1 Samuel 17:56
in 1 Samuel 17“Find out whose son this young man is!” said the king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is.
KJV
And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Saul . . . said unto Abner . . . whose son is this youth?--A young man is more spoken of in many Eastern countries by his father's name than his own. The growth of the beard, and other changes on a now full-grown youth, prevented the king from recognizing his former favorite minstrel [1Sa 16:23].
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:100%@v3-5
And the king said, inquire thou whose son the stripling is. Still the question is the same, being very desirous of knowing of what family he was, for the reason before given; see Gill on 1Sa 17:55.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שְׁאַ֣ל | sheal | ask | H7592 → | 171 times |
| אַתָּ֔ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| מִי־ | mi- | whom? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| זֶ֖ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| הָעָֽלֶם׃ ס | haalem | [is] the youth | H5958 → |
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
שְׁאַ֣לask
shealH7592 →171 times
אַתָּ֔הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
בֶּן־son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
מִי־whom?
mi-H4310 →423 times
זֶ֖הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
הָעָֽלֶם׃ ס[is] the youth
haalemH5958 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.