1 Samuel 23:17

1Sa 23:17 And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth.

Ver. 17. And I shall be next unto thee.] In heaven he might be, but not on earth, because prevented by death; but otherwise they might have lived together in as great unity and unanimity as did lately Frederick and John, dukes of Saxony; who as they dwelt both in one and the same house, so their mutual love grew to the last, in utriusque periculis et gravissimis deliberationibus, saith mine author, {a} dum omnia in rep. communicatis sententiis constituebant; so that they did nothing in the commonwealth without one another’s counsel and consent. Those that say, as some do, that Jonathan is next unto David in heaven, have as little assurance of it as those that tell us - but who told them? - that John Baptist, for his humility, {Mat 3:11} hath the same place in heaven that Lucifer lost by his pride.

{a} Exner.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa_23:17

I shall be next unto thee.

A sermon to boys

This conduct of the kings son teaches some important lessons.

1. Stand by the weak and defenceless. There is no nobler feature in any boys character than a determination to do this.

2. We also learn to be content with a lower place when God has clearly marked out another for a higher. Jonathan saw that God was with David, and he made his own conduct to serve Gods purpose. Be always on the look out to render others service. Fear not the taunts of men or the frowns of the world. Take Christ as your pattern. For yourselves do not forget that unselfishness is the ornament of every true man, the mark of every true gentleman, the essence of pure religion, and the germ of an undying character. (Arthur Vinter.)

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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 23:17. Thou shalt be king, and I shall be next unto thee — Or, hold the second place in the kingdom; which words import thus much: I do not look to be king myself, as by my birth I might expect, but that thou shalt be king, God having so appointed, and I but in a secondary place, inferior to thee. The first part of this sentence Jonathan might well speak, as he had the promise of God for it, which must stand; but the other he spoke in human confidence, and the event showed how little is to be built on that. He ought, as we ought all to do with respect to what is future and only in expectation, to have spoken in the language of St. James: “If the Lord will, I shall be next unto thee.” And that also my father knoweth — For he could not but remember what Samuel told him, (1Sa 15:28,) and, from David’s wonderful successes, he probably inferred that he was the person of whom Samuel spake.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23:17 You are going to be the king. . . I will be next to you (literally second to you): Jonathan recognized God’s selection of David and renounced any personal ambition to the throne. Jonathan never occupied an official position in David’s court but was killed in battle along with his father (31:2).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Jonathan assureth David, that God will accomplish his promise, and that his father striveth against his own conscience.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(17) And I shall be next unto thee.—To us—who read a few pages on in the record of these times how this same generous, loving friend found a grave on Mount Gilboa instead of a home with David, whom he admired with so ungrudging an admiration—these words of Jonathan possess a pathetic interest of their own. That brave, romantic career was nearly run when he met David for the last time in the woods of Ziph. As far as we can judge, if Jonathan had lived he would have certainly ceded any rights he had to the throne of his father Saul in favour of David, unlike that other comparatively unknown son of Saul, Ishbosheth, who set up as a rival claimant to the son of Jesse. But his generosity was not to be exposed to any such severe test, and David was spared the presence of such a rival as the gallant and gifted Jonathan would assuredly have been to him.

And that also Saul my father knoweth.—It is very likely by this time that the circumstance of Samuel’s mysterious anointing of the son of Jesse years before at Bethlehem had become known to Saul. Now that David had been openly proclaimed a public enemy, and that the king had repeatedly and openly sought his life, there was no reason for any concealment. No doubt, by this time very many in Israel looked on him as the anointed successor of Saul. The covenant alluded to in the next verse was, of course, the old covenant of eternal friendship which they had made when they parted outside Gibeah at the New Moon feast, as we find related at length in 1 Samuel 20.

After this meeting David never looked on Jonathan’s face in life again.

“Oh, heart of fire! misjudged by wilful man,

Thou flower of Jesse’s race!

What woe was thine when thou and Jonathan

Last greeted face to face!

He doomed to die, thou on us to impress

The portent of a blood-stained holiness.”

Lyra Apostolica.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. Saul my father knoweth] Both that thou art destined to be king (see on 1Sa_18:9), and that I am ready to resign my claims in thy favour. This is the climax of Jonathan’s unselfish generosity.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he said unto him, fear not,.... Distrust not the power, providence, and promises of God, nor dread the wrath of Saul, or fear falling into his hands:

for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; to lay hold on him, seize him, and do him any hurt:

and thou shalt be king over Israel; meaning after the death of his father; which he knew either by some special revelation made to him; or rather by being informed he had been anointed by Samuel, and which he had either from Samuel or from David himself; and this he most firmly believed, though David was now in so low a condition:

and I shall be next unto thee; not succeed him in the kingdom; but if living when he came to the throne, he should be the second man in civil affairs, as he now was, and that he should be content with:

and that also Saul my father knoweth; having knowledge of the anointing of David by Samuel; or he might, and did conclude this from various circumstances, that David was his neighbour Samuel had told him of, God had given his kingdom to, Sa1 15:28.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Next, in dignity; thy helper and associate. See Ecclesiastes iv. 8, 11. --- This, our league, (Calmet) or the decree appointing David to be king. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I shall be next unto thee; which he gathered either from David’s generosity, ingenuousness, and true friendship to him; or from some promise made to him by David concerning it. Or the meaning of the words, next unto thee, may be as much as to say, I shall be under thee, after thee, or inferior to thee, as the phrase tibi secundus oft signifies. So that the whole imports thus much: I do not look to be king myself, (as by my birth I might expect,) but that thou shalt be king, (God having so appointed,) and I but in a secondary place inferior to thee.

That also Saul my father knoweth, by strong and well-grounded conjectures, as hath been noted.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Next to thee - Which he gathered either from David's generosity, and friendship to him; or from some promise made to him by David concerning it. So that the whole imports thus much; I do not look to be king myself (as by my birth I might expect,) but that thou shalt be king (God having so appointed) and I but in a secondary place inferior to thee.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

For the hand of Saul my father will not find you

Here "hand" is a metonym for Saul and his power. AT: "For Saul my father will not find you" or "For Saul my father will never be able to have power over you" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

Saul (OT)

king

Israel

know

covenant

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.