Bible Strands
1 Samuel 17:55
As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,” Abner replied, “I do not know.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul watches David head out to face the Philistine and asks his army commander Abner whose son the young man is. Abner replies with a royal oath that he does not know.
The words — The Hebrew יֹצֵא (yo.Tze') means "going out" and לִ/קְרַ֣את (li/k.Rat) means "to meet," capturing David’s deliberate advance toward combat.
The thread — This question precedes 1 Samuel 17:58 where Saul demands the answer directly, and contrasts with 1 Samuel 16:21 where David already serves in Saul’s court.
Why it lands — The text records a king’s failure to recognize a warrior he previously employed, requiring the reader to acknowledge that divine preparation often operates outside human observation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 16:21 When David came to Saul and entered his service, Saul loved him very much, and David became his armor-bearer.
- 1 Samuel 17:58 “Whose son are you, young man?” asked Saul. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied.