What Does 1 Samuel 18:7 Mean?
And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
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 women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.THE KEY
The chant turns victory into a public ranking, and the one named “beloved” receives the far larger count.
THE MEANING
The refrain praises both men while assigning them unequal measures. It turns victory into a public ranking, where recognition for one makes the other’s share sound small. David’s name carries the sense of “beloved,” and the chant gives him the greater number.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Praise is not automatically an honor when it arrives as a comparison; the same words can recognize one person while diminishing another.
THE ROOT
דָּוִד
Dāwīd
GROWS FROM
דוד
d-w-d
Beloved; the beloved one.
David’s name is tied to the Hebrew word for beloved. The line’s larger tally falls on the one whose name carries belovedness, adding a layer the English proper name alone does not show.
ALSO GROWS
dōd: Beloved one; also a close male relative or uncle.
דּוֹד
This word-family lets David’s name sound as “beloved” within the refrain, where he receives the greater measure.
dōdîm: Loves or expressions of love.
דּוֹדִים
This branch carries affection into the name and deepens the contrast with the crowd’s competitive tally.
שָׁאוּל
Sha'ul
GROWS FROM
שאל
sh-ʾ-l
Ask or request; Sha’ul means “asked for.”
Saul’s name carries the sense of “the asked-for one.” Set beside David, “asked-for” and “beloved” become name-natures inside an already unequal comparison.
ALSO GROWS
sha'al: To ask or request.
שָׁאַל
This is the verb behind Saul’s name and gives the name its sense of being asked for.
she'elah: A request or petition.
שְׁאֵלָה
This noun shares the root’s language of asking, keeping the meaning inside Saul’s name audible.
הִכָּה
hikkāh
GROWS FROM
נכה
n-k-h
Strike or smite.
“struck down” in this verse is hikkāh. The Hebrew verb carries the sense “struck” or “smote,” and the refrain counts those strikes in thousands. The root can also name the blow itself, so the numbers quantify force as well as fame.
ALSO GROWS
makkāh: A blow, wound, or plague.
מַכָּה
This noun from the same root makes the physical force behind the victory visible in the count.
hikkāh: Struck or smote.
הִכָּה
This is the verb used in the verse; the refrain measures how many were struck.
THE PATTERN
When achievement is voiced as a comparison, recognition becomes a score that can shrink the one named second.
And Saul burned exceedingly, and this word was evil in his eyes, and he said, They have given David ten thousands, and to me they have given only thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?Saying, These last have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have carried the weight and the heat of the day.For we do not dare to count ourselves among, or compare ourselves with, some who set themselves beside. But they, measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.THE THREAD
And Saul burned exceedingly, and this word was evil in his eyes, and he said, They have given David ten thousands, and to me they have given only thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?The next verse reveals what the arithmetic does: Saul repeats the totals and hears a threat to the kingdom inside the comparison. The refrain is more than a victory report; its unequal numbers give praise the shape of a contest.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us