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1 Samuel 20:35-42
Jonathan performs the arrow signal, sends the boy away, and privately parts from David with tears and renewed peace terms.
Meaning in context
Jonathan performs the arrow signal, sends the boy away, and privately parts from David with tears and renewed peace terms.
Section 6 of 6
Arrow Message and Final Farewell
Jonathan performs the arrow signal, sends the boy away, and privately parts from David with tears and renewed peace terms.
Movement
From judges to the anointed king
Artifact
Samuel, Saul, and David
Biblical Timeline
Exodus & Settlement
1 Samuel context: 1500 BC - 1000 BC
Biblical Timeline
Exodus & Settlement
1 Samuel context
Exodus & Settlement / 1500 BC - 1000 BC
1 Samuel context is set in the exodus and settlement period, where Moses, the exodus, wilderness, covenant instruction, conquest, and judges.
Scripture Text
Thesis
Jonathan performs the arrow signal, sends the boy away, and privately parts from David with tears and renewed peace terms.
Verse by Verse
Jonathan performs the arrow signal Jonathan goes out at the agreed time and brings a young helper (boy). While the boy runs to find the arrows, Jonathan shoots one beyond him and calls out, repeatedly urging speed and stating that the arrow is “beyond” the boy. In the plan’s logic, these shouted directions communicate more than they appear to mean.
The helper remains unaware and is dismissed The story emphasizes that the boy does not understand the real purpose; only Jonathan and David know the “matter.” Jonathan then hands his weapons to the boy and sends him back to the city, clearing the space for a private meeting.
David emerges, they grieve, and they part Once the boy is gone, David comes from his hiding place, bows low three times, and the two men kiss and weep together, with David’s grief described as especially intense. Jonathan tells David to go “in peace,” grounding that release in their sworn commitment in Yahweh’s name: Yahweh is invoked as the standing witness between them and between their descendants “forever” (). David leaves, and Jonathan returns to the city.
Literary Context
This scene concludes the secret test Jonathan devised to learn Saul’s true intentions and to warn David safely. Earlier in the chapter, Jonathan and David agreed on a sign involving arrows and shouted directions, so that Jonathan could communicate danger without speaking directly to David (1 Samuel 20:18–23). After Saul’s anger in the royal setting confirms the threat, the narrative moves outdoors where the plan can be enacted. The closing farewell also recalls the covenant language and loyalty that has marked Jonathan and David’s relationship throughout the chapter (1 Samuel 20:13–17).
Historical Context
The episode fits a time when Israel’s monarchy is newly established and politically fragile, with Saul’s court functioning as both household and command center. Royal suspicion could quickly become lethal, so indirect communication and careful use of servants make practical sense in a palace-centered world. Archery is a normal elite skill and can be used as a plausible cover for sending a message in open country. Oaths made “in the name of Yahweh” function as binding public commitments even when the immediate meeting is secret, extending obligations beyond the moment and toward future family relations. The movement between “field” and “city” reflects how power and danger concentrate around the king’s residence.
Theological Significance
Questions
Keep Studying
This scene finishes a carefully planned, indirect warning. Jonathan uses an archery outing as cover to communicate danger to David without openly speaking to him. The narrative stresses secrecy: the young helper gathers arrows but does not know the real issue; only Jonathan and David understand what the shouted words mean.
The farewell highlights two themes already present in the chapter: loyalty between friends under political threat, and the binding weight of an oath made “in the name of Yahweh.” Jonathan releases David with a “go in peace” statement that is explicitly tied to their sworn bond and to Yahweh as witness over time, including the next generation.
Some readers take Jonathan’s shouted directions as purely a pre-arranged code; others think the same words also carry emotional force, letting Jonathan express urgency or distress while still keeping the cover story intact.
Another place readers differ is the line describing their weeping “until David exceeded.” Some understand it as David grieving more intensely than Jonathan; others take it as David’s grief lasting longer or reaching a breaking point.
A third question is how to read “forever” regarding descendants. Some read it as an ongoing family obligation meant to endure across generations as long as possible; others take the wording as intentionally open-ended, presenting Yahweh as the continuing witness even beyond what the men can control.
The passage itself gives the core facts (signal, secrecy, farewell) but leaves key phrases somewhat open (“exceeded,” “forever”) and does not narrate inner motives. Also, the coded message works on two levels—ordinary instructions to a helper and hidden communication to David—so it is natural to ask how much is code and how much is personal expression.
Explicitly, it shows that David’s flight is not impulsive but confirmed by tested evidence and communicated through a safe plan. It also portrays covenant loyalty as something spoken before Yahweh and extending beyond immediate circumstances. The text presents “peace” here not as absence of danger (danger is real) but as a relational status grounded in a sworn commitment with Yahweh named as witness (1 Samuel 20:42).
jonathan (yə·hō·w·nā·ṯān)