And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.
Parallel translations
- WEB David was the youngest; and the three oldest followed Saul.
- BSB And David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul,
- NKJV David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul.
- NASB So David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul,
- NLT David was the youngest son. David’s three oldest brothers stayed with Saul’s army,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David is the youngest, while the three eldest serve with Saul. His lowly status as the youngest is emphasized again.
Overview
David's identity as the youngest, left tending sheep, is restated to highlight the unlikeliness of the hero God has chosen. Just as at his anointing, the overlooked youngest is the one God will use to deliver Israel. This pattern magnifies God's grace in exalting the humble for his glory.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 1 Sam 16:11And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
- Gen 25:23And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 17:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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