What Does 1 Samuel 23:4 Mean in the King James?
Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
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 deliverance is phrased as a giving: the outcome is placed in David’s hand as he is told to rise and move toward it.
THE MEANING
When a question remains, asking again can be part of the path; the answer brings a next step with it. You are told both to rise and go down, while the outcome is spoken of as being given into your hand. The verse holds action and received outcome together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Needing to ask again means you have failed to hear the first answer.
THE ROOT
נֹתֵן
noten
GROWS FROM
נתן
n-t-n
Give, set, place.
The verb behind “deliver” is the ordinary verb for giving or placing: “I am giving the Philistines into your hand.” English keeps the sense of rescue while the Hebrew also pictures the outcome being placed in David’s hand.
ALSO GROWS
netinah: Giving, donation.
נְתִינָה
This branch keeps the act as a transfer, clarifying that the outcome is given into David’s hand.
mattanah: Gift, present.
מַתָּנָה
This branch carries the same root into the concrete sense of something given.
וַיּוֹסֶף
wayyosef
GROWS FROM
יסף
y-s-f
Add, continue, do again.
The Hebrew says David “added still” to ask, making repeated inquiry an extension of seeking. The English “again” can hide the sense of adding another question.
ALSO GROWS
yasaf: Add, increase, continue.
יָסַף
This verb names the continuing action carried by David’s asking again.
tosefet: Addition, supplement.
תּוֹסֶפֶת
This noun shows the root’s sense of something added, like another inquiry.
דָּוִד
Dawid
GROWS FROM
דוד
d-w-d
Beloved; kinsman.
David’s name is associated with the root for beloved. The verse holds that name alongside continued asking: being the beloved does not cancel inquiry, and the answer meets it with a clear next movement and a given outcome.
ALSO GROWS
dod: Beloved one; male kinsman.
דּוֹד
This is the root word associated with David’s name and its sense of belovedness.
dodim: Loves, affections.
דּוֹדִים
This related form carries the root into the language of love and affection.
THE PATTERN
Seeking receives an answer as both guidance for the next step and what God gives.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.THE THREAD
And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim.The same root נתן (natan, give or place) stands behind “delivered” in Judges 3:10, where an enemy is given into the judge’s hand. The shared wording reveals how this verse pictures deliverance: the opposing force is placed into someone’s hand, in an explicit battle scene.
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