Bible Strands
1 Samuel 20:27
But on the day after the New Moon, the second day, David’s place was still empty, and Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal either yesterday or today?”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Saul addresses his son Jonathan on the second day after the New Moon, noting that David’s seat at the festival meal remains vacant. He questions why Jesse’s son failed to attend on both the first and second days.
The words — The phrase וַ/יִּפָּקֵד מְקוֹם דָּוִד (va/i.yi.pa.Ked me.Kom da.Vid) literally renders “and his place was empty.” This Hebrew verb (H6485) denotes a vacant or unoccupied seat, emphasizing the deliberate absence.
The thread — This missed festival follows Saul’s prior attempts to kill David (1 Samuel 19:15) and his violent spear attacks (1 Samuel 18:11). The tension escalates as Saul’s suspicion of David’s absence directly precedes Jonathan’s explanation (1 Samuel 20:28).
Why it lands — The verse requires a reader to observe how political and familial pressure forces David into hiding. It demands recognition that Saul’s suspicion replaces covenantal loyalty with calculated vigilance.
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 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 to day?
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 19:15 But Saul sent the messengers back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so I can kill him.”
- 1 Samuel 18:11 and he hurled it, thinking, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
- 1 Samuel 19:9 But as Saul was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, a spirit of distress from the LORD came upon him. While David was playing the harp,
- 1 Samuel 22:7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Is the son of Jesse giving all of you fields and vineyards and making you commanders of thousands or hundreds?
- 1 Samuel 22:13 And Saul asked him, “Why have you and the son of Jesse conspired against me? You gave him bread and a sword and inquired of God for him so that he could rise up against me to lie in wait, as he is doing today.”
- 1 Samuel 25:10 But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.
- Isaiah 11:1 Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
- Matthew 13:55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
- 1 Peter 2:4 As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,