1-Samuel - 17:17



17 Jesse said to David his son, "Now take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry (them) quickly to the camp to your brothers;

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of 1-Samuel 17:17.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;
And Isai said to David his son: Take for thy brethren an ephi of frumenty, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren.
And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to thy brethren;
And Jesse saith to David his son, 'Take, I pray thee, to thy brethren, an ephah of this roasted corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;
And Jesse said to his son David, Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dry grain and these ten cakes of bread, and go quickly with them to the tents to your brothers;
Now Jesse said to his son David: "Take, for your brothers, an ephah of cooked grain, and these ten loaves, and hurry to the camp, to your brothers.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

And Jesse said unto David his son, (d) Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched [corn], and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;
(d) Though Jesse meant one thing, yet God's providence directed David to another end.

And Jesse said unto David his son,.... His youngest son, that was at home with him keeping sheep; he had three more at home, and who were elder than David, and yet he is directed by the providence of God to pick and send him on the following errand, there being work for him to do Jesse knew nothing of:
take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn; pointing to a quantity of it in a certain place; this was wheat or barley dried in a furnace or oven, and ground into meal, and being mixed with water, or milk, or butter, or honey, or oil, was eaten, and reckoned very delicious; and besides this, there was another sort of "kali", the word here used, which was parched pulse, as beans, peas, &c. parched, and which to this day is by the Arabs called by this name (x); of both which mention is made, 2-Samuel 17:28. Now an "ephah" was as much as ten men could eat in a day, it consisted of ten omers, Exodus 16:16, and the number ten is after used of loaves and cheese:
and these ten loaves of bread; or cakes of bread, as Kimchi interprets it; pieces or morsels of bread, as the Targum; which seems not so agreeable as loaves or cakes, which are not in the text, but to be supplied:
and run to the camp to thy brethren; which, according to Bunting (y), was four miles from Bethlehem; and whither it seems he went on foot, and is bid to make haste, and even to run, as his brethren might be in want of provision; and Jesse was very desirous of relieving them, and hearing from them as soon as possible; it is very likely he had a servant or servants to attend him, and assist in carrying this load of provision, which, with what follows, was too much for one man to run with.
(x) Vid. Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 1. c. 7. col. 47. (y) Travels, &c. p. 135.

DAVID ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE, AND SLAYS HIM. (1Sa. 17:12-58)
Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves--In those times campaigns seldom lasted above a few days at a time. The soldiers were volunteers or militia, who were supplied with provisions from time to time by their friends at home.

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