1 Samuel 31

^I “Philistines” = Pelishti. From Pelesheth (Philistia); from palash (to mourn, wallow, maybe roll in). This is Philistines. Their name may mean “griever” or “burrower” or “weakener.” See https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Philistine.html.
^II “fought” = lacham. This is to eat or feed on. Figuratively, it is to battle as a kind of consumption/destruction.
^III “Israel” = Yisrael. From sarah (to persist, exert oneself, contend, persevere, wrestle, prevail) + El (God or god). This is Israel, meaning God strives or one who strives with God; new name for Jacob and for his offspring. This refers to the people and to the land.

^IV “men” = ish. Perhaps from enosh (human, humankind, mortal); from anash (to be weak, sick, or frail). This is man, husband, another, or humankind.
^V “fled” = nus. This is to flee, vanish away, hide, escape, be displayed.
^VI “before” = paneh. From panah (to turn, face, appear). This is face in a literal or figurative sense. It could be face, presence, anger, respect. It can also be used of God to indicate divine favor or presence.

^VII “fell” = naphal + chalal. Naphal is to fall, whether by accident, to fall prostrate, or to fall in violent death. Figuratively, it can refer to personal ruin or calamity, a city falling, an attack or a falling away. It can also be a deep sleep or wasting away. Chalal is from chalal (to pierce, to wound; figuratively, making someone or something profane or breaking your word; to begin as though one opened a wedge; to eat something as a common thing). This is to pierce, kill, deadly. It can also refer to death.
^VIII “Mount” = har. From harar (hill or mountain). This is mountain, hill, hilly region.
^IX “Gilboa” = Gilboa. 8x in OT. Perhaps from gal (wave, billow, rock pile; something rolled; a spring of water); {from galal (to roll, roll away, wallow, commit, remove; rolling in a literal or figurative sense)} + ba’ah (to inquire, search, boil, or swell out; figuratively, could be to sincerely desire). This is Gilboa, a mountain whose name may mean “fountain of ebullition.”

^X “overtook” = dabaq. This is to follow closely or abide fast, to cling or be joined together. Figuratively, it can mean to catch something by chasing after it, to overtake, or to stick. A man clings to his wife in Genesis 2:24, Shechem was deeply attracted to Dinah in Genesis 34:3, Ruth clung to Naomi in Ruth 1:14, Solomon clung to his foreign wives and concubines in 1 Kings 11:2. It is also used of a tongue sticking to the mouth, pursuing or overtaking as in battle, and also clinging to God.
^XI “Saul” = Shaul. From shaal (to ask, inquire, beg, borrow, desire, request; can also mean demand). This is Saul or Shaul, meaning “asked of the Lord.”
^XII “sons” = ben. From banah (to build or obtain children). This is son, age, child. It is son in a literal or figurative sense.

^XIII “killed” = nakah. This is to hit whether lightly or severely. It can be used in a literal or figurative sense. So, this could be beat, punish, give wounds, kill, or slaughter.
^XIV “Jonathan” = Yehonatan. From YHVH (proper name of the God of Israel; God, Lord; the self-existent or eternal one); {from havah (to become) or hayah (to be, become, happen)} + natan (to give, put, set, offer; to give literally or figuratively). This is Jonathan or Jehonathan, meaning “the Lord has given.”
^XV “Abinadab” = Abinadab. 12x in OT. From ab (father literal or figurative) + nadab (to offer voluntarily, incite, impel; to volunteer to be a soldier or offer freely). This is Abinadab, meaning “my father is noble” or “father of generosity,” which is to say very generous.
^XVI “Malchishua” = Malkishua. 5x in OT. From melek (king, royal); {from malak (to be or become king or queen, to rise to the throne, to be crowned; by implication, to take counsel)} + shua (perhaps riches); {from yasha (to deliver, defend, help, preserve, rescue; properly, to be open, wide or free, which implies being safe; in a causative sense, to free someone)}. This is Malkishua or Malchishua, meaning “my king is wealth” or “the king is salvation” or “king of help” or “my king is opulence.” See https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Malchi-shua.html

