Saul “sent messengers to Jesse”, but it was obviously underlings who wrote the messages and handled the sending of the messengers. Saul probably just said: “Great, get him” (or something equivalent) when the servant recommended David. Whenever Saul needed David, of course, Saul had to send messengers to Jesse, but Saul’s conscious participation in this was probably to say “Get David” or some such.

Saul, of course, knew who David was by the time David fought Goliath. But Saul does not ask Abner who David is. Saul asks who David’s father is. There is no reason to think that Saul’s knowledge of Jesse would be any greater on the day of Goliath’s death than it was all those years earlier when he sent messengers to fetch David in the first place.

Remember, before the Goliath story, David’s interaction with Saul was that he sang for Saul. So you can imagine that Saul would say things like “I’m feeling angry. Play something to soothe me” or “Sing a love song” or whatever. In short, David was a valued servant useful for managing Saul’s moods. But that’s all.

No phrase like “Tell me about your family” was uttered by Saul until the very day mentioned in chapter 17.

God calls “…things that be not as though they were.” ROM.4:17 He called Abraham the “father of many nations” in the past tense. (see GEN.17:5)

The angel of the Lord called Gideon a valiant man of war before he ever picked up a sword.

With this principle in mind, let’s look at 1 SAM. 15:28, “And Samuel said unto him [Saul], The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee THIS DAY, and has given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thee.” Yet, Saul remained king for a number of years.

In 1 SAM. 16 Samuel annoints David as the new King of Israel even though he is still a BOY (in his teens?).

During this timeframe Saul is troubled by an evil spirit, and his counselors recommend a harpist.

One servant boasts of David (16:18), calling him “…a mighty valiant man, and a man of war…and the LORD is with him.”

Whether the Spirit of God gave the servant those words, or whether he providentially “oversold” David to Saul; GOD placed the boy before the king. As soon as David played Saul was moved to accept him (vs.21).

Weeks or months go by, and Saul is eventually “healed” (16:23).

The events of chapter 17 occur YEARS later. Verses 12-15 are parenthetical. Jesse is now an “old man”. His 3 eldest sons are grown and in the army. In verse 15 we find young David back with his father tending sheep. Evidently, after Saul was healed, he had allowed David to return home.

This makes the second clause of 16:21 “…he became his armour bearer” a FUTURE event; just as David WOULD be a “mighty man of valor” in time.

To illustrate.

Jim went to work for ABC Corporation and became the CEO.

If we know that Jim was hired right out of college, we can safely assume it took him a number of years to reach that position. But it does ot make the statement wrong.

So in 17:55-58 Saul does not recognize David or remember his father, who he wants to reward (see 17:25).

Thats my 2 cents.

When I was growing up, I had a best friend named Brian. We went to school together for several years before I moved away.

Years later, we found ourselves working side-by-side in a local business, but – this is interesting – we worked together for *months* before we recognized each other. Neither of us had had any reason to mention their surname, and we simply didn’t realize who the other was. I want to emphasize, we were *best friends* when we were in grade school.

To me, this seems like the most likely resolution to the Saul not recognizing David problem. After all, Saul was king – surely he had a LOT of names and faces to deal with. Let alone remembering who David’s father was.

That’s my two cents, anyhow.

In 16:22-23 we are told that David has become Saul’s armour-bearer, yet 17:15 has David still feeding his father’s sheep.

At 17:12 we are told David is the 8th son of a man named Jesse, as if we didn’t already know that.

And at 17:55-58, Saul calls David “young man” (twice) and “the stripling”. Apparently he doesn’t know David’s name.

But johnfoxe had it right in his secondary comment. Saul simply didn’t remember who David’s father was. Would you really expect him to?

This is not an error in the text, but it does show that Saul had a fallible memory.

1 Samuel 18:2 indicates that David went with Saul that very day, and Saul would not let him return to his father’s house. So if 16:19 occurs after the battle, why would Saul have to send for David?

Aside from the fact that Saul could’ve just forgotten, it’s more likely the events in Chapter 17 come before 16? Chapter 17 shows David as a boy taking food to his brothers in the army. When David recounts to King Saul how good of a shepherd he was, he probably wouldn’t of had to do this had he been an armor bearer. However, chapter 16 shows him already as a warrior and an armor bearer.

Is this a real issue?