Saul Receives David

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The head of Goliath was also brought to Saul, though whether after or before it had been displayed in Jerusalem, is not quite clear. The king in the extremity of his need had promised enormous rewards to the man who should conquer Goliath. The victor was to have great riches, his family were to be made free from all taxes or other obligation forever; and, quite in the style of ancient romance, he was to be wedded to the king’s daughter.

‎Immediately that the victory was achieved, King Saul, with his shrewd, practical mind, must have turned to the question of the promised payment. If David had already sung to him, the king had forgotten the affair; for he questioned eagerly as to who this strange youth might be who had appeared so suddenly among the soldiers and spoken so confidently of God’s aid. Nor could his closest associates tell him. Abner, the chief general and ever loyal servant of Saul, was sent to enquire. He found David, still with Goliath’s head, and brought him to the king. There is no record that Saul welcomed the youth or repeated his previous promises. Already the crafty king may have been weighing with human wisdom the dangers of his extravagant offer. His only recorded words of greeting sound hard, “And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.”