1 Samuel 17:55-58

Saul Inquires About David's Background. 1 Samuel 17:55-58

55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.

56 And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is.

57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.

21.

Why did Saul seemingly fail to recognize David? 1 Samuel 17:55-58

This does not necessarily mean that Saul did not know David as the young man that played the harp for him when he was under the spell of the evil spirit. The fact that he had asked no questions along this line when David first appeared before him indicates that he knew who he was. Otherwise it would be hard to understand how he was so ready to trust him. What he did not know was the standing of David's family. It was the story of David concerning his family that seemed to have a strong appeal to Jonathan and led him to make the gift of his armor.

If Saul was going to make Jesse's house free in Israel, he would have to know more about the house. He may have inquired as to the number of sons in the home of Jesse. Furthermore, if David were to become the son-in-law of the king, Saul would want to know his background to make sure that he was of proper Israelite ancestry. It would also be necessary for Saul to find out more about David's family in order to know what kind of gifts to make for this daring deed of patriotism. David did surely more than to answer Saul's question. He must have gone into some little bit of explanation of his humble origins; because when he concluded speaking with Saul, Jonathan's soul was knit to that of David (1 Samuel 18:1).