1 Samuel 17:13 (GNV)

Passage

And the three eldest sonnes of Ishai went and followed Saul to the battel: and the names of his three sonnes that went to battell, were Eliab the Eldest, and the next Abinadab, and the thirde Shammah.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard those wordes of the Philistim, they were discouraged, and greatly afraide.

1 Samuel 17:12 Nowe this Dauid was the sonne of an Ephrathite of Beth-lehem Iudah, named Ishai, which had eight sonnes: and this man was taken for an olde man in the daies of Saul.

1 Samuel 17:13 And the three eldest sonnes of Ishai went and followed Saul to the battel: and the names of his three sonnes that went to battell, were Eliab the Eldest, and the next Abinadab, and the thirde Shammah.

1 Samuel 17:14 So Dauid was the least: and the three eldest went after Saul.

1 Samuel 17:15 Dauid also went, but hee returned from Saul to feede his fathers sheepe in Beth-lehem.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "three", "eldest", "sonnes", "ishai", "went", "followed", "saul", and "battel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "three" and "eldest", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Nowe this Dauid was the sonne of..." into verse 14's "So Dauid was the least and the...", so "three" and "eldest" 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 "three" and "eldest" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.