What Does 2 Samuel 3:9 Mean in the King James?
So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to David, even so I do to him;
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 oath places Abner under the consequence of his own words as he binds his action to what the LORD has sworn to David.
THE MEANING
This verse shows an oath as speech that exposes its speaker to consequence: Abner calls judgment down on himself if he fails to act as the LORD has sworn to David. His pledge does more than declare allegiance; it places his own future under the words he speaks. The repeated word for “do” links the judgment he invokes on himself with the action he promises toward David.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that an oath is only emphasis and leaves its speaker untouched. Abner invokes judgment against himself if he fails to keep his word.
THE ROOT
נִשְׁבַּע
nishbaʿ
GROWS FROM
שׁבע
To swear or take an oath; the same consonants also name seven.
“sworn” in this verse is nishbaʿ. The oath word shares its consonants, ש־ב־ע, with שֶׁבַע (shevaʿ, seven). This sound-link gives the vow a solemn resonance, heard again in Beer-sheba, without making this verse literally about a count of seven.
ALSO GROWS
shevuʿah: Oath
שְׁבוּעָה
This noun keeps the act of swearing visible as a binding pledge, not a verbal flourish.
shevaʿ: Seven
שֶׁבַע
It shares the consonants ש־ב־ע with the oath word; Genesis 21:31 makes that echo audible in the name Beer-sheba.
יַעֲשֶׂה
yaʿaseh
GROWS FROM
עשה
To do, make, or bring about.
The Hebrew repeats עשה: Abner asks that God “do” judgment to him, then says he will “do” to David as the LORD swore. The shared root makes the curse and the promised action mirror each other, tying his words to what he brings about.
ALSO GROWS
maʿaseh: Deed or work
מַעֲשֶׂה
The branch names action as something done, sharpening the movement from oath to deed.
ʿasiyyah: Doing or action
עֲשִׂיָּה
This form keeps the root’s sense of bringing something into action, as Abner promises to act on the sworn word.
דָּוִד
Dāwīd
GROWS FROM
דוד
Beloved; the related kinship word can also mean uncle.
David’s name echoes the Hebrew word for “beloved.” That resonance adds relational weight to the oath’s promised action, alongside the severe consequence Abner invokes for himself.
ALSO GROWS
dōd: Beloved; also a kinship term meaning uncle
דּוֹד
This word gives David’s name its beloved resonance.
dōdîm: Loves or caresses
דּוֹדִים
The same consonants carry affection as well as kinship, deepening the name’s relational sound.
THE PATTERN
An oath makes a spoken commitment answerable to the witness invoked and the terms declared.
Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,THE THREAD
Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them.“Hath sworn” here and “sware” there draw on שׁבע (š-b-ʿ), the same consonants as שֶׁבַע (shevaʿ, seven). Beer-sheba (בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, Beʾer-shevaʿ) joins “well” with that oath-and-seven echo, making the root’s solemn binding audible.
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