1 Samuel 17:20
in 1 Samuel 17So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp as the army was marching out to its position and shouting the battle cry.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the place of the wagons, as the host which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.
KJV
And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The trench - Rather, “the wagons,” which were all put together in the camp so as to form a kind of bulwark or fortification (see 1Sa 26:5, 1Sa 26:7). Here David left his “carriage” 1Sa 17:22, i. e., the things which he had carried, “his things” as we should say, or baggage (translated stuff in 1Sa 10:22; 1Sa 25:13; 1Sa 30:24). There seems to have been an officer (“the keeper,” 1Sa 17:22) in the Hebrew army whose charge it was to guard the baggage.
This site's exposition
So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper
on 1 Samuel 17:20-22
David leaves the flock with a keeper, a detail that answers Eliab's sneer at verse 28 before it is spoken. He arrives as the army is "shouting the battle cry," timing no one planned but God. Henry reads the diligence as the lesson, since the man faithful with a few sheep and a supply errand is the one in the right place when the kingdom needs him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
As David came, he found the Jewish people located in the valley of Terebinth in order to fight against the Philistines, because Christ the true David was to come in order to lift up the human race from the valley of sins and tears. They …
The Medieval Church2 voices
So David rose early, etc. The shadow of the law receded, truth arose from the earth; that is, the Lord in the flesh, who would minister the light of the Gospel to the world, appeared; whereby He did not abandon the ninety-nine elect sheep divinely …
And He came to the place of Magala, etc. The Lord appearing in the flesh found both the saints struggling for faith and the unclean spirits plotting to destroy the fortresses of faith. Such was the state of the world when the Lord was born, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), and yet not to leave his sheep without a keeper, so faithful was he in a few things and therefore the fitter to be made ruler over many things, and so well had he learnt to obey before he pretended to command.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
1 ) and at this time gave proofs of both, and yet could not escape this hard character from his own brother. See the folly, absurdity, and wickedness, of a proud and envious passion; how groundless its jealousies are, how unjust its censures, how unfair its representations, how bitter its invectives, and how indecent its language. God, by his grace, keep us from such a spirit!
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Went, &c. - Jesse little thought of sending his son to the camp, just at that critical juncture. But the wise God orders the time and all the circumstances of affairs, so as to serve the designs of his own glory.
And David rose up early in the morning,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
David left the sheep with a keeper--This is the only instance in which the hired shepherd is distinguished from the master or one of his family. trench--some feeble attempt at a rampart. It appears (see Margin) to have been formed by a line of carts or chariots, which, from the earliest times, was the practice of nomad people.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם | vaiyashkem | and he rose early | H7925 → | 65 times |
| דָּוִ֜ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| בַּבֹּ֗קֶר | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וַיִּטֹּ֤שׁ | vaiyitosh | and he left | H5203 → | 40 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַצֹּאן֙ | hatzon | the flock | H6629 → | 274 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | with | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֔ר | shomer | a watchman | H8104 → | 468 times |
| וַיִּשָּׂ֣א | vaiyisa' | and he lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| וַיֵּ֔לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוָּ֖הוּ | tzivahu | he had commanded him | H6680 → | 494 times |
| יִשָׁ֑י | yishai | Jesse | H3448 → | 42 times |
| וַיָּבֹא֙ | vaiyavo' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַמַּעְגָּ֔לָה | hama'galah | the camp towards | H4570 → | 16 times |
| וְהַחַ֗יִל | vehachayil | and the army | H2428 → | 246 times |
| הַיֹּצֵא֙ | haiyotze' | which was going out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמַּ֣עֲרָכָ֔ה | hamaarakhah | the battle line | H4634 → | 19 times |
| וְהֵרֵ֖עוּ | vehereu | and they shouted a war cry | H7321 → | 44 times |
| בַּמִּלְחָמָֽה׃ | bamilchamah | in the battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨םand he rose early
vaiyashkemH7925 →65 times
דָּוִ֜דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
בַּבֹּ֗קֶרin the morning
babokerH1242 →214 times
וַיִּטֹּ֤שׁand he left
vaiyitoshH5203 →40 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַצֹּאן֙the flock
hatzonH6629 →274 times
עַל־with
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שֹׁמֵ֔רa watchman
shomerH8104 →468 times
וַיִּשָּׂ֣אand he lifted up
vaiyisa'H5375 →656 times
וַיֵּ֔לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
צִוָּ֖הוּhe had commanded him
tzivahuH6680 →494 times
יִשָׁ֑יJesse
yishaiH3448 →42 times
וַיָּבֹא֙and he came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
הַמַּעְגָּ֔לָהthe camp towards
hama'galahH4570 →16 times
וְהַחַ֗יִלand the army
vehachayilH2428 →246 times
הַיֹּצֵא֙which was going out
haiyotze'H3318 →1067 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמַּ֣עֲרָכָ֔הthe battle line
hamaarakhahH4634 →19 times
וְהֵרֵ֖עוּand they shouted a war cry
vehereuH7321 →44 times
בַּמִּלְחָמָֽה׃in the battle
bamilchamahH4421 →320 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
Luke 19:43For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.
it leads to
- Luke 21:20–24
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near.
- Isaiah 29:1–4
Woe to you, O Ariel, the city of Ariel where David camped! Year upon year let your festivals recur.
- Luke 21:20–24
Through
1 Samuel 17:28Now 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…
it leads to
- Matthew 10:36
A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
- Genesis 37:8
“Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements.
- Genesis 37:11
And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.
- Genesis 37:4
When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
- Proverbs 18:19
An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city, and disputes are like the bars of a castle.
- Matthew 10:36
Through
1 Samuel 26:5Then David set out and went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general of his army, had lain down. Saul was…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:55
As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,”…
- 1 Samuel 17:55
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 121.5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.