What Does 1 Samuel 24:4 Mean in the King James?
And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe privily.
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 men frame Saul’s placement within David’s reach as permission, yet David’s cut stops at the robe’s “wing”, its outer edge, not Saul himself.
THE MEANING
Your adversary may come within reach, and others may call that access a license. David’s hand reaches Saul’s robe, cutting only its wing, the garment’s outer edge; Saul remains untouched. The verse holds available power alongside a chosen limit.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Being given access to someone means I am entitled to do whatever seems good to me.
THE ROOT
נֹתֵן
nōtēn
GROWS FROM
נתן
n-t-n
to give, set, or place
“deliver” in this verse is nōtēn. The Hebrew verb carries the sense of giving or placing. The root establishes that Saul is put within David’s reach; the permission the men attach to that placement comes in the words around it. The verse lets opportunity and action remain distinct.
ALSO GROWS
mattānāh: A thing given.
מַתָּנָה
This noun makes the root’s sense of giving visible: what is given can be received, but the word itself does not dictate what the recipient does next.
nittan: A passive form of the root, describing something as given or placed.
נִתַּן
It highlights the position Saul occupies in the men’s claim: placed within David’s reach, without making the next action automatic.
כְּנַף
kənaf
GROWS FROM
כנף
k-n-f
wing, outer edge, or extremity
The KJV’s “skirt” gives only a garment detail. The Hebrew word also means wing and outer edge, so the cut lands on the robe’s projecting edge, its “wing.”
ALSO GROWS
kānāf: A wing, including a bird’s wing.
כָּנָף
The same word names the robe’s edge here, allowing the fabric to be heard as a wing rather than just a hem.
kanfē: The plural form used for wings or outer edges.
כַּנְפֵי
The word can describe the outermost reach of something; David’s cut takes only that edge of Saul’s covering.
וַיִּכְרֹת
wayyikrot
GROWS FROM
כרת
k-r-t
to cut or sever
“cut off” in this verse is wayyikrot. The verb for David’s cut also appears in the Hebrew idiom for making a covenant: literally, “cut a covenant.” The root holds both severing and covenant-making, giving this small cut a word with the weight of a marked bond, though this verse itself names no covenant.
ALSO GROWS
kārat berit: The Hebrew expression for making a covenant, literally “cut a covenant.”
כָּרַת בְּרִית
The same cutting verb can mark a consequential bond, revealing a wider force behind the word used for David’s action.
kārēt: A form expressing severance or being cut off.
כָּרֵת
This branch keeps the root’s force of separation in view as David cuts a piece away from Saul’s robe.
THE PATTERN
Power becomes visible in the limits a person places on what is within reach.
There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?THE THREAD
The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’s anointed.The verb translated “delivered” comes from נתן (natan, “give” or “place”), the same root as the placement described in this verse. David states the tension plainly: Saul is placed in his hand, yet he does not strike him.
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