What Does 1 Samuel 20:40 Mean in the King James?
And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.
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
The boy’s errand sends him out of earshot, turning a visible handoff into cover for a private signal.
THE MEANING
A visible handoff can hold two purposes at once: the equipment reaches the city, and the errand opens space for a message that cannot be spoken before the lad. The verse shows how an ordinary instruction can carry meaning through its timing and movement.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that only spoken words communicate: here, the direction and timing of the errand carry meaning too.
THE ROOT
וַיִּתֵּן
wayyitten
GROWS FROM
נתן
n-t-n
Give, set, place
“gave” in this verse is wayyitten. The Hebrew verb holds giving and placing together. Jonathan puts the equipment into the lad’s care, so the transfer also becomes a way to place the message in motion.
ALSO GROWS
mattānāh: Gift
מַתָּנָה
A gift is something given into another’s hands; here the handoff carries an added purpose.
nātūn: Given, set, placed
נָתוּן
This branch makes the placement in the lad’s care visible: what is set with him can also be carried onward.
הָבֵא
hāvēʾ
GROWS FROM
בוא
b-w-ʾ
Come, enter, arrive; in this form, bring or cause to come
The command points beyond the labor of carrying toward an arrival: bring the equipment to the city. The destination is part of the action, making the lad’s movement carry the signal forward.
ALSO GROWS
bōʾ: Come, enter
בּוֹא
The root centers arrival, which gives the instruction a clear destination.
māvōʾ: Entrance, approach
מָבוֹא
This branch connects bringing something to its arrival point with reaching an entrance or approach.
THE PATTERN
An ordinary task can carry a private signal through the movement it sets in motion.
But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away.And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.THE THREAD
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.The next verse reveals what the departure makes possible: David emerges only after the lad is gone. The errand marks the threshold between a public signal and the private meeting.
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