1 SAMUEL 17:55 — KING JAMES VERSION 0 0
“And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.”
And when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, Whose son is this boy? — Saul's question (*mi ben ha'na'ar*, whose son is this boy) is puzzling, given that David is already serving in Saul's court (1 Sam. 16:21). Some scholars suggest Saul has experienced a spiritual darkening, a loss of the spiritual perception that had allowed him to recognize David's anointing; others propose textual interpolation or suggest that Saul's question indicates uncertainty about David's true worth or origin. The question itself invokes genealogy, the question of lineage and legitimacy that will prove crucial as David's rise begins to rival Saul's authority.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a note on this verse
0/2000
No notes on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!