1 Samuel 17:55 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.

1 Samuel 17:54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.

1 Samuel 17:55 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.

1 Samuel 17:56 And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is.

1 Samuel 17:57 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saul", "david", "forth", "against", "philistine", "said", "abner", and "captain". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saul" and "david", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 54's "And David took the head of the..." into verse 56's "And the king said Inquire thou whose...", so "saul" and "david" belong inside that flow. In 1 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "saul" and "david" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.