such his father hated; and besides, his mother would not have the honour she expected, to be the mother of a king.{f} twdrmh twen Nb "fili perversae rebellionis", Pagninus, Montanus. 1 Samuel 20:31Ver. 31. For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom,.... He would not, though heir to the crown, be sure of it; it would be precarious to him, he would be in great danger of being deprived of it on the death of his father; and therefore it would be his highest wisdom to deliver David up to be slain, as it was his greatest folly to protect him, and provide for his satiety:wherefore now send and fetch him unto me; send to Bethlehem for him to come to court directly:for he shall surely die; or he is "the son of death" {g}; guilty of death, as the Targum, deserves to die, and Saul was determined upon his death if possible.{g} twm Nb "filius mortis", V. L. Montanus, Vatablus, Piscator; "reus mortis", Junius & Tremellius. 1 Samuel 20:32Ver. 32. And Jonathan answered Saul his, father, and said unto him,.... Making no answer to the charges of perverseness, rebellion, and folly brought against himself, which he bore with patience, but could not bear to hear his dear friend spoken against, and as worthy of death; and therefore in answer to that says,wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? has he attempted to take away thy life? to deprive thee of thy crown? to settle himself upon the throne? what overt act of treason has he been guilty of; that he should die? on the contrary, has he not done many things worthy of immortal honour, for the good of the nation, and the glory of thy reign? and if God has determined the kingdom for him, and anointed him to it, what blame can be laid upon him? nay, should he not be the rather respected and honoured? 1 Samuel 20:33Ver. 33. And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him,.... So provoked to wrath was he by what he said. It seems by this that Saul always had a javelin or spear in his hand, which is to be accounted for by the custom of those times; in other countries, as well as in this, the kings used to carry spears in their hands instead of sceptres, and which they used as such; so Justin {h}, speaking of the times of Romulus, says, that kings in those times had spears, as an ensign of royalty, which the Greeks call sceptres; and so the Greeks called sceptres spears {i}:whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David; for since he attempted to smite him, his own son, for speaking on his behalf, it might be well concluded, that such was his settled wrath and malice, that he would if possible kill David, could he get him into his hands.{h} E Trogo, l. 43. c. 3. {i} Pausanias in Boeoticis, sive, l. 9. p. 859. Vid. Barthii Animadv. ad Claudian in nupt. Honor ver. 119. 1 Samuel 20:34Ver. 34. So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger,.... Resenting his father's attempt to smite him, and his resolution to slay David:and did eat no meat the second day of the month; not then at that meal he was just sat down to, nor at another time that day, his stomach was so full through indignation at his father, and grief for his friend David; and besides, being a mourner on the above accounts, he might not eat of the sacrifices:for he was grieved for David; that his death should be determined upon by his father, and he in so much danger of it; as also that he himself must be parted from and lose so dear a friend, which was one reason he ate no meat that day: and another follows,because his father had done him shame; the copulative "and" being wanting; and this he did by calling him a perverse and rebellious son, and representing him as an arrant fool, and particularly by casting a javelin at him to smite him. 1 Samuel 20:35Ver. 35. And it came to pass in the morning:,.... The next morning, the morning of the third day of the month:that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David; he went to the place in the field, or near it, where David hid himself, and at the time agreed between them; which, Abarbinel says, was the time the nobles agreed on for walking, and motion, and for hunting, and casting of arrows, so that Jonathan could go forth without suspicion:and a little lad with him; to carry his bow and arrows, and fetch his arrows when cast. 1 Samuel 20:36Ver. 36. And he said unto his lad, run, find out now the arrows which I shoot,.... He no doubt told him the mark which he should shoot at, the stone Ezel, and bid him look out about that for them:[and] as the lad ran; before he had got to the mark:he shot an arrow beyond him: or it; beyond the lad, or beyond the mark he shot at; purposely shooting with great strength, that he might exceed, and thereby give notice to David how things stood, which was the sign agreed on. 1 Samuel 20:37Ver. 37. And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot,.... To the mark which he told him he should shoot at, and whereabout he might expect to find the arrow:Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, [is] not the arrow beyond thee? he cried with a loud voice and said this, not so much that the lad might hear him, but that David, who lay hid near the place, might hear him; so that if they had no opportunity of seeing and conversing with each other through any person going by at that time, David might know by this sign that evil was determined against him, and must flee for his life; the Syriac and Vulgate Latin versions read, "behold, the arrow is beyond thee"; so Noldius {k}.