What Does 1 Samuel 17:18 Mean in the King James?
And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
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
The word behind “fare” is shalom, wholeness, so David’s errand pairs material provision with a direct look at whether his brothers are well.
THE MEANING
Your care for another’s wholeness takes tangible form: provision moves toward them, and attention seeks their actual condition. Their shalom is not assumed from a distance; the errand also brings back their pledge, a sign of their response.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A gift alone tells you how someone is doing. Here, provision and a direct look at their condition are separate parts of the same act of care.
THE ROOT
שְׁלוֹם
shalom
GROWS FROM
שלם
sh-l-m
The root carries the idea of being whole, sound, or complete; שָׁלוֹם (shalom) means well-being or wholeness.
“fare” in this verse is shalom. The brothers’ shalom is their well-being, something David is sent to look at directly. The root also appears in words for making good or repaying, linking wholeness with making something whole again.
ALSO GROWS
shalem: whole, sound, complete
שָׁלֵם
It shows that the brothers’ “fare” is about their actual condition and soundness.
shillem: make good, repay, recompense
שִׁלֵּם
This branch links the root’s sense of wholeness with restoring what is due or making something good.
עֲרֻבָּתָם
ʿarubbātām
GROWS FROM
ערב
ʿ-r-b
The root carries the idea of giving security or standing surety; עֲרֻבָּתָם (ʿarubbātām) means “their pledge.”
The pledge is an assurance entrusted for return. The errand sends provision outward and brings back a sign from the brothers, joining concern with confirmation.
ALSO GROWS
ʿārēv: surety, guarantor
עָרֵב
A surety stands behind an assurance, illuminating the pledge’s role as a sign of trust.
ʿērāḇōn: pledge, security
עֵרָבוֹן
This related word makes clear that the pledge is a concrete guarantee, not simply a wish for the brothers’ well-being.
THE PATTERN
Care for another person’s wholeness takes material form and seeks the truth of their condition.
And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.THE THREAD
And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive?The Hebrew word translated “welfare” here is shalom, the same word behind “fare” in David’s errand. The verse pairs asking after shalom with concrete questions about a person’s condition, showing wholeness as something you can inquire into.
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