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Scripture Analysis

1 Samuel 17:55

This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.

Contradictions
1 entry

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WEB

When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I can’t tell.”

World English Bible

Read 1 Samuel 17:55 in context

Examined in Scripture Analysis

Contradictions (1)

Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.

  • When did Saul meet David?

    1 Samuel 16:21-23 has David enter Saul's court as a beloved armor-bearer and harpist whom Saul personally requests from Jesse. One chapter later, 1 Samuel 17:55-58 has Saul not knowing who David is after the Goliath fight, asking Abner whose son this youth is, and then asking David himself.

    Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.

    More on this question

    The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.

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Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built

Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.

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One of these tensions involves a difference in wording across manuscripts or translations. Examine the original language on Lemma

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This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.

"1 Samuel 17:55 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/1-samuel/17/55?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).