Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 20:31
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.
31. he shall surely die ] Lit. “he is a son of death.” Cp. 2Sa 12:5; Psa 102:20; Mat 23:15; Joh 17:12.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thus he grossly mistakes the cause of Jonathans loss of the kingdom, which was not Davids art, but Sauls sin; and vainly endeavours to prevent Gods irrevocable sentence.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom,…. He would not, though heir to the crown, be sure of it; it would be precarious to him, he would be in great danger of being deprived of it on the death of his father; and therefore it would be his highest wisdom to deliver David up to be slain, as it was his greatest folly to protect him, and provide for his satiety:
wherefore now send and fetch him unto me; send to Bethlehem for him to come to court directly:
for he shall surely die; or he is “the son of death” g; guilty of death, as the Targum, deserves to die, and Saul was determined upon his death if possible.
g “filius mortis”, V. L. Montanus, Vatablus, Piscator; “reus mortis”, Junius & Tremellius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(31) Thou shalt not be established.Here the king gives expression to the thought which was ever torturing that poor diseased brain of hisDavid, his own kind physician, his faithful soldier, and his sons dearest friend and loved companion, was plotting basely against that master for whom he had done so much, and the son whom he loved so well.
Saul, in his blind fury, goes on to betray his fell purpose when he exclaims, he shall surely die. His command, Send and fetch him unto me, tells us that the murder had been pre-arranged to take place at the feast. Doubtless those rough soldier chiefs sitting round the royal table would be ready at any moment to carry into effect their masters savage behest.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
31. As long as the son of Jesse liveth thou shalt not be established Here for the first time Saul reveals the reason of his wrath towards David; for though the probability of David’s attaining the throne may have been at other times talked over between himself and Jonathan, and others, (see note on 1Sa 20:13,) yet he seems to have been careful hitherto of expressing his own feelings on the subject.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 20:31. As long as the son of Jesse liveth, &c. But how did Saul know, that, as long as the son of Jesse lived, Jonathan should not be established, nor his kingdom? If it was all jealousy and surmise, his ordering him to be brought to be put to death was unreasonable and wicked, and can be justified upon no principles of justice and humanity. If Saul knew that as himself was rejected, David was really anointed to succeed him by Samuel, at God’s command, his ordering him to be put to death was both impertinent and wicked: for he knew that David had then as good a right to succeed him, in preference to Jonathan, as he himself had of obtaining the throne in preference to every other man of Israel; and, therefore, that he ought not to destroy the man whom God had appointed to succeed him, and with all his endeavours would not be able to do it if God had determined to make him captain over Israel. So that in whatever view we consider this reply of Saul, fetch him,for he shall surely die, it will appear to be absolutely improper, and that it could proceed from nothing but the incurable inveteracy of a disordered mind, agitated by ambition, jealousy, and an implacable desire of revenge. He shall surely die, is, in the Hebrew ben muvet hu, he is the son of death; a Hebrew form of speaking, which denotes either a man worthy of death, or devoted to death.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Sa 20:31 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.
Ver. 31. For he shall surely die. ] Yea, but stay: “Unto God the Lord belong the issues of death”; Psa 68:20 and “My times are in thine hand,” saith David, not in Saul’s, whatever he may think of the matter: “the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
shall surely die = the son of death: i.e. doomed to die.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
send: 1Sa 20:8, 1Sa 19:6, 1Sa 19:11-15
shall surely die: Heb. is the son of death, 1Sa 26:16, 2Sa 19:28, Psa 79:11, *marg.
Reciprocal: Gen 2:17 – surely Gen 23:2 – Kirjatharba 1Sa 14:39 – General 1Sa 18:8 – and what 1Sa 22:16 – Thou shalt 1Sa 23:17 – that also Saul 1Sa 24:20 – I know well 2Sa 12:5 – shall surely die 1Ki 12:13 – answered 2Ch 10:16 – the son Psa 35:12 – spoiling Psa 119:23 – Princes Pro 19:19 – man Pro 29:10 – The bloodthirsty Jon 4:10 – came up in a night Mat 1:6 – Jesse Mat 27:23 – Why Luk 3:32 – was the son of Jesse
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 20:31. Thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom Though Samuel had long before this declared to Saul, in the name of the Lord, that the kingdom should not continue with him, nor descend to his posterity; yet he seems to have had hopes that he should be able to prevent this declaration from being verified by his policy and taking proper measures.