1 Samuel 20:25 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 20:25
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.
a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sat
וַיֵּ֣שֶׁבvai.Ye.shev
H3427
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
seat
מ֨וֹשָׁב֜וֹmo.sha.Vo
H4186
a seat · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
times
כְּפַ֣עַםke.Fa.'am
H6471
a stroke · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
seat
מוֹשַׁב֙mo.Shav
H4186
a seat · noun, common masculine singular construct
wall
הַקִּ֔ירha.Kir
H7023
a wall (as built in a trench) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Jonathan
יְה֣וֹנָתָ֔ןye.Ho.na.Tan
H3083
Jehonathan · proper noun, a man's name
arose
וַיָּ֙קָם֙vai.Ya.kom
H6965
to rise (in various applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Abner
אַבְנֵ֖ר'av.Ner
H74
Abner · proper noun, a man's name
sat
וַיֵּ֥שֶׁבvai.Ye.shev
H3427
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Saul’s
שָׁא֑וּלsha.'Ul
H7586
Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
side
מִצַּ֣דmi.Tzad
H6654
a side · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
David’s
דָּוִֽדda.Vid
H1732
David · proper noun, a man's name
place
מְק֥וֹםme.Kom
H4725
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
empty
וַיִּפָּקֵ֖דvai.yi.pa.Ked
H6485
to visit (with friendly or hostile intent) · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
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
1 Samuel 20:18 Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.
Judges 16:20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and sha…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 20:24-34
Jonathan is here effectually convinced of that which he was so loth to believe, that his father had an implacable enmity to David, and would certainly be the death of him if it were in his power; and he had like to have paid very dearly himself for the conviction.
I. David is missed from the feast on the first day, but nothing is said of him. The king sat upon his seat, to feast upon the peace-offerings as at other times (Sa1 20:25), and yet had his heart as full of envy and malice against David as it could hold. He should first have been reconciled to him, and then have come and offered his gift; but, instead of that, he hoped, at this feast, to drink the blood of David. What an abomination…
SAUL, MISSING DAVID, SEEKS TO KILL JONAHAN. (1Sa. 20:24-40)
the king sat upon his seat, as at other times . . . by the wall--The left-hand corner at the upper end of a room was and still is in the East, the most honorable place. The person seated there has his left arm confined by the wall, but his right hand is at full liberty. From Abner's position next the king, and David's seat being left empty, it would seem that a state etiquette was observed at the royal table, each of the courtiers and ministers having places assigned them according to their respective gradations of rank.
Jonathan arose--either as a mark of respect on the entrance of the king, or in conformity with the usual Orien…
The king sat upon his seat - It seems that there was one table for Saul, Jonathan, David, and Abner; Saul having the chief seat, that next to the wall. As only four sat at this table, the absence of any one would soon be noticed.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 20:25
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, see 1 Samuel 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, 1 Samuel 20:34. Kimchi thinks, that after Jonathan had sat down…
The Church Fathers
And the place of David appeared empty, etc. To unbelievers, the place of Christ appears empty in the Scriptures; because although they recount the entire series of the Old Testament, they do not deserve to find Him whom the learned scribe in the kingdom of heaven knows to find nearly everywhere in the divine pages. Thus Saul, as a type of the Jews, sitting to eat the bread of Scripture, cannot have Christ present, whom he had driven from his table by hating Him. But Cleophas, with his companion, although not yet fully recognizing Him, but already loving Him, invited Him to the table; and therefore immediately recognized Him in the breaking of the bread (Luke XXIV). We also do both today while reading, as some, perverse, try to turn even clear sayings about Christ to something else; others, piously and soberly seeking Christ in the dishes of divine letters presented, begin to have Him present, though not immediately recognized, until He Himself gradually reveals to us what was previously closed mysteries, as if we recognize Him in the offering of bread which He broke for us. Yet not all who in the Scriptures they read, cannot understand Christ, can immediately also stir up questions or persecutions against Christ; because the human mind is accustomed to gradually decline into vices just as it progresses in virtues. It can also be understood thus, that while Saul was dining, the place of David appeared empty: the Lord called His members, namely the Church, from celebrating the carnal sacraments of the law to engage in more spiritual ones. But to both senses, what follows is appropriate:
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
Abner — Father of light; i.e., “enlightening”, the son of Ner and uncle of Saul. He was commander-in-chief of Saul’s army (1 Sam. 14:50; 17:55; 20:25). He first introduced David to the court of Saul after…
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.…
Arrow · Shot by Jonathan as a sign to David — Shot by Jonathan as a sign to David
Entertainments · Given on occasions of: Festivals — Given on occasions of: Festivals
Jealousy · .Saul, of David — .Saul, of David
Kings · Exercised great hospitality — Exercised great hospitality
Walls · Of houses: The seat next, was the place of distinction — Of houses: The seat next, was the place of distinction
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).
David thereupon concealed himself in the field, whilst Jonathan, as agreed upon, endeavoured to apologize for his absence from the king's table.
Sa1 20:24-25
On the new moon's day Saul sat at table, and as always, at his seat by the wall, i.e., at the top, just as, in eastern lands at the present day, the place of honour is the seat in the corner (see Harmar Beobachtungen ii. pp. 66ff.). "And Jonathan rose up, and Abner seated himself by the side of Saul, and David's place remained empty." The difficult passage, "And Jonathan rose up," etc., can hardly be understood in any other way than as signifying that, when Abner entered, Jonathan rose from his seat by the side of Saul, and gave up the…
Abner was Saul’s cousin and served as commander of Saul’s army (14:50; 17:55). His importance is indicated by his position beside the king at this festival.
Rashi on 1 Samuel 20:25
On the seat against the wall. At the head of the couch, next to the wall.
Yonoson rose. He stood up from his place, because it is not proper for a son to recline beside his father;24Others suggest that Yonoson wanted to keep his distance from Shaul and his show of respect was only a guise. their custom was to eat while reclining on couches, and Dovid would recline between Yonoson and Shaul. Now that Dovid did not come, Yonoson did not recline until Avneir sat down beside Shaul, and afterwards, Yonoson sat beside Avneir. And if you say that he did not sit as all, Scripture states, 'And Yonoson rose from the table,'25Below verse 34. implying that he had been sitting.
