1 Samuel 20:29
in 1 Samuel 20saying, ‘Please let me go, because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me go and see my brothers.’ That is why he did not come to the king’s table.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he is not come unto the king’s table.
KJV
And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king’s table.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseOur family hath a sacrifice - Such sacrifices were undoubtedly festal ones; the beasts slain for the occasion were first offered to God, and their blood poured out before him; afterwards all that were bidden to the feast ate of the flesh. This was a family entertainment, at the commencement of which God was peculiarly honored.
This site's exposition
Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal either yesterday or today
on 1 Samuel 20:27-29
By the second day the ordinary explanation has run out, and Saul asks Jonathan directly, calling David only "the son of Jesse" and not by name. Jonathan gives the excuse rehearsed at verse 6, a clan sacrifice at Bethlehem and a brother’s summons, true as far as it goes. Bethlehem covers for David, the town that sent him to Saul’s camp as an errand boy in chapter 17.
This site's exposition
our clan is holding a sacrifice in the city
Adam Clarke describes such clan sacrifices as festal meals. The animals were first offered to God and their blood poured out, and then the invited guests ate the meat. David's excuse sets one sacred meal against another, the clan's table against the king's.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That he was absent upon a good occasion, keeping the feast in another place, though not here, sent for by his elder brother, who was now more respectful to him than he had been ( ch. xvii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And he said, let me go, I pray thee, for our family hath a sacrifice in the city,....
The words behind it
29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֡אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שַׁלְּחֵ֣נִי | shalecheni | let go me | H7971 → | 845 times |
| נָ֡א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| זֶבַח֩ | zevach | a sacrifice of | H2077 → | 162 times |
| מִשְׁפָּחָ֨ה | mishpachah | [the] clan | H4940 → | 303 times |
| לָ֜נוּ | lanu | [belongs] to <the> us | ||
| בָּעִ֗יר | bair | in the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וְה֤וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| צִוָּֽה־ | tzivah- | he has commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| לִי֙ | li | to <the> me | ||
| אָחִ֔י | ʾachi | brother my | H251 → | 630 times |
| וְעַתָּ֗ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| מָצָ֤אתִי | matzati | I have found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חֵן֙ | chen | favor | H2580 → | 69 times |
| בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ | beeineikha | in view your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אִמָּ֥לְטָה | ʾimaltah | let me slip away | H4422 → | 95 times |
| נָּ֖א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| וְאֶרְאֶ֣ה | veereh | so I may see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶחָ֑י | ʾechai | brothers my | H251 → | 630 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֣ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בָ֔א | va' | he has come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שֻׁלְחַ֖ן | shulchan | [the] table of | H7979 → | |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ ס | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיֹּ֡אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שַׁלְּחֵ֣נִיlet go me
shalecheniH7971 →845 times
נָ֡אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
זֶבַח֩a sacrifice of
zevachH2077 →162 times
מִשְׁפָּחָ֨ה[the] clan
mishpachahH4940 →303 times
לָ֜נוּ[belongs] to <the> us
lanu
בָּעִ֗ירin the city
bairH5892 →1090 times
וְה֤וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
צִוָּֽה־he has commanded
tzivah-H6680 →494 times
לִי֙to <the> me
li
אָחִ֔יbrother my
ʾachiH251 →630 times
וְעַתָּ֗הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
מָצָ֤אתִיI have found
matzatiH4672 →455 times
חֵן֙favor
chenH2580 →69 times
בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָin view your
beeineikhaH5869 →887 times
אִמָּ֥לְטָהlet me slip away
ʾimaltahH4422 →95 times
נָּ֖אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
וְאֶרְאֶ֣הso I may see
veerehH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֶחָ֑יbrothers my
ʾechaiH251 →630 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֣ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
בָ֔אhe has come
va'H935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שֻׁלְחַ֖ן[the] table of
shulchanH7979 →
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ סthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 17:28Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep…
it leads to
- Matthew 10:36
A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
- Genesis 37:4
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
- Proverbs 18:19
An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city, and disputes are like the bars of a castle.
- Genesis 37:11
And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.
- Genesis 37:8
“Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements.
- Matthew 10:36
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.