1 Samuel 26:17
in 1 Samuel 26Then Saul recognized David’s voice and asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” “It is my voice, my lord and king,” David said.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.
KJV
And Saul knew David’s voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 26
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Then David . . . stood on the top of an hill afar off . . . and cried to the people--(See on Jud 9:7). The extraordinary purity and elasticity of the air in Palestine enable words to be distinctly heard that are addressed by a speaker from the top of one hill to people on that of another, from which it is separated by a deep intervening ravine.
This site's exposition
Is this thy voice, my son David
on 1 Samuel 26:17-18
Saul calls him my son before David has said a word in his own defense, the same address he used at the cave's mouth in chapter 24 and will use again at verse 21, words that cost him nothing to speak and nothing to keep. David answers with two questions of his own, what have I done, and what evil is in mine hand, the same appeal to a clean record Saul had already conceded at 24:17, Thou art more righteous than I. A king who has already granted the verdict once is being asked to hold to it a second time.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
But Saul recognized David's voice, etc. Saul, recognizing David's voice, moved by his humility, innocence, and justice, confessed that he had sinned and promised not to sin against him anymore, and orders him to return. Many of the leaders of the Jews, recognizing the voice …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In the same manner he had expressed his relentings, ch. xxiv. He had given his wife to another and yet calls him son, thirsted after his blood and yet is glad to hear his voice. Those are bad indeed that have never any convictions of good, nor ever sincerely utter good expressions.
And Saul knew David's voice,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּכֵּ֤ר | vaiyaker | and he recognized | H5234 → | |
| שָׁאוּל֙ | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| ק֣וֹל | kol | [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֲקוֹלְךָ֥ | hakolcha | ¿ voice your | H6963 → | 506 times |
| זֶ֖ה | zeh | [is] this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| בְּנִ֣י | beni | O son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| דָוִ֑ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| קוֹלִ֖י | koli | voice my | H6963 → | 506 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֥י | ʾadoni | O lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיַּכֵּ֤רand he recognized
vaiyakerH5234 →
שָׁאוּל֙Saul
shaulH7586 →402 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
ק֣וֹל[the] voice of
kolH6963 →506 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הֲקוֹלְךָ֥¿ voice your
hakolchaH6963 →506 times
זֶ֖ה[is] this
zehH2088 →1180 times
בְּנִ֣יO son my
beniH1121 →4930 times
דָוִ֑דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
קוֹלִ֖יvoice my
koliH6963 →506 times
אֲדֹנִ֥יO lord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 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
1 Samuel 24:8After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed facedown in reverence
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 25:23–24
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, fell facedown, and bowed before him.
- Genesis 17:3
Then Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,
- 1 Samuel 20:41
When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone, fell facedown, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept together—though David wept…
- 1 Samuel 25:23–24
Through
1 Samuel 24:16When David had finished saying these things, Saul called back, “Is that your voice, David my son?” Then Saul wept aloud
it leads to
- Genesis 33:4
Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.
- Acts 6:10
but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.
- Job 6:25
How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?
- Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- Luke 21:15
For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
- Genesis 33:4
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; 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.