1 Samuel 20:39
in 1 Samuel 20But the boy did not know anything; only Jonathan and David knew the arrangement.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the lad knew not anything: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
KJV
But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 20
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
But the boy did not know anything
on 1 Samuel 20:39-40
The narrator states that "the boy did not know anything." Jonathan sends him back to the city with the equipment. Only two men in the kingdom know what the arrows meant, which is how a covenant Saul would kill to break has to be kept.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
6 If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. 7 If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:98%@v6-7
But the lad knew not anything,.... What was meant by shooting the arrows, and by shooting them beyond where he was, and by bidding him make haste to bring them: only Jonathan and David knew the matter; what was signified by them, those being signs agreed upon between them.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַנַּ֖עַר | vehanaar | and the lad | H5288 → | 239 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָדַ֣ע | yada' | he knew | H3045 → | 945 times |
| מְא֑וּמָה | meumah | anything | H3972 → | 32 times |
| אַ֤ךְ | ʾakh | only | H389 → | 161 times |
| יְהֽוֹנָתָן֙ | yehonatan | Jonathan | H3083 → | 81 times |
| וְדָוִ֔ד | vedavid | and David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| יָדְע֖וּ | yadeu | they knew | H3045 → | 945 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדָּבָֽר׃ | hadavar | the matter | H1697 → | 1440 times |
וְהַנַּ֖עַרand the lad
vehanaarH5288 →239 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָדַ֣עhe knew
yada'H3045 →945 times
מְא֑וּמָהanything
meumahH3972 →32 times
אַ֤ךְonly
ʾakhH389 →161 times
יְהֽוֹנָתָן֙Jonathan
yehonatanH3083 →81 times
וְדָוִ֔דand David
vedavidH1732 →999 times
יָדְע֖וּthey knew
yadeuH3045 →945 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַדָּבָֽר׃the matter
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonEarly monarchyJonathanSon of King Saul who climbed a cliff to rout a garrison on the conviction that nothing restrains Jehovah; cut a covenant of steadf…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.