B-Hebrew: The Biblical Hebrew Forum

2וַיָּבֹ֤א דָוִד֙ נֹ֔בֶה אֶל־אֲחִימֶ֖לֶךְ הַכֹּהֵ֑ן וַיֶּחֱרַ֨ד אֲחִימֶ֜לֶךְ לִקְרַ֣את דָּוִ֗ד וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ מַדּ֤וּעַ אַתָּה֙ לְבַדֶּ֔ךָ וְאִ֖ישׁ אֵ֥ין אִתָּֽךְ

Does 1 Samuel 21:2 say "...why are you alone and there is not a man with you?" or "...why are you alone and a man is not with you?"

Or can it be translated both ways?

Ken, I see no difference in meaning between the two translations -- just a stylistic difference in the English rendition of the Hebrew.

Kenneth Greifer wrote:2וַיָּבֹ֤א דָוִד֙ נֹ֔בֶה אֶל־אֲחִימֶ֖לֶךְ הַכֹּהֵ֑ן וַיֶּחֱרַ֨ד אֲחִימֶ֜לֶךְ לִקְרַ֣את דָּוִ֗ד וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ מַדּ֤וּעַ אַתָּה֙ לְבַדֶּ֔ךָ וְאִ֖ישׁ אֵ֥ין אִתָּֽךְ

Does 1 Samuel 21:2 say "...why are you alone and there is not a man with you?" or "...why are you alone and a man is not with you?"

Or can it be translated both ways?

"Alone" and "there is no person with you" are the same thing. It's like saying, "a virgin who has never known a man by lying with him." It's a further description, by which "there is no person with you" is an expansion upon "you are alone."

"A man is not with you" and "there is no man with you" are the same thing in Hebrew.