Abner, whose son is that young man? (1 Samuel 17:55)I know the expected direction for today's reading is probably to examine the statement from chapter 16: Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Maybe another time.
According to chapter 16, Saul was looking for a musician/therapist to ease his troubled mind. One of his servants told him about David, and Saul had the young man brought to him. Saul and David met, and Saul took a liking to him, offering him a job.
Then comes chapter 17 and a little altercation between Israel and Philistia, which is more commonly referred to as the story of David and Goliath. Once the outcome is decided, Saul asks his general to investigate the young man, whom Saul apparently does not know, to find out who he is and where he comes from. Chapter 18, verse 2 states that Saul then offered David a job.
Another one of those things that makes me say, Hmmm...
In 2 Samuel 21:19, it is Elhanan (another son of Bethlehem) who is credited with Goliath's death, although in the parallel passage from 1 Chronicles 20:5, it is reported as Goliath's brother who was killed by Elhanan, and not Goliath himself. Hmmm...
What do you think?
It's possible Goliath was a 'family name' among these folks... I wonder if the one Elhanan took down was a relative of the one David faced. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteWhenever you mesh oral histories these hiccups are bound to occur - I wonder if the bit with the harp was supposed to fit in *after* the battle, in which his being taken in as harpist and armor-bearer after having attention drawn to him via the battle might be more logical.
Either way I suppose Goliath ended up dead and David ended up both in Saul's service and with Jonathan for a friend so it all comes out in the wash.