1 Samuel 17:34

34 Y David respondió a Saúl: Tu siervo era pastor en las ovejas de su padre, y venía un león, o un oso, y tomaba algún cordero de la manada,

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 Y dijo David a Saúl: No desmaye ninguno a causa de él; tu siervo irá y peleará con este filisteo.

33 Y dijo Saúl a David: No podrás tú ir contra aquel filisteo, para pelear con él; porque tú eres niño, y él es un hombre de guerra desde su juventud.

34 Y David respondió a Saúl: Tu siervo era pastor en las ovejas de su padre, y venía un león, o un oso, y tomaba algún cordero de la manada,

35 y salía yo tras él, y lo hería, y le libraba de su boca; y si se levantaba contra mí, yo le echaba mano de la quijada, y lo hería y mataba.

36 Fuese león, fuese oso, tu siervo lo mataba; pues este filisteo incircunciso será como uno de ellos, porque ha deshonrado al ejército del Dios viviente.