1 Samuel 17:34

34 Pero David insistió:
—He estado cuidando las ovejas y las cabras de mi padre. Cuando un león o un oso viene para robar un cordero del rebaño,

1 Samuel 17:34 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:34

And David said unto Saul
In answer to his objection of inability to encounter with one so superior to him; and this answer is founded on experience and facts, and shows that he was not so weak and inexpert as Saul took him to be:

thy servant kept his father's sheep;
which he was not ashamed to own, and especially as it furnished him with an stance of his courage, bravery, and success, and which would be convincing to Saul:

and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock;
not that they came together; though Kimchi so interprets it, "a lion with a bear"; but these are creatures that do not use to go together; and besides, both could not be said with propriety to take one and the same lamb out of the flock: to which may be added, that David in ( 1 Samuel 17:35 ) speaks only of one, out of whose mouth he took the lamb; wherefore the words may be rendered, "a lion or a bear" ^F6; and if the copulative "and" is retained, the meaning can only be, that at different times they would come and take a lamb, a lion at one time, and a bear at another.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 (bwdh taw yrah) "leo vel ursus", V. L. "leo aut ursus", Junius & Tremellius, Bochart. Noldius, p. 271.

1 Samuel 17:34 In-Context

32 David mata a Goliat
—No te preocupes por este filisteo —le dijo David a Saúl—. ¡Yo iré a pelear contra él!

33 —¡No seas ridículo! —respondió Saúl—. ¡No hay forma de que tú puedas pelear contra ese filisteo y ganarle! Eres tan solo un muchacho, y él ha sido un hombre de guerra desde su juventud.

34 Pero David insistió:
—He estado cuidando las ovejas y las cabras de mi padre. Cuando un león o un oso viene para robar un cordero del rebaño,

35 yo lo persigo con un palo y rescato el cordero de su boca. Si el animal me ataca, lo tomo de la quijada y lo golpeo hasta matarlo.

36 Lo he hecho con leones y con osos, y lo haré también con este filisteo pagano, ¡porque ha desafiado a los ejércitos del Dios viviente!