1 Samuel 24:21

21 Swear now therefore to 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 findeth his enemy, will he let him go away well? wherefore the LORD reward thee with good, for what thou hast done to me this day.

20 And now, behold, I know well that thou wilt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in thy hand.

21 Swear now therefore to 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 to Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men repaired to the hold.