Shmuel Alef 16:11

11 And Shmuel said unto Yishai, Are here all thy ne’arim (boys)? And he said, There remaineth yet the katan (small, young), and, hinei, ro’eh batzon (tending the flock) is he. And Shmuel said unto Yishai, Send and get him; for we will not sit down [to eat] till he come here.

Shmuel Alef 16:11 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 16:11

And Samuel said unto Jesse, are here all thy children?
&c.] For neither of these being the person God would have anointed king, and yet it was one of Jesse's sons that was to be anointed, he concluded he must have more, at least one more, and therefore puts this question to him:

and he said, there remaineth yet the youngest;
or, "the little one" {c}; not of a little diminutive stature, for he was a mighty man, a man of strength, courage, and valour, ( 1 Samuel 16:18 ) or of a puerile age, for the Jews say F4 he was now twenty nine years of age; but that is not likely, he hardly exceeded more than twenty, or was so much; thereabout he might be; but he is so called because he was the youngest son, as we render it:

and, behold, he keepeth the sheep:
and from following them, he was taken and anointed king; see ( Psalms 78:70 Psalms 78:71 ) . Some of the greatest of men have been taken from rustic employment, as Moses, Gideon, Saul, and others:

and Samuel said unto Jesse, send and fetch him;
out of the field by a messenger:

for we will not sit down till he come hither;
that is, at table, to eat of that part of the peace offerings which belonged to the offerer Samuel, and which he had invited Jesse and his sons to partake of.


FOOTNOTES:

F3 (Njqt) "parvulus", V. L.
F4 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 13. p. 36.

Shmuel Alef 16:11 In-Context

9 Then Yishai made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath Hashem chosen this.
10 Again, Yishai made his shivat banim to pass before Shmuel. And Shmuel said unto Yishai, these Hashem hath not bachar (chosen).
11 And Shmuel said unto Yishai, Are here all thy ne’arim (boys)? And he said, There remaineth yet the katan (small, young), and, hinei, ro’eh batzon (tending the flock) is he. And Shmuel said unto Yishai, Send and get him; for we will not sit down [to eat] till he come here.
12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was adomoni (ruddy, of healthy red complexion) and withal of a yafeh countenance, and good-looking. And Hashem said, Arise, meshachehu (anoint him); ki zeh hu (for this is he).
13 Then Shmuel took the keren of shemen, v’yimshach (and anointed) him in the midst of his achim; and the Ruach [Hakodesh] of Hashem came upon Dovid from that day forward. So Shmuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.