What Does 1 Samuel 20:26 Mean in the King James?

Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.

1 Samuel 20:26 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

Saul repeats “not clean” as certainty, though all he knows is that David is absent.

THE MEANING

You can see a gap between what is known and what is inferred: David is absent, and Saul thinks ritual uncleanness explains it. Repeating the explanation makes it sound settled, but the verse still presents it as Saul’s thought.

THE ROOT

טָהוֹר

ṭāhôr

GROWS FROM

טהר

to be clean or pure

“clean” in this verse is ṭāhôr. This is ritual cleanness, a status Saul assumes David has lost. The same root names both that condition and the act of cleansing, but Saul’s repeated conclusion comes from his interpretation of David’s absence.

ALSO GROWS

ṭihēr: to cleanse or purify

טִהֵר

The cleansing verb shows the root can describe movement into the clean state Saul assumes David lacks.

ṭohorāh: purity or cleanness

טָהֳרָה

This noun names the condition itself, which Saul attributes to David without knowing what has happened.

THE PATTERN

What is visible can prompt an explanation that outruns what is actually known.

Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

1 Samuel 1:13 · KJVEli interprets what he sees without hearing Hannah’s words, just as Saul explains David’s absence without knowing its cause.

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

Proverbs 18:13 · KJVThe proverb names the gap between an early conclusion and the knowledge that comes from hearing the matter.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

John 20:15 · KJVMary sees Jesus but mistakes who he is, showing how a plausible explanation can conceal what is present.

THE THREAD

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Psalm 51:7 · KJV

Psalm 51 uses the same root ⁨טהר⁩ (ṭ-h-r), meaning to be clean or pure, as Saul’s repeated words. Here the root appears in a plea for cleansing, making clear that cleanness is a condition, not something Saul can know from David’s absence alone.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us