1 Samuel 17:12

12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old.

1 Samuel 17:12 in Other Translations

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.

12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.

12 Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. Jesse was an old man at that time, and he had eight sons.

12 Enter David. He was the son of Jesse the Ephrathite from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse, the father of eight sons, was himself too old to join Saul's army.

12 Now David was the son of the Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons, and during Saul's reign was [already] an old man.

1 Samuel 17:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:12

Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah,
whose name was Jesse Before made mention of, ( 1 Chronicles 16:1 )

and he had eight sons;
seven only are mentioned, ( 1 Chronicles 2:13-15 ) one of them being, as is thought by some, a grandson, perhaps Jonadab the son of Shammah; or was a son by another woman, or died without children, as Jarchi, and therefore not mentioned:

and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul;
the phrase, "among men", either signifies that he was ranked among old men, infirm and unfit for war, and so excused, and his sons went in his room, so Kimchi; or he was reckoned among men of the first rank, men of esteem, credit, and reputation, so Jarchi and R. Isaiah, with which agrees the Targum; or whenever he went abroad, he was attended by many men, had a large retinue, which sense Abarbinel mentions, and is that of Ben Gersom, and agrees with the Talmud ^F20; but the Syriac and Arabic versions read "stricken in years", which seems most agreeable.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 T. Bab. Beracot: fol. 58. 1.

1 Samuel 17:12 In-Context

10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.”

11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old.

13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah.

14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul,

Cross References

• 1. S Genesis 35:16; S Genesis 48:7; Psalms 132:6
• 2. S Ruth 4:17; 1 Chronicles 2:13-15
• 3. S Genesis 35:19
• 4. 1 Samuel 16:11