1 Samuel 17:14
in 1 Samuel 17And David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David was the youngest; and the three eldest followed Saul.
KJV
And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the son of that Ephrathite
on 1 Samuel 17:12-15
The narrative starts over from Bethlehem, as if to say that the answer to Gath was already growing in Ruth's town. David is the eighth son, keeper of the sheep, and verse 15 has him going back and forth between Saul's court and his father's flock, which is how the anointed of chapter 16 can arrive at this battle as an errand boy. Bethlehem carries the thread that began at Ruth 4:17 and runs to Micah 5:2.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
David, however, was the youngest. The Lord is to be understood as the youngest among his brothers for a twofold reason: in which he filled the number eight, that is, those to whom he entrusted the sacraments of the Gospel when they were perfected in …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), while David himself was so far from being proud of the services he had done his prince, or ambitious of further preferment, that he not only returned from court to the obscurity of his father's house, but to care, and toil, and (as it proved,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And David was the youngest,.... For the sake of whom this account is given of Jesse and his family, and who after this makes a considerable figure in the camp and court of Saul: and the three eldest followed Saul; as before related, and which is repeated, that it might be observed that they only of Jesse's sons followed Saul; not David particularly, but who was providentially sent to the army at the time the Philistine was defying it.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Dovid was the youngest. Who had previously been in Shaul's palace to play music before him.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Dovid would go. Would always go back and forth from Shaul to his father's house. 8 Dovid was not permanently assigned to be with Shaul. Dovid played music for Shaul when the evil spirit rested upon him. At all other times he would return home to tend his father’s sheep.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְדָוִ֖ד | vedavid | and David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הַקָּטָ֑ן | hakatan | [was] the young | H6996 → | 101 times |
| וּשְׁלֹשָׁה֙ | usheloshah | and three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| הַגְּדֹלִ֔ים | hagedolim | <the> old | H1419 → | 526 times |
| הָלְכ֖וּ | halekhu | they had gone | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֥י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| שָׁאֽוּל׃ ס | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
וְדָוִ֖דand David
vedavidH1732 →999 times
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הַקָּטָ֑ן[was] the young
hakatanH6996 →101 times
וּשְׁלֹשָׁה֙and three
usheloshahH7969 →432 times
הַגְּדֹלִ֔ים<the> old
hagedolimH1419 →526 times
הָלְכ֖וּthey had gone
halekhuH1980 →1546 times
אַחֲרֵ֥יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
שָׁאֽוּל׃ סSaul
shaulH7586 →402 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 25:23and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the…
it leads to
- Romans 9:10–13
Not only that, but Rebecca’s children were conceived by one man, our father Isaac.
- Genesis 27:40
You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
- Genesis 27:29
May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you…
- 2 Samuel 8:14
He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
- Malachi 1:2–5
“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved,
- Romans 9:10–13
Through
1 Samuel 16:11And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit…
it leads to
- Psalms 78:70–71
He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
- 2 Samuel 7:8
Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My…
- 1 Samuel 17:28
Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep…
- Psalms 78:70–71
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Samuel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).