What Does 1 Samuel 26:14 Mean?
And David called out to the people and to Abner son of Ner, saying, Will you not answer, Abner? Then Abner answered, Who are you who calls out to the king?
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 David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?THE KEY
David’s cry and Abner’s “criest” are one Hebrew call (קָרָא, qārāʾ): Abner answers by challenging who has the standing to call toward the king.
THE MEANING
A voice reaches across a guarded boundary, and the reply can shift from what the speaker has seen to whether that speaker has permission to speak. David calls toward the king; Abner’s question makes rank and access the center of the exchange.
THE ROOT
קָרָא
qārāʾ
GROWS FROM
קרא
To call out, summon, proclaim, or name.
“called out” in this verse is qārāʾ. The same root appears in David’s call and Abner’s question about who “criest” to the king. The call is more than a sound: it summons attention, while Abner’s reply turns attention toward the caller’s identity and access.
ALSO GROWS
qōrēʾ: One who calls or reads aloud.
קֹרֵא
The caller is defined by making a voice heard; here, Abner focuses on who is making that call.
miqrāʾ: A convocation or public reading.
מִקְרָא
This branch carries the sense of a call that gathers people, fitting David’s address to the people and to Abner.
THE PATTERN
A call crosses a boundary and draws a response that reveals what the hearer believes about who may speak.
And the LORD God called to Adam, and said to him, Where are you?And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak, for your servant hears and responds.To him the gatekeeper opens, and the sheep hear and respond to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.THE THREAD
And the LORD God called to Adam, and said to him, Where are you?The verb translated “cried” here, קָרָא (qārāʾ, “to call”), is the same root used when God calls to Adam. In both verses, a call crosses separation and makes the hearer’s position visible.
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