What Does 1 Chronicles 10:2 Mean?
And the Philistines clung to Saul and to his sons, and they struck down Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, the sons of Saul.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.THE KEY
The Hebrew verb rendered “followed” means “clung”: the Philistines fasten onto Saul’s household until the pursuit becomes lethal.
THE MEANING
This verse keeps the violence in view: the Philistines cling to Saul’s household, then strike Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua down. Jonathan’s name means “YHWH has given”; that meaning stands beside the taking of his life without softening it.
THE ROOT
וַיִּדְבְּקוּ
wayyidbequ
GROWS FROM
דבק
dabaq
to cling, cleave, or adhere
“clung to” in this verse is wayyidbequ. English “followed” can suggest movement at a distance, but דבק means to cling or adhere: the pursuers close onto Saul and his sons. The same root describes covenantal cleaving and holding fast to God, so Hebrew names attachment itself, while its object and intent make it union or violence.
ALSO GROWS
vedavaq: and he shall cleave
וְדָבַק
The same verb describes a husband cleaving to his wife, showing that this root can name intimate joining as well as relentless pursuit.
haddeveqim: those who cling or cleave
הַדְּבֵקִים
This form describes people holding fast to God, showing the root’s range from lethal pursuit to devoted attachment.
וַיַּכּוּ
wayyakku
GROWS FROM
נכה
nakah
to strike or hit
“struck down” in this verse is wayyakku. The Hebrew verb says “they struck,” naming the bodily act behind the result “slew.” The root keeps the violence direct and concrete.
ALSO GROWS
makkah: a blow, stroke, or plague
מַכָּה
This noun carries the same striking force into the language of a blow or inflicted disaster.
hikkah: he struck or smote
הִכָּה
This verb form makes the root’s action plain: a person delivers the blow.
יוֹנָתָן
Yonatan
GROWS FROM
נתן
natan
to give, set, or place
“Jonathan” in this verse is Yonatan. Yonatan is a shortened form of Yehonatan, “YHWH has given,” built around נתן, “to give.” The name’s language of giving stands in the same line as the account of his violent death, keeping the loss particular.
ALSO GROWS
natan: to give, set, or place
נָתַן
This verb supplies the giving embedded in Jonathan’s name.
mattan: a gift
מַתָּן
This related noun carries giving into the form of something given.
THE PATTERN
The language of clinging names attachment whose direction can make it devoted, intimate, or violently pursuing.
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother, and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.You shall walk after the LORD your God, and stand in awe of him, and guard his commandments, and hear and respond to his voice, and you shall serve him, and cling to him.Let love be without a mask. Recoil from what is evil; cling to what is good.THE THREAD
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother, and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.Genesis uses the same root, דבק, for a husband cleaving to his wife; 1 Chronicles uses it for the Philistines’ pursuit of Saul’s family. The shared word makes the difference between joining and violence hinge on what the clinging is directed toward.
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