What Does 2 Samuel 21:21 Mean?
When he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah, the brother of David, struck him down.
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 he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.THE KEY
“Defied” carries the language of reproach: the man publicly shames Israel, and Jonathan’s answer is lethal.
THE MEANING
The verse holds a public challenge and a killing together: the man defies Israel, and Jonathan kills him. The challenge ends in a man’s death, not a verbal reply.
THE ROOT
וַיְחָרֵף
vayḥārēp
GROWS FROM
חרף
To reproach, taunt, or defy; to heap shame on.
“taunted” in this verse is vayḥārēp. The Hebrew verb carries reproach and taunting, so the attack is an attempt to shame Israel publicly. The same verb frames Goliath’s challenge in 1 Samuel 17:26, exposing a repeated word beneath two confrontations.
ALSO GROWS
ḥērēp: To defy, reproach, or taunt.
חֵרֵף
The same verb describes Goliath’s challenge to Israel in 1 Samuel 17:26.
ḥerpāh: Reproach, disgrace, or shame.
חֶרְפָּה
The noun names the shame a taunt seeks to place on its target.
וַיַּכֵּהוּ
vayyakkehu
GROWS FROM
נכה
To strike or smite.
“struck him down” in this verse is vayyakkehu. The Hebrew verb describes striking, and here that act ends in death. The violence is concrete, not figurative.
ALSO GROWS
nāḵāh: To strike or smite.
נָכָה
This verb’s basic action makes the force of Jonathan’s act visible.
makkāh: A blow, wound, or plague.
מַכָּה
This noun from the same root carries the result of striking into a thing suffered.
יְהוֹנָתָן
Yehonatan
GROWS FROM
נתן
To give, set, or place.
“Jonathan” in this verse is Yehonatan. The name combines the divine name with the נתן seed and means “YHWH has given.” The scene names its agent through that nature-bearing name while leaving his act, killing the defier, unsoftened.
ALSO GROWS
nātan: To give, set, or place.
נָתַן
This verb supplies the seed inside Jonathan’s name.
mattanāh: Gift.
מַתָּנָה
This noun from the same נתן family carries the seed of giving into a thing given.
THE PATTERN
Threatening forces are shown losing their power when they are directly met.
So David gripped the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.From the mouth of little ones and nursing ones you lay a foundation of strength because of those who press you, to halt the enemy and the avenger.And waking, he rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Be silent. Be muzzled. And the wind wore itself out, and a great calm came.THE THREAD
And David spoke to the men who stood beside him, saying, What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes the taunt away from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the ranks of the living God?David calls Goliath’s challenge a “reproach” and uses the same חרף root translated “defied” here. The root links two public challenges against Israel; in this verse, Jonathan’s killing follows the defiance directly.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
You can read any verse this way in the app, keep it as a card, and send it on.
A Bible app where you send verses from your keyboard and in Messages, and every verse has a Deep Dive.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us