1 Samuel 18:17

18:17 ¹ Then Saul said to David, “Here’s my oldest daughter, Merab. I want to give her to you in marriage. Only be a brave warrior ²  for me and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul thought, “There’s no need for me to raise my hand against him. Let it be the hand of the Philistines!”

1 Samuel 18:2

18:2 Saul retained David ³  on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house.

1 Samuel 17:8-11

17:8 Goliath ⁴  stood and called to Israel’s troops, ⁵  “Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose ⁶  for yourselves a man so he may come down ⁷  to me! 17:9 If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, we will become your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down, you will become our servants and will serve us.” 17:10 Then the Philistine said, “I defy Israel’s troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight ⁸  each other!” 17:11 When Saul and all the Israelites ⁹  heard these words of the Philistine, they were upset and very afraid.

[18:17]  ¹ tc Much of the ms evidence for the LXX lacks vv. 17-19.

[18:17]  ² tn Heb “son of valor.”

[18:2]  ³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:8]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to them.”

[17:8]  ⁶ tc The translation follows the ancient versions in reading “choose,” (from the root בחר, bkhr), rather than the MT. The verb in MT (ברה, brh) elsewhere means “to eat food”; the sense of “to choose,” required here by the context, is not attested for this root. The MT apparently reflects an early scribal error.

[17:8]  ⁷ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (either an imperfect or jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result here.

[17:10]  ⁸ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative verbal form indicates purpose/result here.

[17:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “all Israel.”