Bible Strands
2 Samuel 13:35
So Jonadab said to the king, “Look, the sons of the king have arrived! It is just as your servant said.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jonadab addresses King David immediately after the royal watchman reports seeing a large group approaching from Horonaim. The statement occurs at the threshold of the sons' arrival, serving as a factual confirmation of the watchman's observation.
The words — The Hebrew הִנֵּה (hi.Neh) functions as a demonstrative interjection meaning "look" or "behold," drawing attention to the imminent arrival. בָּ֑אוּ (Ba.'u) is a perfect tense verb meaning "they have come," confirming the event is already in progress.
The thread — This statement directly links the watchman's report in verse 34 to the sons' entrance in verse 36. The sequence of sight, verbal confirmation, and physical arrival establishes a narrative pattern of observed fulfillment repeated throughout the Davidic court records.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition of human attempts to interpret familial events through observation and prediction. It places the reader in the tension between Jonadab's certainty and the immediate grief that follows the sons' arrival.
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 Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king’s sons come: as thy servant said, so it is.