Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 20:25
And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, [even] upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was empty.
25. upon a seat by the wall ] Saul occupied the place of honour at the top or the centre of the table opposite the entrance.
and Jonathan arose ] This appears to mean that Jonathan first occupied his usual seat by Saul’s side, but when Abner entered resigned the place to him, probably not wishing to sit next his father in David’s absence. The Sept. has a different reading, “And he preceded Jonathan,” which is equally obscure. Josephus says, “When they had sat down beside Saul, Jonathan on the right, and Abner on the left.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1Sa 20:25
Davids place warn empty.
The empty place
And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Sauls side, and Davids place was empty (1Sa 20:25). I shall look at these words in the spirit of accommodation to the ordinance of the Lords Supper. There, too, will be a feast, a feast provided not by an earthly king, but by Him who is the King of kings. Let us consider some of the reasons which may probably be assigned for these vacant places.
1. But some places are empty. Some are empty, and we may envy the men and women, brothers and sisters in Christ, who once sat there, but will sit there no more. They are gone to claim the inheritance of which the Lord said, I will give it you.
2. But other places are vacant not through this heavenly translation. And as we ask, Where are they who usually occupy them? the answer comes, They are suffering under the Lords hand. Yes, many places are empty for this reason, and where this is the reason the vacancy is no reproach.
3. Sometimes Davids place is empty because he is engaged in Christian work.
4. Other places, too, are vacant from motives which are entitled to tender consideration, and which also require as tender correction. They fear they are not in a true and befitting mood for the sacrament. They are cold. They know not bow it is, but somehow the spiritual temperature is low.
5. But other places are empty for reasons less worthy. Their blank spaces tell, it may be, of hearts that are dying through habitual sin, or habitual neglect of the very conditions of life. (E. Mailer, D. D.)
The empty place: A Christmas Day sermon
I. The empty place in the persecutors house: Davids place was empty. David had good reason for vacating his place at Sauls table, for the passionate king was so malicious, and so embittered against him, that he sought his life. The child of a Roman noble had stepped into some little place where humble and unlettered people met to hear the gospel preached, to sing songs in the name of Jesus, and to keep holy one day in the week; and there that youthful heart had learnt the story of the cross, and by the grace of God had been brought to love the Saviour. As soon as the fact was made known, the officers of justice would take away the child from the fathers house, and hale the young believer off to prison, and so another seat was empty. You know how it was in our own land, how many a seat was empty during the persecutions of Queen Mary. If martyr days should come back again, could we vacate our places? Could the husband let his wife and children go for Christs sake?
II. There is another place which sometimes becomes empty, that is, the place of sinful pleasures. This empty place is the result of the working of Gods grace in the heart.
III. The place of our occupation has been empty.
IV. During the past year, many of you now present have had a place is the assembly of Gods people.
V. I have now to say just a few words specially to the members of the church about their place at the prayer meeting.
VI. There is another Davids place that is sometimes empty, and that ought not to be so, it is the place of christian service.
VII. Again, I hope that our place at the Lords table will not be empty at any time when it is possible for us to occupy it.
VIII. When you will be keeping the Christmas feast, there will be many family gatherings, and in those family gatherings there will be some households where Davids place will be empty.
IX. There will be no empty place in heaven. In that great family gathering up above, they will not be able to say, Davids place is empty. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 25. The king sat upon his seat] It seems that there was one table for Saul, Jonathan, David, and Abner; Saul having the chief seat, that next to the wall. As only four sat at this table, the absence of any one would soon be noticed.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Jonathan arose, to wit, from his seat where he was sat next to the king, whence he arose, and stood up at Abners coming, to do honour to him, who was his fathers cousin, and the general of the army. Davids place seems to have been next to Abner, on the same side with him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. the king sat upon his seat, asat other times . . . by the wallThe left-hand corner at theupper end of a room was and still is in the East, the most honorableplace. The person seated there has his left arm confined by the wall,but his right hand is at full liberty. From Abner’s position next theking, and David’s seat being left empty, it would seem that a stateetiquette was observed at the royal table, each of the courtiers andministers having places assigned them according to their respectivegradations of rank.
