1 Samuel 17:13

And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
three	שְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת she.Lo.shet	H7969	three · noun, common both genders singular construct
eldest	הַגְּדֹלִ֔ים ha.ge.do.Lim	H1419	great (in any sense) · definite article + adjective, masculine plural absolute
sons	בְּנֵֽי be.nei-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Jesse	יִשַׁי֙ yi.Shai	H3448	Jishai · proper noun, a man's name
went	יָלַךְ yâlak	H3212	to walk (literally or figuratively)
followed	אַחֲרֵי 'a.cha.rei-	H310	properly · cardinal number, masculine plural construct
Saul	שָׁא֖וּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
battle	לַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה la.mil.cha.Mah	H4421	a battle (i.e. the engagement) · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
names	וְשֵׁ֣ם ve.Shem	H8034	an appellation · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
three	שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת she.Lo.shet	H7969	three · noun, common both genders singular construct
sons	בָּנָ֗יו ba.Nav	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
went	וַיֵּ֨לְכ֜וּ vai.Ye.le.Khu	H1980	to walk (in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
battle	בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔ה ba.mil.cha.Mah	H4421	a battle (i.e. the engagement) · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
Eliab	אֱלִיאָ֣ב 'e.li.'Av	H446	Eliab · proper noun, a man's name
firstborn	הַבְּכ֗וֹר ha.be.Khor	H1060	firstborn · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
next	וּמִשְׁנֵ֙הוּ֙ u.mish.Ne.hu	H4932	properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Abinadab	אֲבִ֣ינָדָ֔ב 'a.Vi.na.Dav	H41	Abinadab · proper noun, a man's name
third	וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁ֖י ve.ha.she.li.Shi	H7992	third · conjunction + definite article + ordinal number, masculine singular absolute
Shammah	שַׁמָּֽה sha.Mah	H8048	Shammah · proper noun, a man's name

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Chronicles 2:13 And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third,
1 Samuel 16:6-9 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.
1 Samuel 17:28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou dow…
2 Samuel 13:3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.
2 Samuel 13:32 And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’…
2 Samuel 21:21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:12-30

Forty days the two armies lay encamped facing one another, each advantageously posted, but neither forward to engage. Either they were parleying and treating of an accommodation or they were waiting for recruits; and perhaps there were frequent skirmishes between small detached parties. All this while, twice a day, morning and evening, did the insulting champion appear in the field and repeat his challenge, his own heart growing more and more proud for his not being answered and the people of Israel more and more timorous, while God designed hereby to ripen him for destruction and to make Israel's deliverance the more illustrious. All this while David is keeping his father's sheep, but at th…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:8

I defy the armies of Israel . . .; give me a man, that we may fight together--In cases of single combat, a warrior used to go out in front of his party, and advancing towards the opposite ranks, challenge someone to fight with him. If his formidable appearance, or great reputation for physical strength and heroism, deterred any from accepting the challenge, he used to parade himself within hearing of the enemy's lines, specify in a loud, boastful, bravado style, defying them, and pouring out torrents of abuse and insolence to provoke their resentment.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:12

The 12th verse, to the 31st inclusive, are wanting in the Septuagint; as also the 41st verse; and from the 54th to the end; with the first five verses of 1 Samuel 18, and the 9th, 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th, and 19th of the same. All these parts are found in the Codex Alexandrinus; but it appears that the MS. from which the Codex Alexandrinus was copied, had them not. See observations at the end of this chapter, Sa1 17:58 (note). Dr. Kennicott has rendered it very probable that these portions are not a genuine part of the text. Notwithstanding what Bishop Warburton and others have done to clear the chronology of the present printed Hebrew, it is impossible to make a clear consistent sense of the…

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The Church Fathers

But his three eldest sons went off, etc. The teachers of that people, whose three orders we have previously explained, always waged spiritual war, either girded against the allurements of their own flesh and mind, or concerned with instructing others.
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Abinadab — Father of nobleness; i.e., “noble.” (1.) A Levite of Kirjath-jearim, in whose house the ark of the covenant was deposited after having been brought back from the land of the Philistines (1 Sam. 7:1).…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Elah, The Valley Of — (valley of the terebinth), the valley in which David killed Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:2,19) It lay somewhere near Socoh of Judah and Azekah, and was nearer Ekron than any other Philistine town. 1Sam. 17.
Elhanan — Whom God has graciously bestowed. (1.) A warrior of the time of David famed for his exploits. In the Authorized Version (2 Sam. 21:19) it is recorded that “Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a…
Eliab — To whom God is father. (1.) A Reubenite, son of Pallu (Num. 16:1, 12; 26:8, 9; Deut. 11:6). (2.) A son of Helon, and chief of the tribe of Zebulun at the time of the census in the wilderness (Num.…
Philistines — (Gen. 10:14, R.V.; but in A.V., “Philistim”), a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the…
Shammah — Desert. (1.) One of the “dukes” of Edom (Gen. 36:13, 17). (2.) One of the sons of Jesse (1 Sam. 16:9). He is also called Shimeah (2 Sam. 13:3) and Shimma (1 Chr. 2:13). (3.) One of David’s three…
War — The Israelites had to take possession of the Promised Land by conquest. They had to engage in a long and bloody war before the Canaanitish tribes were finally subdued. Except in the case of Jericho…
Abinadab · 2. — 2.
Championship · .Goliath and David — .Goliath and David
Eliab

1 Samuel 17:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:12-30

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:8

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 17:13

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:12-30

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:8

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:13

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 17:1-54

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 17:12

Rashi on 1 Samuel 17:12