1 Samuel 20:13 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 20:13
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.
to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
so
כֹּֽהkoh-
H3541
properly · adverb
more
יֹסִ֗יףyo.Sif
H3254
to add or augment (often adverbial · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Jonathan
לִֽיהוֹנָתָ֜ןli.ho.na.Tan
H3083
Jehonathan · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
please
יֵיטִ֨בyei.Tiv
H3190
to be (causative) make well · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
father
אָבִ֤י'a.Vi
H1
father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
evil
הָֽרָעָה֙ha.ra.'Ah
H7451
bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
shew
וְגָלִ֙יתִי֙ve.ga.Li.ti
H1540
to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
away
וְשִׁלַּחְתִּ֖יךָve.shi.lach.Ti.kha
H7971
to send away · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
go
וְהָלַכְתָּ֣ve.ha.lakh.Ta
H1980
to walk (in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
peace
לְשָׁל֑וֹםle.sha.Lom
H7965
safe · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
LORD
יְהוָה֙Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
father
אָבִֽי'a.Vi
H1
father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Joshua 1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail…
Ruth 1:17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
1 Samuel 17:37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the ha…
1 Chronicles 22:11 Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee.
1 Chronicles 22:16 Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.
1 Samuel 3:17 And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou…
1 Samuel 10:7 And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.
1 Samuel 11:6-13 And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 20:9-23
Here, I. Jonathan protests his fidelity to David in his distress. Notwithstanding the strong confidence David had in Jonathan, yet, because he might have some reason to fear that his father's influence, and his own interest, should make him warp, or grow cool towards him, Jonathan thought it requisite solemnly to renew the professions of his friendship to him (Sa1 20:9): "Far be it from thee to think that I suspect thee of any crime for which I should either slay thee myself or deliver thee to my father; no, if thou hast any jealousy of that, Come let us go into the field (Sa1 20:11), and talk it over more fully." He did not challenge him to the field to fight him for an affront, but to fix…
THEIR COVENANT RENEWED BY OATH. (Sa1 20:11-23)
Jonathan said to David, Come, let us go into the field--The private dialogue, which is here detailed at full length, presents a most beautiful exhibition of these two amiable and noble-minded friends. Jonathan was led, in the circumstances, to be the chief speaker. The strength of his attachment, his pure disinterestedness, his warm piety, his invocation to God (consisting of a prayer and a solemn oath combined), the calm and full expression he gave of his conviction that his own family were, by the divine will, to be disinherited, and David elevated to the possession of the throne, the covenant entered into with David on behalf of his descenda…
The Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father - From this, and other passages here it is evident that Jonathan knew that the Lord had appointed David to the kingdom.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 20:13
The Lord do so and much more to Jonathan,.... Recompense evil more than can be thought of and expressed, should he neglect to inform David of the good disposition of Saul unto him:
but if it please my father to do thee evil; if he seems determined upon it to take away thy life:
then I will show it thee; not by a messenger, by whom it would not be safe to communicate it, lest by that means Saul would know where he was, and come and slay him; but Jonathan would come himself, and acquaint him with it:
and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace; give him leave, and advise him to depart, and provide for his own safety, adding his blessing on him, and prayer for him:
and the Lord be with…
The Church Fathers
Descend therefore quickly, etc. That is, on the day when it was allowed to work up to the Kalends, he would go; so that through the Kalends, on which he said all should be silent, he would sit quietly. Jonathan therefore says to David that the Kalends will be tomorrow, and that he will be sought by Saul until the day after tomorrow. The early Church, having learned from him what to say to him, says to Christ; that the time is at hand when the Sun of righteousness will renew in the light of truth those believing or about to believe from the Jews; and that unbelievers will seek him, and in the rising of the new light, which happens through the hearing of the word, and in the increase of the same light, which happens through the operation of the heard word. For to those listening in the Church, and to those performing the commandments of the Gospel, they contrived deceits, of which the Lord speaks: Let my enemies be confounded and ashamed, who seek my soul (Psalm 35, 36, and 69). Jonathan was advising David to descend quickly, and come to the place where he should be hidden, and that on the day when it was allowed to work; and he should sit next to the stone Ezel, which is interpreted as departing, or going. The elders of the early Church were praying to the Lord that by the grace of his inspiration he would descend quickly into the hearts of the faithful, that is, into the place always receptive to his love, of which it is sung in the Psalms, And his place has been made in peace (Psalm 75). Where he should be hidden by faith from those who, disbelieving in Christian peace, would resist, and being given over to external things, would not deserve to view the mysteries of their Creator. The devout were also praying that he would deign to make his dwelling among those strong in faith, who were ready in spirit either to always advance to virtue or, having been perfected in virtues, to depart to behold the joys of heavenly life. But they desired these things in the light of grace for those present, at a time namely of doing good to all, and of running in the way of light, lest anyone be unknowingly overtaken by exterior darkness. These things also today as then, and as long as today is called today, the desires of the saints wish the Lord Savior to accomplish with insatiable prayers.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
New Moon — The first day of the lunar month was observed as a holy day. In addition to the daily sacrifice there were offered two young bullocks, a ram and seven lambs of the first year as a burnt offering,…
Oath · Jonathan and David confirm a covenant by — Jonathan and David confirm a covenant by
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
In the field, where they were both entirely free from observation, Jonathan first of all renewed his covenant with David, by vowing to him on oath that he would give him information of his father's feelings towards him (Sa1 20:12, Sa1 20:13); and then entreated him, with a certain presentiment that David would one day be king, even then to maintain his love towards him and his family for ever (Sa1 20:14-16); and lastly, he made David swear again concerning his love (Sa1 20:17), and then gave him the sign by which he would communicate the promised information (Sa1 20:18-23).
Sa1 20:12-15
Sa1 20:12 and Sa1 20:13 are connected. Jonathan commences with a solemn invocation of God: "Jehovah, God o…
may the Lord strike me: Jonathan invoked a curse upon himself to reassure David that he would keep his promise. • as he used to be with my father: Jonathan recognized that David had received the blessing from God that his father had once had. The divine favor that had brought Saul into royal office (9:14–10:1) would bring David into royal office as Saul’s replacement. Jonathan accepted this even though he was the natural successor to Saul.
Rashi on 1 Samuel 20:13
So may Adonoy do to Yonoson. The Holy One, Blessed is He, when I question my father, and find that he is favorable toward you, if I do not [send word] through a messenger and reveal to you, for good I am able to reveal. But if it pleases my father to do evil to you, that I will not reveal [by messenger], lest my father find out your whereabouts,7I.e., the messenger might later reveal Dovid’s whereabouts to Shaul. but I will personally reveal it to you.
