1 Samuel 26:11 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 26:11
The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’s anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.
to send away · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
hand
יָדִ֖יya.Di
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix
LORD’s
יְהוָ֑הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
anointed
בִּמְשִׁ֣יחַbim.Shi.ach
H4899
anointed · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
take
קַחkach-
H3947
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
spear
הַחֲנִ֜יתha.cha.Nit
H2595
a lance (for thrusting · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
bolster
מְרַאֲשֹׁתָ֛יוme.ra.'a.sho.tov
H4763
properly · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
cruse
צַפַּ֥חַתtza.Pa.chat
H6835
a saucer (as flat) · noun, common feminine singular construct
water
הַמַּ֖יִםha.Ma.yim
H4325
water · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
go
יָלַךְyâlak
H3212
to walk (literally or figuratively)
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 24:6 And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand agains…
1 Samuel 24:12 The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
2 Samuel 1:14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?
2 Samuel 1:16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’s anointed.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 26:6-12
Here is, I. David's bold adventure into Saul's camp in the night, accompanied only by his kinsman Abishai, the son of Zeruiah. He proposed it to him and to another of his confidants (Sa1 26:6), but the other either declined it as too dangerous an enterprise, or at least was content that Abishai, who was forward to it, should run the risk of it rather than himself. Whether David was prompted to do this by his own courage, or by an extraordinary impression upon his spirits, or by the oracle, does not appear; but, like Gideon, he ventured through the guards, with a special assurance of the divine protection.
II. The posture he found the camp in Saul lay sleeping in the trench, or, as some read…
the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water--The Oriental spear had, and still has, a spike at the lower extremity, intended for the purpose of sticking the spear into the ground when the warrior is at rest. This common custom of Arab sheiks was also the practice of the Hebrew chiefs.
at his bolster--literally, "at his head"; perhaps, Saul as a sovereign had the distinguished luxury of a bolster carried for him. A "cruse of water" is usually, in warm climates, kept near a person's couch, as a drink in the night time is found very refreshing. Saul's cruse would probably be of superior materials, or more richly ornamented than common ones, and therefore by its size or form be ea…
The Lord shall smite him - He shall die by a stroke of the Divine judgment; or his day shall come to die - he shall die a natural death; which in the course of things must be before mine, and thus I shall get rid of mine enemy; or he shall descend into the battle, and perish - he shall fall by the enemies of his country. These are the three ordinary ways by which man accomplishes, as a hireling, his day. Murder David could not consider to be lawful; this would have been taking the matter out of God's hand, and this David would not do.
The Church Fathers
Now therefore take the spear that is at his head, etc. The spear either insinuates the power of the kingdom itself or the arms of spiritual virtues, by which the kingdom could be helped. However, it can be taken regarding the earthly kingdom they had and the heavenly kingdom they hoped for, which anyone among them knew to hope for. It is indeed established that both were rightfully taken away from the faithless. Moreover, the cup of water is the observance of carnal types; which, compared to evangelical perfection, is as a cup of water to a cup of wine, not inappropriately taken; whence also above Nabal, despising David who asked for water, did not give it. Abigail also gave wine because the people of the faithless, whether of the law or of the letter, refused to ascribe it to Christ; but everyone faithful knows and recognizes that all things are to be referred to Him, and these things filled with a spiritual flavor to be fervent. Therefore, the spear and the cup of water are taken away from Saul, when because of the crime of perfidy, the entire kingdom and the literal custody of the law are taken away from the Jews. This indeed is done by Abishai at the command of David; when at the command of the Lord, each of the apostles preaching the rights of the Gospel teaches that all old things are to pass away. However, when the spear and the cup were taken away, David added, saying, And let us go; it signifies that Christ was about to depart from the Jews and pass over to the Gentiles to be saved with His preachers. And He Himself, coming to the Passion, announcing it almost with the same word said: Rise, let us go hence.
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
Abishai — Father of (i.e., “desirous of”) a gift, the eldest son of Zeruiah, David’s sister. He was the brother of Joab and Asahel (2 Sam. 2:18; 1 Chr. 2:16). Abishai was the only one who accompanied David…
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…
Bolster — The Hebrew word kebir, rendered “pillow” in 1 Sam. 19:13, 16, but in Revised Version marg. “quilt” or “network,” probably means some counterpane or veil intended to protect the head of the sleeper. A…
Cruse — A utensil; a flask or cup for holding water (1 Sam. 26:11, 12, 16; 1 Kings 19:6) or oil (1 Kings 17:12, 14, 16). In 1 Kings 14:3 the word there so rendered means properly a bottle, as in Jer. 19:1,…
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.…
Citizens · .David — .David
Cruse · A vessel for liquids — A vessel for liquids
Loyalty · .David — .David
Pillow · 1. A cushion — 1. A cushion
Self-Control · Of David — Of David
Spear · Stuck in the ground beside the bolster during sleep — Stuck in the ground beside the bolster during sleep
Water · Carried in vessels — Carried in vessels
John Gill on 1 Samuel 26:11
The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed,.... Or suffer any about him to do it; he speaks of it with the utmost detestation and abhorrence:
but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster; not to smite him with, as he desired, but to carry off, and was no other than his sceptre; See Gill on 1 Samuel 20:33,
and the cruse of water; which stood in the same place, as appears by 1 Samuel 26:12. Some take this to be a pot to make water in; others an hourglass, to know the time of night, in which not sand, but water, flowed for that purpose: but rather this was for his refreshment should he be hot and thirsty in the night, or to purify him…
The repetition not only of the treachery of the Ziphites, but also of the sparing of Saul by David, furnishes no proof in itself that the account contained in this chapter is only another legend of the occurrences already related in 1 Samuel 23:19-24:22. As the pursuit of David by Saul lasted for several years, in so small a district as the desert of Judah, there is nothing strange in the repetition of the same scenes. And the assertion made by Thenius, that "Saul would have been a moral monster, which he evidently was not, if he had pursued David with quiet deliberation, and through the medium of the same persons, and had sought his life again, after his own life had been so magnanimously s…
David was confident that God would judge between him and Saul just as he had done between him and Nabal (see 25:38). Saul did die . . . in battle against the Philistines (31:6).
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).
