1 Samuel 17:31

And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
words	הַדְּבָרִ֔ים ha.de.va.Rim	H1697	a word · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
heard	וַיְּשָּֽׁמְעוּ֙ vai.ye.sha.me.'U	H8085	to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
David	דָּוִ֑ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
spake	דִּבֶּ֣ר di.Ber	H1696	perhaps properly · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
rehearsed	וַיַּגִּ֥דוּ vai.ya.Gi.du	H5046	properly · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
before	לִפְנֵֽי lif.nei-	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
Saul	שָׁא֖וּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
sent	וַיִּקָּחֵֽהוּ vai.yi.ka.Che.hu	H3947	to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

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

Proverbs 22:29 Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:31-39

David is at length presented to Saul for his champion (Sa1 17:31) and he bravely undertakes to fight the Philistine (Sa1 17:32): Let no man's heart fail because of him. It would have reflected too much upon the valour of his prince if he had said, Let not thy heart fail; therefore he speaks generally: Let no man's heart fail. A little shepherd, come but this morning from keeping sheep, has more courage than all the mighty men of Israel, and encourages them. Thus does God often send good words to his Israel, and do great things for them, by the weak and foolish things of the world. David only desires a commission from Saul to go and fight with the Philistine, but says nothing to him of the re…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:25

make his father's house free in Israel--His family should be exempted from the impositions and services to which the general body of the Israelites were subjected.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:29

Is there not a cause? - הלוא דבר הוא halo dabar hu. I believe the meaning is what several of the versions express: I have spoken but a word. And should a man be made an offender for a word?

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:31

And when the words were heard which David spake,.... To one, and to another, and these reported to other persons, and so they went from one to another through many hands: they rehearsed them before Saul; coming to the ears of some of his courtiers and counsellors, or officers about him, they told him what such an one had said: and he sent for him; to his tent or pavilion where he was, to talk with him on this subject. The whole of 1 Samuel 17:11 is wanting in the Septuagint version, according to the Vatican exemplar; and these "twenty" verses are thought, by some (e), to be an interpolation; and it must be owned there are difficulties in them, and that the connection of 1 Samuel 17:11 with…

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The Church Fathers

The words that David spoke have been heard, etc. The words spoken by Christ about the glory of the coming kingdom were trusted and spread by fame even to the leaders of the Judean empire. And when many of these also came in part to hear the word, He spoke to them; lest they be troubled by the soon-to-be-weakened power of the old deceiver, lest they be disturbed by his soon-to-be-nullified fraud, lest they lose hope in the redemption of the human race, which was already about to come. I, He says, who for this very reason assumed the form of a servant, progressing to greater works of virtue, will conquer the ancient enemy of the world, the devil.
— 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

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…
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…
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…
Championship · .Goliath and David — .Goliath and David

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Samuel 17:31

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:31-39

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:25

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:29

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:31

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 17:31

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:31-39

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:25

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:29

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:31

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 17:1-54

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 17:28

Rashi on 1 Samuel 17:25