1 Samuel 20:26

26 But Saul said nothing on that day, for he thought, "{Something happened to him}. He [is] not [ceremonially] clean; surely he [is] not clean."

1 Samuel 20:26 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:26

Nevertheless, Saul spake not anything that day
About David's absence, took no notice of it, said nothing about it:

for he thought something had befallen him;
some impurity, some nocturnal pollution, see ( Leviticus 15:16 ) ;

he [is] not clean, surely he [is] not clean;
which he repeated in his mind for the confirmation of it, and in contempt, and to the reproach of David; and in this way he accounted for his absence the first day, and so was easy, it not being lawful and fitting for an unclean person in a ceremonial sense to eat of the peace offerings, which Saul and his family were now partaking of.

1 Samuel 20:26 In-Context

24 So David hid himself in the field. {When the new moon came}, {the king was seated at the feast}.
25 The king sat at his seat {as before}, the seat by the wall, and Jonathan got up, and Abner sat beside Saul, but David's place was empty.
26 But Saul said nothing on that day, for he thought, "{Something happened to him}. He [is] not [ceremonially] clean; surely he [is] not clean."
27 {And then} on the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David's place was empty. So Saul asked Jonathan his son, "Why did the son of Jesse not come either yesterday or today to the feast?"
28 Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked permission from me [to go] up to Bethlehem.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "It [is] incident"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.