Bible Strands
1 Samuel 20:25
He sat in his usual place by the wall, opposite Jonathan and beside Abner, but David’s place was empty.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — King Saul sits at the New Moon feast in his customary position by the wall, opposite Jonathan and beside Abner, while David’s designated seat remains unoccupied.
The words — וַיֵּשֶׁב (va.ye.shév) translates as “and he sat down,” and מוֹשַׁב (mo.shav) means “seat” or “place of sitting.”
The thread — The empty seat motif appears in 1 Samuel 20:18 as Jonathan’s warning and resurfaces in 1 Samuel 20:26 as Saul’s unspoken rationale for David’s absence.
Why it lands — The text records a deliberate physical omission that forces the reader to track the gap between Saul’s assumptions and the actual political and relational rupture unfolding at the table.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 20:18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.
- Judges 16:20 Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.