King James Bible

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1 Samuel

4

:

17

And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Hebrew: Transliteration:
And the messenger messenger Verb H1319 הַֽמְבַשֵּׂ֜ר ham·vas·ser
answered testify Verb H6030 וַיַּ֨עַן vai·ya·'an
Israel Israel Noun H3478 יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ yis·ra·'el
Analysis:
Read more about: Israel
is fled abate Verb H5127 נָ֤ס nas
before accept Noun H6440 לִפְנֵ֣י lif·nei
the Philistines Philistine Adjective H6430 פְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים fe·lish·tim,
has also again Adverb H1571 וְגַ֛ם ve·gam
been become Verb H1961 הָיְתָ֣ה ha·ye·tah
and there hath been also a great aloud Adjective H1419 גְדֹולָ֖ה ge·do·v·lah
slaughter plague Noun H4046 מַגֵּפָ֥ה mag·ge·fah
among the people folk Noun H5971 בָעָ֑ם va·'am;
and thy two both Noun H8147 שְׁנֵ֨י she·nei
Analysis:

Two: Two divergent opinions

The classic example for the number "two" is found in Matthew chapter 26. There, Yeshua says to His disciples,

"You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of Man will be given over for crucifixion."  Matthew 26:2

The phrase "after two days" is somewhat meaningless because after two days can mean three or more days. The period is unspecified. The reason for such ambiguous language is because the purpose of the number two in this passage is not solely numerical. This means that the text is not intending to provide the reader with some definite information concerning a time period. Rather, the purpose of the number two in this context is one of the numerological meanings of the number two.  Often the number two relates to two divergent opinions. In the aforementioned verse, the author wants to inform the reader that there are two very different understandings for this coming Passover. Yeshua wants to emphasize that He is going up to Jerusalem in order to die as the true Passover sacrifice. Even though Yeshua states this emphatically, the disciples did not receive this. In fact, the disciples did not perceive at all what was going to take place during Passover in regard to Yeshua. In other words, Yeshua and the disciples have two divergent opinions concerning the Passover.

This same principle is also found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Covenant). In the book of Amos one reads,

"Can two walk together without them having agreed" Amos 3:3

The word which was translated into English with the phrase "them having agreed" is נועדו. The root of this word is יעד, which relates to a specific destination. The word which precedes this word is בלתי and in this context the word implies a change to the condition. In other words, had there not been a change in the condition, then the two could not walk together, i.e. they could not have arrived at the common destination.

The concept of divergent or different is also seen in the book of Genesis. In speaking about the sun and moon one reads, "And God made two great lights…" (Genesis 1:16). Obviously the sun and moon are very different, as one is a source of light, while the latter just reflects light. Also in the book of Genesis, one encounters the account of the flood. Here Noah is commanded to bring onto the ark two sorts of each type of animal. In this passage, the two relates to two different (or divergent) kinds of the same sort, i.e. male and female. 

Likewise, two angels came to Sodom, demonstrating that the people of Sodom had a very different way of living from that of the Law of God. Once again, the reader should not assume that every occurrence of the number two in the Bible demands this interpretation. However, one will find in a great majority of Biblical passages, the reader will be assisted in arriving at the proper interpretation, when he considers this divergent quality for the number two. 

Loveisrael.org - Baruch Korman, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission 2016 

sons afflicted Noun H1121 בָנֶ֜יךָ va·nei·cha
also again Adverb H1571 וְגַם־ ve·gam-
also Hophni Hophni Noun H2652 חָפְנִי֙ cha·fe·ni
and Phinehas Phinehas Noun H6372 וּפִ֣ינְחָ֔ס u·fi·ne·chas,
are dead crying Verb H4191 מֵ֗תוּ me·tu
and the ark ark Noun H727 וַאֲרֹ֥ון va·'a·ro·vn
of God angels Noun H430 הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים ha·'e·lo·him
is taken accept Verb H3947 נִלְקָֽחָה׃ nil·ka·chah.

Locations

Israel

ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF" I. THE FIRST PERIOD1. The Two Kingdoms2. The Ist Dynasty3. The IInd Dynasty4. Civil WarII. PERIOD OF THE SYRIAN WARS1. The IIIrd Dynasty2. World-Politics3. Battle of Karkar4. Loss of Territory5. Reform of Religion6. Revolution7. The IVth Dynasty8. Renewed Prosperity9. AnarchyIII. DECLINE AND FALL1. Loss of Independence2. Decline3. Extinct... View Details

Parallel Verses

Removed text
Added text
King James Bible And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
Hebrew Greek English And Then the messenger answered and said, Israel is one who brought the news replied, "Israel has fled before the Philistines, Philistines and there hath has also been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is has been taken."
New American Standard Bible 1995 And Then the messenger answered and said, Israel is one who brought the news replied, "Israel has fled before the Philistines, Philistines and there hath has also been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is has been taken."