What Does 1 Samuel 23:18 Mean in the King James?
And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
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
Hebrew says they “cut” a covenant, and that binding act remains as David stays and Jonathan goes home.
THE MEANING
A bond made before the LORD can hold even when two people are in different places. David stays in the wood; Jonathan returns to his house, and the verse holds their commitment and their separation together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A person’s departure means the bond is over. Here, Jonathan goes home while the covenant still stands.
THE ROOT
כָּרְתוּ
karatu
GROWS FROM
כרת
karat
Cut; cut off.
“made a covenant” in this verse is karatu. The verb translated “made” is karat, “cut”; the Hebrew phrase is literally “cut a covenant.” That wording gives the bond the force of a decisive act, which remains in place as the two men part.
ALSO GROWS
karat berit: Cut a covenant.
כרת ברית
This is the phrase used in the verse; its literal image gives depth to the English “made a covenant.”
hikrit: Cut off; remove.
הִכְרִית
This form from the same root carries the edge of severance, making the root’s cutting image clear.
וַיֵּשֶׁב
vayeishev
GROWS FROM
ישב
yashav
Sit; dwell; remain.
“abode” in this verse is vayeishev. The root gathers sitting, dwelling, and remaining into one word. David remains where he is while Jonathan goes elsewhere, so the covenant does not require them to share a place.
ALSO GROWS
yashav: Sit, dwell, or remain.
יָשַׁב
This root underlies “abode” and gives David’s staying its sense of remaining in place.
moshav: Dwelling place or settlement.
מוֹשָׁב
This related form carries the root’s sense of dwelling, echoing the contrast with Jonathan’s return to his house.
הָלַךְ
halakh
GROWS FROM
הלך
halakh
Go; walk.
“went” in this verse is halakh. Here the verb describes Jonathan going home, while the preceding verb describes David remaining. Their distinct movements sit beside the covenant rather than cancel it.
ALSO GROWS
halakh: Go or walk.
הָלַךְ
This is the verb used for Jonathan’s departure to his house.
halikhah: Going or walking.
הֲלִיכָה
This noun from the same root keeps the sense of movement visible in the contrast with David’s staying.
THE PATTERN
A covenant can bind people beyond the place where it is made.
And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:THE THREAD
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:The Hebrew uses the same phrase, karat berit, literally “cut a covenant,” though the KJV renders it “made a covenant.” That shared root shows the binding act beneath the wording here, as David and Jonathan part while their covenant stands.
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