Jonathan aroseeitheras a mark of respect on the entrance of the king, or in conformitywith the usual Oriental custom for a son to stand in presence of hisfather.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the king sat upon his seat as at other times,…. Upon the seat he usually sat on:
[even] upon a seat by the wall; on a couch by the side of the wall; or, as Jarchi and R. Isaiah say, at the head of the couch by the wall, which was the most honourable place; and Kimchi observes, it was the custom in those days to eat meat sitting on beds or couches, see
1Sa 28:23;
and Jonathan arose; either in reverence to his father, when he came in and took his seat, or in respect to Abner upon his coming in, being the son of Saul’s uncle, and general of the army; for though he arose, he did not depart, it is plain he sat down again, 1Sa 20:34. Kimchi thinks, that after Jonathan had sat down at the side of his father, he arose and placed Abner there, because he would not be near his father, that if he should be wroth with him on account of David, he might not be near him to smite him:
and Abner sat by Saul’s side; according to Josephus c Jonathan sat at his right hand and Abner on the left, and it was usual for the master, or principal person, to sit in the middle; so Dido in Virgil d. Abarbinel places them thus, Saul was at the head of the table, and David was used to sit by him, and Jonathan by David, and Abner by Jonathan; and now the king sat in his place, and Jonathan in his place, and Abner after him; and David’s place being empty, Jonathan was left next to his father, without any between; wherefore he now arose from his place, and Abner sat on that side where Saul was, so that Abner was between Jonathan and Saul:
and David’s place was empty; where he used to sit at table, he not being there, and no one taking it.
c Antiqu. l. 6. c. 11. sect. 9. d “—– mediamque locavit”. Aeneid. 1. prope finem. Vid. Servium in ib.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(25) Davids place was empty.All took place as the two friends had calculated. Sauls seat was by the wallthen, as now, in the East the highest place of honour was opposite the door. The exact meaning of the phrase, and Jonathan arose, has been disputed. The LXX. translate here from a different text thus: He (Saul) went before Jonathan. Keil speaks of this, however, as the senseless rendering of the Greek Version. The sense in which this difficult passage is understood by Abarbanel and Rashi seems on the whole the best. Understanding that Jonathan had already seated himself after Saul, and that Davids absence was observed, he (Jonathan) arose and seated Abner at Sauls side, that is, in the place left vacant by Davids absence, in order that the seat next to Saul might not be empty, he himself having taken the seat on the other side of Saul. This rendering considers vayshev as causative, a verb in the Hipnil conjugation, written defectively, as in 2Ch. 10:2; so Lange, who also quotes Kitto as suggesting an explanation of Sauls expecting Davids presence at all at the new moon feast. David, after the strange events at Naioth by Ramah, would suppose (so the king thought) that Sauls feelings towards him had undergone a complete change, and that now, after the ecstasy into which Saul had fallen, he would be once more friendly with him as aforetime.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. Upon a seat by the wall The uppermost seat opposite the entrance to the room, and consequently by the wall. See cut appended to note on Mat 23:6.
And Jonathan arose The meaning seems to be that Jonathan was sitting by Saul’s side, and when Abner entered he arose and gave to him the seat of honour he had himself been occupying.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 20:25. And the king sat upon his seat The Hebrews, as well as the Egyptians, the ancient Greeks, and the first people of Italy, sat at table. See Gen 37:25; Gen 43:33. Pro 23:1. It appears however, that, after Saul’s time, they began to eat seated upon beds at low tables. Since that epocha, we find divers examples of it in Scripture: though other instances give room to think that the women often continued to be seated upon seats. Saul sat against the wall, which was the place of honour, at a table made in the form of a C, which was to be placed so that the convexity of the circle was next to the wall, and the concavity opposite to the door for the convenience of serving. And Jonathan arose: Houbigant reads, after the Syriac, And Jonathan arose and sat down; but Abner sat by the king’s side; observing, that it is extraordinary to find Jonathan, the king’s son, standing, and Abner, his general, sitting.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(25) And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was empty. (26) Nevertheless Saul spake not anything that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. (27) And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor today? (28) And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem: (29) 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. (30) Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother’s nakedness? (31) For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. (32) And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? (33) And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. (34) So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.
