1 Samuel 20:36

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
said	וַיֹּ֣אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
lad	לְנַעֲר֔וֹ le.na.'a.Ro	H5288	(concretely) a boy (as active) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Run	רֻ֗ץ Rutz	H7323	to run (for whatever reason · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
out	מְצָ֥א me.Tza'	H4672	properly · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
arrows	הַ֣חִצִּ֔ים ha.chi.Tzim	H2671	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
shoot	מוֹרֶ֑ה mo.Reh	H3384	properly · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
lad	הַנַּ֣עַר ha.Na.'ar	H5288	(concretely) a boy (as active) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
ran	רָ֔ץ Ratz	H7323	to run (for whatever reason · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
shot	יָרָ֥ה ya.Rah	H3384	properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
arrow	הַחֵ֖צִי ha.Che.tzi	H2678	an arrow · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
beyond	לְהַעֲבִרֽוֹ le.ha.'a.vi.Ro	H5674	to cross over · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 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 20:20-22 And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 20:35–end

Here is, 1. Jonathan's faithful performance of his promise to give David notice of the success of his dangerous experiment. He went at the time and to the place appointed (Sa1 20:35), within sight of which he knew David lay hid, sent his footboy to fetch his arrows, which he would shoot at random (Sa1 20:36), and gave David the fatal signal by shooting an arrow beyond the lad (Sa1 20:37): Is not the arrow beyond thee? That word [beyond] David knew the meaning of better than the lad. Jonathan dismissed the lad, who knew nothing of the matter, and, finding the coast clear and no danger of a discovery, he presumed upon one minute's personal conversation with David after he had bidden him flee f…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 20:36

he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot--The direction given aloud to the attendant was the signal preconcerted with David. It implied danger.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 20:34

Jonathan arose - in fierce anger - We should probably understand this rather of Jonathan's grief than of his anger, the latter clause explaining the former: for he was grieved for David. He was grieved for his father - he was grieved for his friend.

John Gill on 1 Samuel 20:36

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.

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 20:35–end

The next morning Jonathan made David acquainted with what had occurred, by means of the sign agreed upon with David. The account of this, and of the meeting between Jonathan and David which followed, is given very concisely, only the main points being touched upon. In the morning (after what had occurred) Jonathan went to the field, דּוד למועד, either "at the time agreed upon with David," or "to the meeting with David," or perhaps better still, "according to the appointment (agreement) with David," and a small boy with him. Sa1 20:36 To the latter he said, namely as soon as they had come to the field, Run, get the arrows which I shoot. The boy ran, and he shot off the arrows, "to go out beyo…

The Church Fathers

The boy Jonathan collected the arrows, etc. The humble discipleship of the pious learned the deeds in order, learned also the sayings of the teachers, and attributed all praise to the Church; or, as we expounded above, he saw the disciples of Christ, whether still vigorous with life or already snatched by death, widely dispersed from Jerusalem, from where the word of the Lord had gone out, and recognized that all should be gathered into one heavenly Jerusalem; yet he could not know the divine secret, that salvation was to be given to the nations through repentance. For only those greater in the Lord, to whom it is said; But I have called you friends, because all that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you (John 15), and he himself, strong in hand, and desired by all nations, knew this secret thing.
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

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

Benjamin — Son of my right hand. (1.) The younger son of Jacob by Rachel (Gen. 35:18). His birth took place at Ephrath, on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem, at a short distance from the latter place. His…
Benjamin, The Tribe Of — The contrast between the warlike character of the tribe and the peaceful image of its progenitor comes out in many scattered notices. Benjamin was the only tribe which seems to have pursued archery…
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.…
Archery · Practiced by Jonathan — Practiced by Jonathan
Arrow · Shot by Jonathan as a sign to David — Shot by Jonathan as a sign to David

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).

1 Samuel 20:36

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 20:35–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 20:36

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 20:34

John Gill on 1 Samuel 20:36

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 20:35–end

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 20:36

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 20:35–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 20:36

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 20:34

John Gill on 1 Samuel 20:36

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 20:35–end

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 20:33

Rashi on 1 Samuel 20:36