What Does 2 Samuel 21:6 Mean?
Let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them out before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD. And the king said, I will give them.
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
Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.THE KEY
The request and the king’s answer use the same root, נתן (natan, “give, set, place”): the men are demanded as a transfer, then handed over by royal consent.
THE MEANING
The verse places the demand and its consent together: seven sons of Saul are requested so they can be hanged before the LORD at Gibeah, and the king answers, “I will give them.” The repeated act of giving makes the handover plain, while “unto the LORD” places the execution within a claim of sacred service. The men themselves bear the cost.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that invoking God makes a ruler’s handover harmless: the king answers in his own voice, “I will give them.”
THE ROOT
וְיִנָּתֵן
wə-yinnāten
GROWS FROM
נתן
n-t-n
To give, set, or place.
“given” in this verse is wə-yinnāten. English separates “be delivered” from “I will give,” but both are forms of נתן (natan, “give, set, place”). The repeated root makes the transfer the hinge between the request and the king’s consent.
ALSO GROWS
vayitten: And he gave.
וַיִּתֵּן
This active form shows the same root as an act of giving, echoing the king’s “I will give them.”
mattanah: Gift; something given.
מַתָּנָה
This noun from the same root shows how נתן can name both the act of giving and what is placed into someone’s hands.
בָּנָיו
banav
GROWS FROM
בנה
b-n-h
To build or establish.
The word for sons shares a root with building. The demand reaches into Saul’s line and its continuation, while the verse names the seven men themselves as the ones to be handed over.
ALSO GROWS
ben: Son.
בֵּן
This is the singular form within the same word family as “sons.”
banah: To build or establish.
בָּנָה
This verb makes the connection between sons and the building or continuation of a household audible in Hebrew.
THE PATTERN
A giving verb marks the point where a request becomes an actual transfer, carrying consequences for what is handed over.
I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be the mark of a covenant between me and the earth.And he gave them their request, but sent thinness into their living soul.Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.THE THREAD
And he gave them their request, but sent thinness into their living soul.“Gave” here comes from the same נתן (natan, “give, set, place”) root as “be delivered” and “I will give” in 2 Samuel 21:6. Both verses hold a request and its granting together, with the consequence resting on what is given.
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