What Does 1 Samuel 16:18 Mean in the King James?
Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
What English calls “cunning in playing” is literally knowing how to play, placing artistry beside courage and discernment in one portrait.
THE MEANING
Your life is larger than the first gift by which others recognize you: practiced art, courage, and discernment can belong to one person. The name Bethlehem (בֵּית לֶחֶם, Bēt Leḥem, “house of bread”) carries the image of provision within this portrait. The verse ends with the LORD’s presence beside these capacities, holding them together.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It loosens the belief that nearness to God and developed competence belong to separate kinds of life; the verse places both in one portrait.
THE ROOT
יֹדֵעַ
yōdēaʿ
GROWS FROM
ידע
ידע (y-d-ʿ; yadaʿ): know, perceive.
The word translated “cunning” is literally “knowing”: the Hebrew phrase says David knows how to play. Musical ability appears as a form of knowing, rather than an accessory to the rest of his character.
ALSO GROWS
yādaʿ: to know, perceive
יָדַע
This is the verb behind “knowing” in the description of David’s playing.
daʿat: knowledge
דַּעַת
This noun from the same root shows how the language of knowing extends beyond a single fact to knowledge itself.
גִּבּוֹר
gibbōr
GROWS FROM
גבר
גבר (g-b-r; gābar): prevail, be strong.
“Mighty” carries the sense of strength that prevails. The verse’s description is one strand in a larger portrait that also includes music and discernment.
ALSO GROWS
gābar: to prevail, grow strong
גָּבַר
This verb reveals the force behind the description of David as mighty.
gevūrāh: might, strength
גְּבוּרָה
This related noun shows the same root expressing strength as a quality.
נְבוֹן
nevōn
GROWS FROM
בין
בין (b-y-n; bīn): distinguish, discern, understand.
“Prudent in matters” describes discernment: the ability to understand what a matter is. The same root appears in a verse about skilled singers, joining musical ability with understanding.
ALSO GROWS
bīn: to understand, discern
בִּין
This verb names the act of distinguishing or understanding that underlies the description.
bīnāh: understanding
בִּינָה
This noun shows the same root naming the capacity expressed by “prudent.”
tevūnāh: discernment, understanding
תְּבוּנָה
This related noun reinforces the root’s connection between perception and judgment.
THE PATTERN
A person’s abilities appear as distinct gifts held together in one life, with divine presence named alongside skill and discernment.
And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.THE THREAD
So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the LORD, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight.“Cunning” here comes from בין (b-y-n; bīn), the same root behind “prudent in matters” in Samuel. In both verses, discernment appears alongside music, so skilled playing is held together with understanding.
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