What Does 1 Chronicles 10:4 Mean in the King James?
Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Fear first stops Saul’s command from reaching another hand, then leaves him alone with the sword.
THE MEANING
Saul anticipates being abused by his enemies and asks his armor-bearer to end his life first. The armor-bearer’s fear blocks the requested act, so Saul takes the sword and falls upon it himself.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that a command secures another person’s obedience collapses here: fear makes the armor-bearer refuse Saul.
THE ROOT
וְהִתְעַלְלוּ
ve-hitʿalləlū
GROWS FROM
ע־ל־ל
To act or deal with someone; in this form, to treat someone abusively or make sport of them.
The word translated “abuse” belongs to a root for acting or dealing with someone, here in a hostile, humiliating sense. Saul’s fear centers on what his enemies may do to him; the verb gives that feared treatment an active agent.
ALSO GROWS
ve-hitʿalləlū: They will abuse or make sport of me.
וְהִתְעַלְלוּ
This is the hostile treatment Saul fears his enemies will inflict on him.
maʿalalim: Deeds, actions.
מַעֲלָלִים
This related word names deeds; here Saul’s concern is what his enemies will do to him.
יָרֵא
yare
GROWS FROM
י־ר־א
To fear, dread, or revere.
“afraid” in this verse is yare. Fear is the stated reason the armor-bearer’s hand stops; the scene makes his refusal part of the action. The same root can express awe toward God or fear in danger, and here the sense is fear.
ALSO GROWS
yirʾah: Fear; awe when directed toward God.
יִרְאָה
This noun shows the root’s range while the danger in this verse makes fear the fitting sense.
mora: Dread, terror.
מוֹרָא
This related noun conveys the force of the armor-bearer being “sore afraid.”
THE PATTERN
Fear of other people’s judgment or power can narrow a person’s choices until avoidance governs the action.
Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.THE THREAD
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.Genesis places the same root, יָרֵא (yare, to fear), beside nakedness and hiding: fear follows felt exposure and reshapes the response. Saul fears exposure to his enemies’ abuse; the shared root connects hiding from exposure with his attempt to escape it through death.
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