^XVII “battle” = milchamah. Related to “fought” in v1. From lacham (see note II above). This is battle, war, fighting, or one who fights (i.e. a warrior).
^XVIII “pressed hard” = kabad. To be heavy, weighty, or severe. It can also be positive abounding in, rich, or honorable. The Hebrew word for “glory,” kabod, is taken from this root.
^XIX “archers” = yarah + enosh + qesheth. Yarah is to throw, shoot, be stunned. It is to flow as water so figuratively to instruct or teach. This is the same root that “Jerusalem” and “Torah” draw from. Enosh is related to “men” in v1. See note IV above. Qesheth is perhaps from qush (to set a trap, lure, ensnare) OR from qashah (to be fierce, cruel, dense, tough, severe). This is a bow, arrow, or archer. Bow can be used figuratively for strength.
^XX “found” = matsa. This is to find, catch or acquire. It can also mean to come forth or appear. Figuratively, this can mean to meet or be together with.

^XXI “badly” = meod. Perhaps from the same as uwd (firebrand, a poker). This is very, greatly, exceedingly. It can also mean vehemence, force, abundance.
^XXII “wounded” = chul. This is whirling around so dancing as in a circle or writhing in pain. It is used particularly for the pain of childbirth or from writhing due to fear. It can also be falling in pain or waiting.
^XXIII “them” = yarah. Same as “archers” in v3. See note XIX above.

^XXIV “said” = amar. This is to speak, say, answer, command, promise, report.
^XXV “armor-bearer” = nasa +keli. Nasa is to lift in a broad sense, literally and figuratively. So it could be to carry, take, or arise. It could also be bring forth, advance, accept. Keli is from kalah (to end, be finished, complete, prepare, consume, spent, or completely destroyed). This is something that was prepared – any implement, utensil, article, vessel, weapon, or instrument. Also includes jewels, weapons, bags, carriages, and furniture.
^XXVI “draw” = shalaph. This is to draw out, pluck off, grow up.
^XXVII “sword” = chereb. From charab (to attack, slay). This is any sharp instrument like a sword, dagger, axe, or mattock.

^XXVIII “thrust…through” = daqar. 11x in OT. This is to stab, pierce, wound. It can also mean to starve or revile.
^XXIX “uncircumcised” = arel. From arel (to strip or expose, restrain; to remove in a literal or figurative sense). This is uncircumcised, unskilled, exposed, forbidden.
^XXX “so that…not” = pen. Related to “before” in v1. Perhaps from panah (see note VI above). This is lest, if, or.
^XXXI “come” = bo. This is to enter, come in, advance, fulfill, bring offerings, enter to worship, attack. It can also have a sexual connotation.
^XXXII “make sport” = alal. 19x in OT. This is to affect, abuse, mistreat, impose, practice, glean, defile.

^XXXIII “unwilling” = lo + abah. Abah is to breathe after, be willing, obey, accept, be content with, satisfy.
^XXXIV “was terrified” = yare + meod. Yare is to fear, be afraid, dreadful. It can also refer to fearful reverence – to fear in a moral sense is to say to revere, respect. Meod is the same as “badly” in v3. See note XXI above.
^XXXV “took” = laqach. This is to take, accept, carry away, receive. It can also have the sense of take a wife or take in marriage.

^XXXVI “saw” = raah. This is to see in a literal or figurative sense so stare, advise, think, view.
^XXXVII “was dead” = mut. This is to die in a literal or figurative sense. It can also refer to being a dead body.
^XXXVIII “also” = gam. This is also, moreover, again.
^XXXIX “three” = shalosh. This is three, fork, three times.
^XL {untranslated} = gam. Same as “also” in v5. See note XXXVIII above.
^XLI “all” = kol. From kalal (to complete). This is all or every.

