The ancient historian Herodotus records that when Croesus, king of Lydia, asked the oracle at Delphi whether he should invade Persia. He was told that if he did so, he would destroy a great empire. He advanced against Cyrus, king of Medo-Persia, but was defeated and taken captive. When he sent to Delphi to find out why the oracle was wrong, he was told that the oracle did not say which empire would be destroyed. It turned out to be his own (Histories, 1.53-91).
In the same way there are dual meaning statements in the Bible. When David was told by Achish, king of Gath, that he and his men would accompany Achish to fight against Israel, David replied, "Very well, you shall know what your servant can do" (1 Samuel 28:2). Achish took this as meaning David would fight on his side, but the lords of the Philistines understood that David could turn against the Philistines in the battle and sent him home.
When David was fleeing from Jerusalem from his son Absalom, he asked his friend Hushai to pretend to serve Absalom. When Absalom asked Hushai why he did not go with David, Hushai replied, "No, for whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain" (2 Samuel 16:18). Absalom in his own vanity took this statement to be referring to himself, but the LORD had not chosen him; rather, God had sent Samuel to anoint David. And it was to David that men of all the different tribes had come to Hebron to appoint him as king.
A third example is one that is somewhat hidden by our English translations. When the guards at Jesus' tomb told the chief priests what had happened there, they were offered money to say that the disciples had stolen the body while they were asleep. Now this could get them killed for sleeping on guard duty, so the priests told them, "And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble" (Matthew 28:14 ESV). This translation chooses one possible meaning of what was said. Literally the quote reads, "And if this should be heard about by the governor, we will persuade him and make you without worry." Without worry can mean that the governor would overlook the incident, or it can mean that dead men don't worry. And dead men cannot recant their story. Apparently the soldiers missed the double meaning, for they took the money and repeated the lie about what had happened. Matthew does not tell us what actually happened to the soldiers. That is left to our imagination.
Bruce Terry