It should seem, that the plan between David and Jonathan for the discovery of the real intention of Saul, was of the Lord. For, humanly speaking, had David sat in his usual place, before Saul, he could not have escaped with his life, when Jonathan’s life became so endangered, only from Saul’s disappointment. How profitable is it to remark the watchful eye of the Lord over his people! Reader! depend upon it, there are a thousand escapes of this kind, more or less, in the lives of God’s children, and of which they are altogether unconscious. When we come to look over the battlements of heaven, and see all the way which the Lord our God hath led us through the wilderness, what songs of praise will burst forth in the view of deliverances? See that sweet promise: Isa 42:16 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“… David’s place was empty.” 1Sa 20:25 .
After describing the local circumstances under which this expression is found, apply it to vacancies at the Lord’s table, or to empty places in the sanctuary itself. How many empty places there are there as a fact! He is not a wise Church statesman who ignores facts, however melancholy and depressing they may be. Probably a correct view of the Church attendance of today would discover that there are more persons out of Church than in it. We must not be afraid of the charge of pessimism, that is, of looking upon the blackest side of all things, and foreboding the most disagreeable issues. First and foremost, let us get at facts and realities, for until we know them in all their magnitude and blackness we cannot address ourselves to remedial measures with any certain and permanent effect. Some are present at the Lord’s table who ought to be absent, because their hearts are not right before God; not only are their hearts not right, but their supreme wish does not lie in the right direction, they are selfish, worldly, unspiritual men, who are present in the sanctuary by custom, or association, or other circumstance, which does not touch the vitality of Christian profession. Parents are absent and are mourned by children. Children are absent, and their absence occasions great heart-yearning on the part of parents. The old wonder that the young do not assemble in greater force at Christian gatherings. Is the philosopher absent? the wise man? the rich man? the man of abounding prosperity, who has never known the agony of heartache, or the darkness of a clouded prospect? The pastor’s eye should always be on the outlook alike for attendance and non-attendance, and whilst he speaks of vacant places he ought to encourage himself by the fact that many places are not vacant. Let every man ask himself why his place is empty. If the reason is a good one, then the man himself is in spirit in the very sanctuary from which his body is absent, and his privacy should be accounted to God as an opportunity for great bestowment of blessing. Everything depends upon the reason of the vacancy. ” Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together.” If we forsake God’s house, what if our house be forsaken of God? There ought to be a place for every man in the sanctuary; so to say, a home-place, one which he can call his own, one which is identified with his presence and influence. What is it to have a name anywhere and everywhere except in the only place which shall abide for ever? Who would write his name with fading blossoms when he can write it with eternal stars? Bodily presence amounts to nothing in the sanctuary unless the heart be also there. God is a Spirit, and he looks for the attendance of spirits.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Varied Treatment.
“… David’s place was empty.” 1Sa 20:25 .
I. Some absent who might be expected to be present. ( a ) Children of good parents. ( b ) Those who have long been hearers of the word. ( c ) Those who have proved the vanity of the world for themselves.
II. Some apparently absent who are really present. ( a ) The timorous and fearful. ( b ) Those whose love is greater than their hope.
III. Some present who ought to be absent. ( a ) Hypocrites. ( b ) Schemers.
IV. Some absent on the most frivolous excuses. ( a ) Nothing worth hearing. ( b ) Inconsistencies of other people.
Application. ( a ) Are we afflicted by such absences? ( b ) How far are we responsible for them? ( c ) The work of the Church is not done so long as there is one absentee!
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
1Sa 20:25 And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, [even] upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was empty.
Ver. 25. And Jonathan arose, ] viz., To sit down at the table by his father; or perhaps in honour of Abner, and to give him place; as not willing to sit so near his father, but pretending some other thing to avoid the danger which be feared.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
as at other times: Jdg 16:20