2 Samuel 1:14
in 2 Samuel 1So David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to put forth thy hand to destroy Jehovah’s anointed?
KJV
And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?
⋯
This verse in 2 Samuel 1
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWe know that David went beyond the precepts of the law when, despite Moses' command to pay back one's enemies in kind, he not only did not do this but even embraced his persecutors in love, prayed devoutly to the Lord on their behalf, even wept mournfully for them and revenged them when they were slain.
This site's exposition
I am the son of a foreigner
on 2 Samuel 1:13-14
Verse 14 asks why he was “not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed”, the ground of David's restraint toward Saul. The same title and the same reasoning stand at 1 Samuel 24 and 26 and again at 2 Samuel 19:21 over Shimei.
This site's exposition
Why were you not afraid
Augustine cites this verse to teach that no man may kill another without lawful authority, even when the dying man has begged for it. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown add that David had to clear himself in Israel. David had no hand in the death of Saul.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But when no laws or lawful authorities give command, it is not lawful to kill another, even if he wishes and asks for it and has no longer the strength to live, as is clearly proved by the Scripture in the book of Kings [Samuel], where King David ordered the slayer of King Saul to be put to death, although he said that he had been importuned by the wounded and half-dead king to kill him with one blow and to free his soul struggling with the fetters of the body and longing to be released from those torments.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And his lying to David, if indeed it was a lie, was highly criminal, and proved, as sooner or later that sin will prove, lying against his own head. He did honourably and well.
And David said unto him, how, wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In present circumstances it was especially important that his principle should be publicly known; and to free himself from the imputation of being in any way accessory to the execrable crime of regicide was the part of a righteous judge, no less than of a good politician.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֖יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דָּוִ֑ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֵ֚יךְ | ʾeikh | how? | H349 → | 82 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָרֵ֔אתָ | yareta | were you afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| לִשְׁלֹ֙חַ֙ | lishloach | to stretch out | H7971 → | 845 times |
| יָֽדְךָ֔ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| לְשַׁחֵ֖ת | leshachet | to destroy | H7843 → | 146 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מְשִׁ֥יחַ | meshiach | [the] [one] anointed of | H4899 → | 39 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֖יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
דָּוִ֑דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֵ֚יךְhow?
ʾeikhH349 →82 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָרֵ֔אתָwere you afraid
yaretaH3372 →315 times
לִשְׁלֹ֙חַ֙to stretch out
lishloachH7971 →845 times
יָֽדְךָ֔hand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 times
לְשַׁחֵ֖תto destroy
leshachetH7843 →146 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מְשִׁ֥יחַ[the] [one] anointed of
meshiachH4899 →39 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Numbers 12:8I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 34:10
Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face—
- 1 Corinthians 13:12
Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
- Exodus 33:11
Thus the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun would not…
- Exodus 24:10–11
and they saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was a work like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.
- Exodus 33:23
Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”
- Deuteronomy 34:10
Through
2 Peter 2:10Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.
it leads to
- Jude 1:16
These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.
- Jude 1:10
These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively.
- Jude 1:18
when they said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow after their own ungodly desires.”
- Jude 1:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, Letter 204; Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 204; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 21.4.2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.