1 Samuel 26:17

And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Saul	שָׁאוּל֙ sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
knew	וַיַּכֵּ֤ר vai.ya.Ker	H5234	properly · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
David’s	דָּוִ֔ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
voice	ק֣וֹל Kol	H6963	a voice or sound · noun, common masculine singular construct
said	וַיֹּ֕אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
voice	הֲקוֹלְךָ֥ ha.kol.Cha	H6963	a voice or sound · interrogative particle + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
son	בְּנִ֣י be.Ni	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
David	דָוִ֑ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
David	דָּוִ֔ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּ֣אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
voice	קוֹלִ֖י ko.Li	H6963	a voice or sound · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
lord	אֲדֹנִ֥י 'a.do.Ni	H113	sovereign · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
king	הַמֶּֽלֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute

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 Samuel 24:16 And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul…
1 Samuel 24:8 David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David…

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 26:13-20

David having got safely from Saul's camp himself, and having brought with him proofs sufficient that he had been there, posts himself conveniently, so that they might hear him and yet not reach him (Sa1 26:13), and then begins to reason with them upon what had passed. I. He reasons ironically with Abner, and keenly banters him. David knew well that it was from the mighty power of God that Abner and the rest of the guards were cast into so deep a sleep, and that God's immediate hand was in it; but he reproaches Abner as unworthy to be captain of the lifeguards, since he could sleep when the king his master lay so much exposed. By this it appears that the hand of God locked them up in this dee…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 26:15

David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man: . . . wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king?--The circumstance of David having penetrated to the center of the encampment, through the circular rows of the sleeping soldiers, constituted the point of this sarcastic taunt. This new evidence of David's moderation and magnanimous forbearance, together with his earnest and kindly expostulation, softened the obduracy of Saul's heart.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 26:15

Art not thou a valiant man? - This is a strong irony. Ye are worthy to die; ye are sons of death - ye deserve death for this neglect of your king. And had not Saul been so deeply affected with David's generosity in preserving his life, he had doubtless put Abner and his chief officers to death; though they were not to blame, as their apparent neglect was the effect of a supernatural sleep.

John Gill on 1 Samuel 26:17

And Saul knew David's voice,.... Though Abner at first did not, as appears by his words, but Saul did, by being this time thoroughly awake through the discourse that passed between David and Abner: and said, is this thy voice, my son David? the same question he put before, when he followed him out of the cave; see Gill on 1 Samuel 24:16, and David said, it is my voice, my lord, O king; he not only owns him to be king, whom he sought not to depose, but his own liege lord and sovereign, whose commands he was ready to obey.

The Church Fathers

But Saul recognized David's voice, etc. Saul, recognizing David's voice, moved by his humility, innocence, and justice, confessed that he had sinned and promised not to sin against him anymore, and orders him to return. Many of the leaders of the Jews, recognizing the voice of Christ through the apostles' exhortation, confessed that they had sinned, repenting, and implored him with many tears and great prayers to return by the grace of forgiveness to their hearts, which he had deserted because of their faithlessness.
— 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.…
Hachilah — The darksome hill, one of the peaks of the long ridge of el-Kolah, running out of the Ziph plateau, “on the south of Jeshimon” (i.e., of the “waste”), the district to which one looks down from the…
Self-Control · Of David — Of 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 26:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 26:13-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 26:15

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 26:15

John Gill on 1 Samuel 26:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 26:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 26:13-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 26:15

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 26:15

John Gill on 1 Samuel 26:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 26:13-20

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 26:17

Rashi on 1 Samuel 26:11