1 Samuel 24:21

21 Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house."

1 Samuel 24:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 24:21

Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord
By the Word of the Lord, as the, Targum:

that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me;
as was usually done in despotic governments in the eastern countries, and is at this day, when one is advanced to the throne of another, by whom issue is left, who may be rivals and competitors with him:

and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house;
by cutting off his seed, the same thing in different words repeated, for the confirmation of it; children bear the names of their fathers, and by them their memory is perpetuated, and cutting off them is destroying the name of their parents.

1 Samuel 24:21 In-Context

19 For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? Therefore the LORD reward thee good for what thou hast done unto me this day.

20 And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.

21 Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house."

22 And David swore unto Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men got themselves up unto the stronghold.