1 Samuel 20 Study Notes

20:23 Jonathan invoked the Lord’s oversight on his and David’s agreement and their relationship.

20:24-25 Saul’s seat by the wall offered greater security since no one could approach him from behind.

20:26 Saul’s assumption that David was ceremonially unclean rested on his knowledge of David’s faith, which would have prohibited him from partaking of the meal (Lv 7:20-21).

20:27 Saul became suspicious on the second day, when uncleanness would not have required David’s absence.

20:28-29 Jonathan explained David’s absence along the basic lines the two of them had agreed on (v. 6).

20:30 Saul’s words, son of a perverse and rebellious woman, were an insult to Jonathan by defaming the character of his mother Ahinoam (14:50).

20:31 Saul’s reference to your kingship reveals that he intended for Jonathan to succeed him, despite Samuel’s pronouncement against his house (13:13-14). Send for him and bring him to me indicated Saul’s belief that Jonathan knew David’s whereabouts.

20:32 Jonathan cared about justice, not about the personal gain his father suggested might be in store for him. He would show loyalty to David, no matter what.

20:33 Saul threw his spear at Jonathan because he had sided with the king’s enemy.

20:34 Jonathan was angry and sad over what had happened. It was his father’s shameful behavior toward David that pained Jonathan more than having to dodge his father’s spear.

20:35-39 Jonathan’s words, The arrow is beyond you, signaled trouble for David (v. 22). He knew that David needed to flee as quickly as possible.

20:40 Though the coded signal had been sent and Jonathan could have departed, perhaps he could not bear to leave without talking with David first, so he sent the servant away. The yearning for a personal farewell led them to abandon the caution afforded them by their system of signals.

20:41 David’s position shows the stone Ezel probably lay south of Gibeah, so that when Jonathan came out with his servant, they would not immediately see him. David payed homage (bowed) three times as a sign of his respect and admiration for Jonathan, and they kissed each other—a common sign of greeting and farewell among close friends in that culture. They wept because both sensed they might not see each other again.

20:42 Go in the assurance is literally “Go in peace.” Jonathan could say this to David because of what they pledged in the name of the Lord—on his authority and with him as a witness. The two of them would always remain friends, and they would do all they could to ensure their friendship extended to their offspring. David then left, heading southward (21:1), while Jonathan went into the city, where soon he would have to face his father again.