Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 20:36
And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. [And] as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
36. he said unto his lad, Run, findout now the arrows which I shootThe direction given aloud tothe attendant was the signal preconcerted with David. It implieddanger.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he said unto his lad, run, find out now the arrows which I shoot,…. He no doubt told him the mark which he should shoot at, the stone Ezel, and bid him look out about that for them:
[and] as the lad ran; before he had got to the mark:
he shot an arrow beyond him: or it; beyond the lad, or beyond the mark he shot at; purposely shooting with great strength, that he might exceed, and thereby give notice to David how things stood, which was the sign agreed on.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(36) He shot an arrow beyond him.This was the sign agreed on if all was over for David at the court of Saul. Expositors are in a little difficulty, though, here, as only one arrow is mentioned, whereas three had to be shot according to the terms of the understanding. We cannot imagine, as some have suggested, that Jonathan shortened the affair, and shot only once, considering that there was danger in delay, and that every moment was of consequence; had there been such need of haste, the parting scene would have been cut even shorter. It is better, with Keil, to assume that the singular here stands in an indefinite general way, the author not thinking it needful, after what he had before said, to state that Jonathan shot three arrows one after another.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 20:36 And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. [And] as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
Ver. 36. He shot an arrow beyond him. ] God also shoots sometimes sharp arrows at his children, yet not to wound them, but to warn them that the will of Saul – the devil – is their utter destruction.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Run: 1Sa 20:20, 1Sa 20:21
beyond him: Heb. to pass over him, 1Sa 20:21, 1Sa 20:22
Reciprocal: 2Sa 1:18 – bow