What Does 1 Samuel 25:40 Mean?
When the servants of David came to Abigail in Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, David sent us to you, to take you to himself as wife.
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 when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife.THE KEY
The verse reveals two directions of agency: David sends the message outward, while Abigail is described as the one to be taken to him.
THE MEANING
A proposal can arrive already framed by another person’s intention: the message says David has sent for Abigail and speaks of taking her as his wife. Its wording names her place in that plan before her own answer appears, making the difference between being addressed and answering visible.
THE ROOT
לָקַח
lāqaḥ
GROWS FROM
לקח
Take, receive, or bring.
“take” in this verse is lāqaḥ. The root spans taking and receiving, but this sentence foregrounds movement toward David: Abigail is the one to be taken “to him.” That grammar reveals the proposal’s direction without supplying her answer.
ALSO GROWS
lāqaḥ ʾiššâ: Take a woman as wife.
לָקַח אִשָּׁה
This marriage expression makes the verb’s role in the verse concrete: Abigail is described as being taken to David as wife.
leqaḥ: Instruction or teaching; what is received.
לֶקַח
This related noun shows the root also reaches what is taken in, while the verse’s use stays focused on a relationship and its direction.
שָׁלַח
shalach
GROWS FROM
שלח
Send, send forth, or release.
The root gives “sent” a wider range than dispatch: related forms can also mean sending away or releasing. Here David sends the servants, and they carry his words to Abigail.
ALSO GROWS
shalach: Send or send forth.
שָׁלַח
The verse uses this verb for David sending his servants to Abigail.
shilluach: Sending away or dismissal.
שִׁלּוּחַ
This related form shows the root can describe movement away as well as a messenger’s dispatch.
דָּוִד
Dāvid
GROWS FROM
דוד
Beloved; the name is associated with the Hebrew word for beloved.
The name carries “beloved” within it, so David enters the verse already bearing a relationship-word. That resonance sits beside a message whose verbs speak of sending and taking, without deciding Abigail’s response.
ALSO GROWS
dōd: Beloved; also a kinsman or uncle in related uses.
דּוֹד
This related form reveals the beloved meaning carried in David’s name.
dōdîm: Loves or caresses.
דּוֹדִים
This plural form appears in love poetry and extends the same word-family’s relational sense.
THE PATTERN
A consequential message does not replace the addressed person’s own response.
And they called Rebekah, and said to her, Will you go with this man? And she said, I will go.And Mary said to the messenger, How will this be, since I have not known a man?Trembling and astonished, he said, Lord, what do you want me to do? And the Lord said to him, Stand up, and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.THE THREAD
And afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told the Great House, Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may dance a feast to me in the wilderness.Exodus 5:1 uses the same root, שָׁלַח (shalach), in the command translated “Let my people go.” The shared root links sending forth with release, revealing a wider movement than the English word “sent” alone shows.
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