^XLII “together” = yachad. From yachad (to join, be united). This is a unit, both, altogether, unitedness, alike.
^XLIII “day” = yom. Root may mean being hot. This is the day in a literal or figurative sense. It can also mean birth, age, daylight, continually or other references to time.
^XLIV “other side” = eber. From abar (to pass over, pass through, or pass by; cross over or to alienate; used for transitions). This is the place across or beyond, by, from, other, the opposite side, against, over. It often refers to the other side of the Jordan river or toward the east.
^XLV “valley” = emeq. From amoq (to be deep in a literal or figurative sense; profound). This is Vale or valley – frequently part of place names.

^XLVI “beyond” = eber. Same as “other side” in v7. See note XLIV above.
^XLVII “Jordan” = Yarden. From yarad (to go down, descend; going down in a literal or figurative sense; going to the shore or a boundary, bringing down an enemy). This is the Jordan River, meaning “descending.”
^XLVIII “forsook” = azab. To loosen, relinquish, permit, forsake, fail, leave destitute.
^XLIX “towns” = iyr. From uwr (to awaken or wake oneself up). This can mean excitement in the sense of wakefulness or city. Properly, this is a place that is guarded. Guards kept schedules according to watches. This sense of the word would include cities as well as encampments or posts that were guarded.
^L “occupied” = yashab. This is to sit and so to remain and so to dwell. It is sitting for any reason – as a judge, in order to ambush, or just sitting quietly. Causatively, this can mean settling or marrying. This can also mean continue, endure, or establish.

^LI {untranslated} = hayah. Related to “Jonathan” in v2. See note XIV above.
^LII “next day” = mochorath. From the same as machar (tomorrow or later; deferred time; indefinitely or the time to come); perhaps from achar (to be behind, delay, be late, procrastinate, continue). This is the next day or next morning.
^LIII “strip” = pashat. This is to raid or invade. Figuratively, it means to strip or plunder.
^LIV “dead” = chalal. Same as “fell” in v1. See note VII above.

^LV “cut off” = karat. This is to cut down, cut off, or make a covenant (idiom for making a covenant is “to cut a covenant”). It can also mean to destroy, fail, or consume.
^LVI “head” = rosh. This may come a word that means to shake. It is the head, captain, or chief. It can also be excellent or the forefront. It can be first in position or in statue or in time (i.e. the beginning).
^LVII “stripped off” = pashat. Same as “strip” in v8. See note LIII above.
^LVIII “armor” = keli. Same as “armor-bearer” in v4. See note XXV above.

^LIX “sent” = shalach. This is to send out, away, send for, forsake. It can also mean to divorce or set a slave free.
^LX “throughout” = sabib. From sabab (turning around, going around; to surround, cast, walk, fetch; to revolve or border in a literal or figurative sense). This is a circuit or a circle. It could refer to an environment, one’s neighbors, or a circular path round about.
^LXI “land” = erets. Root may mean to be firm. This is earth, ground, field land, or country.

^LXII “carry the good news” = basar. This is being a messenger, to publish, carry, or preach. Properly, this is being fresh, rosy or cheerful as one bearing news.
^LXIII “houses” = bayit. Related to “sons” in v2. Probably from banah (see note XII above). This is house, court, family, palace, temple.
^LXIV “idols” = atsab. 18x in OT. From atsab (to shape, fashion). This is an idol or an image.
^LXV “people” = am. From amam (to darken, hide, associate; creating shadows by huddling together). This is people or nation. It can be used specifically for a tribe, collectively of troops or armies, or figuratively to refer to a flock of animals.

