1 Samuel 17:18
in 1 Samuel 17Take also these ten portions of cheese to the commander of their unit. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring back an assurance from them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and bring these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
KJV
And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
7 notes on this verseCarry these ten cheeses - Cheeses of milk, says the margin. In the East they do not make what we call cheese: they press the milk but slightly, and carry it in rush baskets. It is highly salted, and little different from curds.
This site's exposition
Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread
on 1 Samuel 17:17-19
Jesse sends bread to his sons and cheeses to their captain, and asks for their pledge, some token that they are alive and well. The father sends the youngest to the battle, and the older writers loved the picture: the errand is ordinary, and providence rides on it.
This site's exposition
these ten portions of cheese
Adam Clarke explains the ten portions of cheese as pressed curd, highly salted and carried in rush baskets. Matthew Henry notes that David carried the whole load himself. Henry thinks Jesse kept his anointed son low to hide him from envy.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Just as this happened, then, in the blessed patriarchs, Isaac and Jacob, dearest brothers, so we know it was prefigured in Jesse the father of David; for when he sent his son David to look for his brothers, he seems to have typified God the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He had not so much as an ass at command to carry his load, but must take it on his back, and yet run to the camp. Jesse, we thought, was privy to his being anointed, and yet industriously kept him thus mean and obscure, probably to hide him from the eye of suspicion and envy, knowing that he was anointed to a crown in reversion.
And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Take their pledge - i. e., bring back what they have to say in return.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֠אֵת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲשֶׂ֜רֶת | ʾaseret | [the] ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| חֲרִצֵ֤י | charitzei | [the] portions of | H2757 → | |
| הֶֽחָלָב֙ | hechalav | <the> milk | H2461 → | |
| הָאֵ֔לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| תָּבִ֖יא | tavi' | you will bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְשַׂר־ | lesar- | to [the] commander of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| הָאָ֑לֶף | haalef | the thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַחֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾacheikha | brothers your | H251 → | 630 times |
| תִּפְקֹ֣ד | tifkod | you will pay attention | H6485 → | 303 times |
| לְשָׁל֔וֹם | leshalom | to welfare | H7965 → | 236 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲרֻבָּתָ֖ם | ʾarubatam | pledge their | H6161 → | |
| תִּקָּֽח׃ | tikach | you will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
וְ֠אֵתand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עֲשֶׂ֜רֶת[the] ten
ʾaseretH6235 →176 times
חֲרִצֵ֤י[the] portions of
charitzeiH2757 →
הֶֽחָלָב֙<the> milk
hechalavH2461 →
הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
תָּבִ֖יאyou will bring
tavi'H935 →2568 times
לְשַׂר־to [the] commander of
lesar-H8269 →421 times
הָאָ֑לֶףthe thousand
haalefH505 →505 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אַחֶ֙יךָ֙brothers your
ʾacheikhaH251 →630 times
תִּפְקֹ֣דyou will pay attention
tifkodH6485 →303 times
לְשָׁל֔וֹםto welfare
leshalomH7965 →236 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עֲרֻבָּתָ֖םpledge their
ʾarubatamH6161 →
תִּקָּֽח׃you will take
tikachH3947 →966 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 37:14Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when…
it leads to
- Genesis 35:27
Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
- Luke 19:42
and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.
- Psalms 125:5
But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
- Genesis 35:27
Through
2 Samuel 17:29honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 16:2
“Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine…
- 2 Samuel 16:14
Finally, the king and all the people with him arrived, exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.
- Isaiah 21:14
Bring water for the thirsty, O dwellers of Tema; meet the refugees with food.
- 2 Samuel 16:2
Through
1 Samuel 16:20And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and one young goat, and sent them to Saul with his son David.
it leads to
- Proverbs 18:16
A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men.
- 1 Samuel 10:27
But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.
- Proverbs 18:16
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 121.1-2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.