The Meaning of 1 Samuel 26:4 Explained

1 Samuel 26:4

KJV: David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed.

YLT: and David sendeth spies, and knoweth that Saul hath come unto Nachon,

Darby: David sent out spies, and learned that Saul was certainly come.

ASV: David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come of a certainty.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

David  therefore sent out  spies,  and understood  that Saul  was come  in very deed. 

What does 1 Samuel 26:4 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 26:1-12 - Sparing His Enemy's Life
The Ziphites' treachery served as a foil to the intrinsic nobility of David's character. God made the wrath of man to praise Him, and restrained the remainder, Psalms 76:10, so that His servant escaped as a bird out of the fowler's snare. Read here, Psalms 54:1-7.
It was a bold act for David and Abishai to thread their way between watch-fires and sentries, and talk in whispers over the prostrate body of the sleeping monarch. As David says in one of the Psalms, "By thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall." The special share attributed here to God is the deep sleep which had fallen on the camp, 1 Samuel 26:12. The Lord who put the resolve into David's mind, cooperated in its execution. We are sometimes led by a divine impulse, and God will set His seal on our act; but we should not throw ourselves into peril unless the occasion plainly requires it. We are not at liberty to cast ourselves down from the mountain, unless it is clearly God's will. In David's case, there was sufficient reason for this adventure; first, that Saul might be warned once more; and second, that the integrity of the young outlaw might be established. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 26

1  Saul, by the discovery of the Ziphites, comes to Hachilah against David
4  David coming into the trench keeps Abishai from killing Saul,
11  but takes his spear and jug
13  David reproves Abner
17  and exhorts Saul
21  Saul acknowledges his sin

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 26:4 mean?

Therefore sent out David spies and understood that had come Saul was come in indeed
וַיִּשְׁלַ֥ח דָּוִ֖ד מְרַגְּלִ֑ים וַיֵּ֕דַע כִּֽי־ בָ֥א שָׁא֖וּל אֶל־ נָכֽוֹן

וַיִּשְׁלַ֥ח  Therefore  sent  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
דָּוִ֖ד  David 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
מְרַגְּלִ֑ים  spies 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine plural
Root: רָגַל  
Sense: to go on foot, spy out, foot it, go about, walk along, move the feet.
וַיֵּ֕דַע  and  understood 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
כִּֽי־  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
בָ֥א  had  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
שָׁא֖וּל  Saul 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁאוּל  
Sense: a Benjamite, son of Kish, and the st king of Israel.
אֶל־  was  come  in 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
נָכֽוֹן  indeed 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: כּוּן 
Sense: to be firm, be stable, be established.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Samuel 26:4?

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