1 Samuel 23:17

17 Jonathan said to him, "Don't be afraid! My father Saul's hand won't touch you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul knows this."

1 Samuel 23:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:17

And he said unto him, fear not
Distrust not the power, providence, and promises of God, nor dread the wrath of Saul, or fear falling into his hands:

for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee;
to lay hold on him, seize him, and do him any hurt:

and thou shalt be king over Israel;
meaning after the death of his father; which he knew either by some special revelation made to him; or rather by being informed he had been anointed by Samuel, and which he had either from Samuel or from David himself; and this he most firmly believed, though David was now in so low a condition:

and I shall be next unto thee;
not succeed him in the kingdom; but if living when he came to the throne, he should be the second man in civil affairs, as he now was, and that he should be content with:

and that also Saul my father knoweth;
having knowledge of the anointing of David by Samuel; or he might, and did conclude this from various circumstances, that David was his neighbour Samuel had told him of, God had given his kingdom to, ( 1 Samuel 15:28 ) .

1 Samuel 23:17 In-Context

15 While David was at Horesh in the Ziph wilderness he learned that Saul was looking to kill him.

16 Saul's son Jonathan came to David at Horesh and encouraged him with God.

17 Jonathan said to him, "Don't be afraid! My father Saul's hand won't touch you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul knows this."

18 Then the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. David stayed at Horesh, but Jonathan went back home.

19 Some Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah. "David is hiding among us in the fortresses at Horesh on the hill of Hachilah, south of Jeshimon," they said.