How does 1 Sam 17 agree with 1 Sam 16?

[mawallace]

In 1 Samuel 17, after the battle with David, Saul asks, "As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?â€" v 55 - but in 1 Samuel 16 David had already been introduced to Saul "
One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.â€

How do you reconcile the two?

 

[Sinthesis]

Do kings always concern themselves with the family circumstances of their servants? Saul would have been told these details when he was seeking a harpist for relief. However Saul doubtless didn't consider the family information of a servant boy worth remembering. Saul may not have even recognized David's face.

 

[hawkman]

In 1 Samuel 17, after the battle with David, Saul asks, "As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?â€" v 55 - but in 1 Samuel 16 David had already been introduced to Saul "
One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.â€

How do you reconcile the two?

The introduction of David to Saul in 1Sam16 would have made David familiar to Saul no doubt , he choose David for his armor bearer after he met him .

Here is the passage in 1Sam17 .

55And 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.

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

57And 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.

58And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.

When David went from a player of the lyre and armor bearer to the slayer of a Giant presenting Goliath's head to Saul , King Saul was reassessing just exactly WHO David was ! Is it possible Saul was thinking is this my replacement on the throne standing before me ?

Glad to see you back with us mawallace .

 

[Whatever]

1Sam 17:55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is this youth?" And Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I do not know."

Saul just wants to know who David's father is. In chapter 16 Saul is told that David is a "son of Jesse the Bethlehemite."
1Sam 16:18 Then one of the servants answered and said, "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite

I simply assume that Saul did not have a photographic memory and simply forgot what "one of his servants told him." Also, how much time had passed between the 1Samual 16:18 and when David went out against Goliath?

The Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament has this:
Some time after David first came to Saul for the purpose of playing, and when he had gone back to his father to Bethlehem, probably because Saul's condition had improved, the Philistines made a fresh attempt to subjugate the Israelites.
So it seems that some time had passed. Also remember:
1Sam 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him.

If Saul was half demon possessed, how much would he remember from during that time?

 

[Butch5]

In 1 Samuel 17, after the battle with David, Saul asks, "As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?â€" v 55 - but in 1 Samuel 16 David had already been introduced to Saul "
One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.â€

How do you reconcile the two?

Hi Mawallace. The way to reconcile this is to recognize that the passage found in the Masoretic text, 1 Samual 17:55- 18:5, does not appear in the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament.

The Septuagint or the Greek Old Testament predates the Masoretic texts that we have today. That passage doesn't appear in the Masoretic text so it was most likely added to the Masoretic text at some point.