Jonathan uses the question to defend both his father’s transparency and his own intimate knowledge of Saul’s plans, thereby dismissing David’s fears as unfounded. By framing this as a rhetorical question, he reinforces his conviction that David’s concern about Saul’s murderous intent is mistaken.

David does not directly answer Jonathan’s rhetorical question. Instead, he swears an oath affirming that Saul has indeed hidden his murderous plan precisely because Saul knows of Jonathan’s love for David (1 Samuel 20:3). David insists he is only a step away from death.

Jonathan’s question reveals his confident misreading of his father’s heart. He cannot fathom that Saul would conceal a plot against David because Jonathan believes himself privy to all his father’s counsel, whether significant matters of state (gādôl) or trivial affairs (qāṭān). By posing this as a rhetorical question rather than a simple denial, Jonathan emphasizes the absurdity of David’s fear in his mind. Yet the question exposes Jonathan’s tragic vulnerability: his loyalty to David has blinded him to Saul’s capacity for deception. The interrogative form carries emotional weight. Jonathan stakes his father’s integrity and his own judgment on this assessment, making his eventual discovery of Saul’s true intentions all the more devastating.