What Does 2 Samuel 1:7 Mean in the King James?
And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I.
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 says Saul turned toward the one behind him: the encounter begins with a turn before it becomes a call and an answer.
THE MEANING
The verse holds a clear sequence: Saul turns, sees, calls, and receives an answer. “Here am I” is הִנֵּנִי (hineni), literally “Behold me”: the speaker answers as someone present, not merely someone spotted.
THE ROOT
וַיִּפֶן
vayyifen
GROWS FROM
פנה
To turn or face toward.
“looked” in this verse is vayyifen. The Hebrew verb is not simply seeing; it carries the motion of turning. The verse’s attention shifts through a sequence: Saul turns toward what is behind him, sees the man, and then calls him.
ALSO GROWS
panim: Face; presence.
פָּנִים
The face is where turning becomes visible: Saul’s turn brings the man behind him into view.
lifne: Before; in front of.
לִפְנֵי
This branch carries the sense of what is brought into someone’s presence, echoing the movement from behind Saul to before his attention.
וַיִּקְרָא
vayyiqra
GROWS FROM
קרא
To call out, proclaim, or summon.
“called” in this verse is vayyiqra. The call does more than follow Saul’s sight: it addresses the man and draws out a response. The answer, הִנֵּנִי (hineni), means “Behold me; here I am”, presence made explicit.
ALSO GROWS
miqra: A convocation or reading aloud.
מִקְרָא
The same root can gather people through a summons or gather attention through spoken words.
qeri'ah: A calling or reading.
קְרִיאָה
Calling is an act that brings something into hearing; here, Saul’s voice turns seeing into direct exchange.
THE PATTERN
A summons turns someone from being noticed into being present through an answer.
That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.THE THREAD
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.Abraham’s “Behold, here I am” is the same Hebrew response, הִנֵּנִי (hineni), found in this verse. In both passages, a call is met not with an explanation but with a declaration of presence.
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