^LXVI “put” = sim. This is to put or place in a literal or figurative sense. It can be appoint, care, change, make, and may other things.
^LXVII “temple” = bayit. Same as “houses” in v9. See note LXIII above.
^LXVIII “Astarte” = Ashtaroth. 12x in OT. From ashtrah (young, enlarge a flock); from ashath (to think) or ashar (to gain wealth, become rich, enrich; to accumulate) OR {from ashat (form a union that is cohesive or solid) + torah (Torah, instruction, law); {from yarah (to throw, shoot, be stunned; to flow as water so figuratively to instruct or teach)}}. This is Ashtaroth, a location and the name of a Sidonian goddess, also called Astarte. It may mean “Astarte” or “unions of instructions” or “clusters of one law.” See https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Ashtaroth.html

^LXIX “fastened” = taqa. This is to clap, clatter, thrust, sound an instrument, hammer a nail, be a bondsman.
^LXX “body” = gviyah. 13x in OT. From gevah (back – the person or body); from gev (among, back, the middle, body); related to gaah (to rise up, increase, triumph; figuratively, to be majestic). This is a body, which could be alive or it could refer to a corpse. This word is also used for heavenly creatures in Ezekiel 1 and Daniel 10.
^LXXI “wall” = chomah. From the same as cham (father-in-law – one’s husband’s father; perhaps from a root meaning to join). This is a wall – a wall as used for protection.
^LXXII “Beth-shan” = Beth shean. Related to “sons” in v2 & “houses” in v9. 9x in OT. From bayit (see note LXIII above) + shaan (to rest, be quiet, be peaceful). This is Beth-shean, a place whose name means “place of quiet” or “house of ease.

^LXXIII “inhabitants” = yashab. Same as “occupied” in v7. See note L above.
^LXXIV “Jabesh-gilead” = Yabesh + Gilad. Related to “Gilboa” in v1. From Yabesh (Jabes or Yabesh); {from yabesh (to be dry, withered, confused, or ashamed; to fail)} + gilad (Gilead, meaning “perpetual fountain” or “heap of testimony”); {from gala (to lay bare, quarrel, expose) OR from gal’ed (heap of testimony); {from gal (see note IX above)} + ed (witness, testimony, recorder); from ud (to admonish, repeat, duplicate, testify, restore, record, relieve)}}}. This is Jabesh-gilead, meaning “dry” or “arid” and “perpetual fountain” or “heap of testimony.” See https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Gilead.html#.Xw_EFShKhPY. & https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Jabesh.html
^LXXV “heard” = shama. This is to hear, call, consent, or consider. It implies listening intelligently, giving attention, and, because of these two factors, obedience and action are often implied.
^LXXVI “done” = asah. This is to make, do, act, appoint, become in many senses.

^LXXVII “valiant” = chayil. From chul (to be firm, strong, prosperous; to endure). This is strength, wealth, ability, activity. It can refer to soldier or a company of soldiers as well as goods. It is a force of people, means, or goods. It can speak of valor, virtue, or strength.
^LXXVIII “set out” = qum. To arise, stand, accomplish, establish, abide. This is rising as in rising against, getting up after being sick or asleep, arising from one state to another, becoming powerful, or rising for action. It can also be standing in a figurative sense.
^LXXIX “traveled” = halak. This is go, come, walk. It is walk literally and figuratively and includes people and animals. It can be used figuratively for one’s moral life – how we walk according to God’s way or against it. It can also refer to the walk of life as in the course one’s life takes, the choices we make, etc.
^LXXX “night” = layil. Properly, this refers to light twisting away. It is used for night or midnight. Figuratively, this can mean adversity.
^LXXXI “burned” = saraph. This is to burn or kindle. This is the root that “seraphim” comes from.

^LXXXII “bones” = etsem. From atsam (vast, numerous, strong; to close one’s eyes, to make powerful; to break bones). This is self, life, strength, bone, or substance.
^LXXXIII “buried” = qabar. This is to bury or inter. It could also refer to the person who does the burying.
^LXXXIV “under” = tachat. This is underneath, below, the bottom, instead of.
^LXXXV “tamarisk tree” = eshel. 3x in OT. This is tamarisk tree particularly or it can be used more generally for a grove.
^LXXXVI “fasted” = tsum. Properly, this is covering one’s mouth so, by extension, abstaining from food.
^LXXXVII “seven” = sheba. This is seven or by sevenfold. It can also be used to imply a week or an indefinite number. Symbolically, this is the number of fullness, sacredness, perfection.