1 Samuël 17:18

18 Maar breng deze tien melkkazen aan de oversten over duizend; en gij zult uw broederen bezoeken, of het hun welga, en gij zult van hen pand medenemen.

1 Samuël 17:18 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:18

And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their
thousand
Their chiliarch or colonel, who had the command of 1000 men, and under whom Jesse's sons fought; Jarchi thinks this was Jonathan, who had 1000 men with him at Gibeah, and so now, ( 1 Samuel 13:2 ) , these cheeses were sent by Jesse to the captain, to be distributed among his men, or a present to himself, that he might use his sons well who were under his command:

and look how thy brethren fare;
whether in good health, in good spirits, and in safety:

and take their pledge;
that is, if they had been obliged for want of money to pawn any of their clothes, or what they had with them to buy food with, that he would redeem and take up the pledge, by paying the money for which they were pawned; for it is thought that soldiers at this time were not maintained at the expense of the king and government, but at their own, and the families to which they belonged: though some are of opinion that this was some token which they had sent by a messenger to their father, by which he might know he came from them, so Ben Gersom; and which David was now to take with him, and return it; or a token that he was to bring from them, whereby he might be assured of their welfare; and so the Targum, "and bring their goodness", a token of their being in good health. The Jews F26 understand it of bills of divorce to be given to their wives, that if they should die in battle, or be taken captive, that their wives might marry after three years.


FOOTNOTES:

F26 Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 76. D.

1 Samuël 17:18 In-Context

16 De Filistijn nu trad toe, des morgens vroeg en des avonds. Alzo stelde hij zich daar veertig dagen lang.
17 En Isai zeide tot zijn zoon David: Neem toch voor uw broeders een efa van dit geroost koren, en deze tien broden, en breng ze ter loops in het leger tot uw broederen.
18 Maar breng deze tien melkkazen aan de oversten over duizend; en gij zult uw broederen bezoeken, of het hun welga, en gij zult van hen pand medenemen.
19 Saul nu, en zij, en alle mannen van Israel waren bij het eikendal met de Filistijnen strijdende.
20 Toen maakte zich David des morgens vroeg op, en hij liet de schapen bij den hoeder, en hij nam het op, en ging henen, gelijk als Isai hem bevolen had; en hij kwam aan den wagenburg, als het heir in slagorde uittoog, en men ten strijde riep.
The Dutch Staten Vertaling translation is in the public domain.