What Does 1 Samuel 31:2 Mean in the King James?
And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons.
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 Hebrew verb for the Philistines’ pursuit is also used for cleaving: here, closeness becomes the grip that kills.
THE MEANING
The Philistines catch Saul and his sons, and their attack kills Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua. The verse names each son as the violence reaches the family. This pursuit closes in with lethal force.
THE ROOT
וַיַּדְבְּקוּ
wayyadbequ
GROWS FROM
דבק
To cling, stick fast, or cleave.
“followed hard” in this verse is wayyadbequ. The word for the Philistines’ relentless pursuit carries the sense of clinging close. The root itself does not make that closeness loving: its character comes from who clings and what that grip does.
ALSO GROWS
dabaq: To cling, cleave, or hold fast.
דָּבַק
Genesis uses this root for a man cleaving to his wife, showing the intimacy the same word can carry.
deveqah: Clinging or cleaving; the form used of a feminine subject.
דָּבְקָה
Psalm 63:8 uses this form for a living soul clinging to God, a striking contrast with the Philistines’ deadly pursuit.
יְהוֹנָתָן
Yehonatan
GROWS FROM
נתן
To give, set, or place.
Jonathan’s name carries the sense “YHWH has given.” The verse reports his killing without turning it into a metaphor; his name still holds the nature of a gift as it names the person taken.
ALSO GROWS
natan: To give, set, or place.
נָתַן
This verb is embedded in Yehonatan’s name: “YHWH has given.”
mattanah: A gift.
מַתָּנָה
This related word makes the giving carried in Jonathan’s name audible beside the verse’s stark report of his death.
THE PATTERN
Clinging takes its character from its direction: the same Hebrew root names covenantal attachment, loyal attachment, and a pursuit that kills.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.THE THREAD
My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.The Hebrew verb behind “followeth hard after” is the same דבק (dabaq) verb translated “followed hard” here. In the Psalm, the speaker clings toward God and is upheld; in this battle, the Philistines’ clinging pursuit ends with three sons killed.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us