Did Saul ask the obvious question?

Originally posted on March 11, 2008 – by Andre Piet

QUESTION:
After the victory of David over Goliath, King Saul asks who David is (1 Sam. 17:55–58). But had Saul not already gotten to know David earlier (1 Sam. 16:14–23)?

ANSWER:
Indeed, Saul had already gotten to know David before the victory over Goliath. We even read: Saul “loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer” (1 Sam. 16:21).

Note, however, that after the victory Saul does not ask about the identity of David, but about that of his father.
verse 55: whose son is this young man?
verse 56: inquire whose son this young man is?
verse 58: whose son are you, young man?

Asking about David’s father has everything to do with the promise King Saul had made. In 1 Sam. 17:25 we read that the one who would defeat Goliath would be given (1) great riches, (2) permission to marry the king’s daughter, and (3) “his FATHER’S house would be exempt from burdens in Israel.” It is because of this last promise that Saul explicitly asks about David’s father.

Delen: