The Meaning of 1 Samuel 17:15 Explained

1 Samuel 17:15

KJV: But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

YLT: and David is going and returning from Saul, to feed the flock of his father at Beth-Lehem.

Darby: But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

ASV: Now David went to and fro from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Beth-lehem.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But David  went  and returned  from Saul  to feed  his father's  sheep  at Bethlehem. 

What does 1 Samuel 17:15 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 17:1-16 - Israel Defied By The Philistine Champion
When their king lost the special consciousness of God's presence and power, the whole kingdom became demoralized, and the Hebrews had the humiliation of hearing in silence a defiant challenge to "the armies of the living God." It looked as if the answer would have to go by default-that Jehovah was a God that could not save. The impotence of the Israelites made Goliath still more defiant. At first he came down from the ranks of his own camp on the southern side of the valley and walked vaingloriously through the level plain between the two hosts; but after forty days had passed, he became bolder and came up the slopes where Israel stood. At his approach they fled in terror. Measuring nine feet, nine inches, covered with mail, and carrying a spear, the head of which weighed eighteen pounds, the giant must have seemed very formidable to the men of Israel. And are there not giants equally determined and terrible that threaten us, in national and individual experience, and find us unable to cope with them? We need David's God and David's faith! [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 17

1  The armies of the Israelites and Philistines being ready to battle
4  Goliath challenges a combat
12  David, sent by his father to visit his brothers, takes the challenge
28  Eliab chides him
30  He is brought to Saul
32  shows the reason of his confidence
38  and slays the giant
55  Saul takes notice of David

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 17:15 mean?

But David went and returned occasionally from Saul to feed - sheep of his father at Bethlehem
וְדָוִ֛ד הֹלֵ֥ךְ וָשָׁ֖ב מֵעַ֣ל שָׁא֑וּל לִרְע֛וֹת אֶת־ צֹ֥אן אָבִ֖יו בֵּֽית־ לָֽחֶם

וְדָוִ֛ד  But  David 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
הֹלֵ֥ךְ  went 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וָשָׁ֖ב  and  returned 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
מֵעַ֣ל  occasionally  from 
Parse: Preposition-m
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
שָׁא֑וּל  Saul 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁאוּל  
Sense: a Benjamite, son of Kish, and the st king of Israel.
לִרְע֛וֹת  to  feed 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
צֹ֥אן  sheep 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
אָבִ֖יו  of  his  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
בֵּֽית־  at 
Parse: Preposition
לָֽחֶם  Bethlehem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בֵּית לֶחֶם  
Sense: a city in Judah, birthplace of David.

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