{k} Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 265. No. 1141. 1 Samuel 20:38Ver. 38. And Jonathan cried after the lad, make speed, haste, stay not,.... But bring the arrows to him directly, that he might dismiss him; for, observing that no man was passing by, he was desirous of embracing the opportunity for a few minutes to have an interview with David alone before he fled:and Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows; for though the textual reading is singular, the marginal is plural, to show, as Kimchi observes, that he cast three arrows, as he said he would, 1Sa 20:20;and came to his master; with them. 1 Samuel 20:39Ver. 39. But the lad knew not anything,.... What was meant by shooting the arrows, and by shooting them beyond where he was, and by bidding him make haste to bring them:only Jonathan and David knew the matter; what was signified by them, those being signs agreed upon between them. 1 Samuel 20:40Ver. 40. And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad,.... "His vessels" {l} or instruments; his arms, as the Targum, his quiver, bow, and arrows:and said unto him, go, carry [them] to the city; to Gibeah, to Jonathan's house, or to his apartments at court there.{l} wylk ta "vasa sua", Montanus; "instrumenta sua", Piscator; "arma sua", V. L. Tigurine version. 1 Samuel 20:41Ver. 41. [And] as soon as the lad was gone,.... Which David could observe from his lurking place:David arose out of [a place] toward the south; to the south of the field in which he was hid, or to the south of the stone Ezel, near which he was; and so the Targum,"and David arose from the side of the stone Atha, which was towards the south;''Jonathan shooting his arrows to the north of it, lest the lad should have discovered David when he ran for them: and fell on his face to the ground; in reverence of Jonathan, as the son of a king, and in respect to him as his friend, who had so faithfully served him, and was so concerned to save his life:and bowed himself three times: this was before he fell prostrate on the ground. Abarbinel observes, that bowing three; times was fit and proper to be done to a king; once at the place from whence they first see him, the second time in the middle of the way to him, and the third time when come to him; but though this may have been a custom in more modern times, it is a question whether it obtained so early; however it is certain bowing was as ancient, and therefore Xenophon {z} is mistaken in ascribing it to Cyrus as the first introducer of this custom; and be it that he was the first that began it among the Persians, it was in use with others before, as this behaviour of David shows:and they kissed one another; as friends about to part:and wept one with another: as not knowing whether they should ever see each other's face any more:until David exceeded; in weeping more than Jonathan; he having more to part with, not only him his dear friend, but his wife and family, and other dear friends and people of God, and especially the sanctuary and service of God, which of all things lay nearest his heart, and most distressed him; see 1Sa 26:19; and many of his psalms on this occasion. Ben Gersom suggests that he wept more than was meet, through too much fear of Saul; but that seems not to be the case.{z} Cyropaedia, l. 8. c. 23. 1 Samuel 20:42Ver. 42. And Jonathan said to David, go in peace,.... In peace of mind, committing himself, his family, and affairs, to the providence of God, who would take care of him, and keep him in safety from the evil designs of Saul; and particularly he would have him be easy with respect to what had passed between them two, not doubting but it would be faithfully observed on both sides:forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord: had made a covenant with each other by an oath, in the name and presence of God as a witness to it:saying, the Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever; as a witness of the agreement between them, including them and their offspring, and as a revenger of such that should break it. The Targum is,"the Word of the Lord be between thee and me, &c.''and he arose and departed; that is, David arose from the ground, and took his leave of Jonathan, and departed into the country for the safety of his person and life:and Jonathan went into the city; into the city of Gibeah, where Saul dwelt and had his court.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.