1 Samuel 17:18

1Sa 17:18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of [their] thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

Ver. 18. Look how thy brethren fare.] Great is a parent’s care.

“ Omnis in Ascanio churi stat cura parentis. ”

And take their pledge.] Redeem what they have pawned, and bring me commendations from them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

If they have laid anything to gage for their necessity, redeem it out.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

carry these ten cheeses to the captain--to enlist his kind attention. Oriental cheeses are very small; and although they are frequently made of so soft a consistence as to resemble curds, those which David carried seem to have been fully formed, pressed, and sufficiently dried to admit of their being carried.

take their pledge--Tokens of the soldiers' health and safety were sent home in the convenient form of a lock of their hair, or piece of their nail, or such like.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 18. Carry these ten cheeses] Cheeses of milk, says the margin. In the East they do not make what we call cheese: they press the milk but slightly, and carry it in rush baskets. It is highly salted, and little different from curds.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(18) Look how thy brethren fare.—The same learned commentator (Wordsworth), following out this curious line of Patristic interpretation, remarks on these words: “David is sent by his father to his brethren from Bethlehem. So the Divine David, Jesus Christ, who was born at Bethlehem, was sent to His brethren by his Heavenly Father.” He completes the analogy between David and Christ by pointing out how David was ill-received by his brethren, though he came at his father’s bidding to show them an act of kindness; so Christ, when sent by His Father from heaven on an embassy of love, was ill-received by His own brethren, the Jews. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (Joh_1:11).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. look how thy brethren fare] Visit thy brethren and enquire after their welfare. Cp. Gen_37:14.

take their pledge] Bring home some token from them that they are well: the equivalent of a letter.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand,.... Their chiliarch or colonel, who had the command of 1000 men, and under whom Jesse's sons fought; Jarchi thinks this was Jonathan, who had 1000 men with him at Gibeah, and so now, Sa1 13:2, these cheeses were sent by Jesse to the captain, to be distributed among his men, or a present to himself, that he might use his sons well who were under his command:

and look how thy brethren fare; whether in good health, in good spirits, and in safety:

and take their pledge; that is, if they had been obliged for want of money to pawn any of their clothes, or what they had with them to buy food with, that he would redeem and take up the pledge, by paying the money for which they were pawned; for it is thought that soldiers at this time were not maintained at the expense of the king and government, but at their own, and the families to which they belonged: though some are of opinion that this was some token which they had sent by a messenger to their father, by which he might know he came from them, so Ben Gersom; and which David was now to take with him, and return it; or a token that he was to bring from them, whereby he might be assured of their welfare; and so the Targum, "and bring their goodness", a token of their being in good health. The Jews (z) understand it of bills of divorce to be given to their wives, that if they should die in battle, or be taken captive, that their wives might marry after three years.

(z) Hieron. Trad. Heb. in lib. Reg. fol. 76. D.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Take their pledge - i. e., bring back what they have to say in return.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Cheeses. Hebrew, "of milk." Septuagint, "pieces of soft cheese:" erts is no where else used to denote cheese. This was a present (Calmet) for (Hebrew) "the Chiliarch." --- Placed, who is their immediate officer. (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "how they are mixed:" their company. Septuagint, &c., "what they stand in need of." Symmachus, "Thou shalt receive their pay." Syriac and Arabic, "what news." Others would translate, "their pledge," or bill of divorce to their wives, that, in case they be made prisoners for three years, the latter may be allowed to marry. (Trad. Heb.[Hebrew tradition?]) (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Unto the captain of their thousand; in whose power it was in a great measure, either to preserve them, or to expose them to utmost hazards.

Take their pledge, i.e. bring me some token of their welfare from them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. Cheeses — Literally, cuttings of the milk. That is, say some, slices of curdled milk. Cheese is not common at the present day among the Bedouin Arabs, but there is in use among them a substance, consisting of coagulated buttermilk, which is dried until it becomes quite hard, and is then ground.

Their pledge — A token from them that they are alive and well.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Pledge - That is, bring me some token of their welfare.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Cheeses. [Targum Yonoson renders] 'cheeses.'

To the captain of the thousand. I say 'to the captain of that thousand to which his brothers belong,' for all the tribes had captains of thousands according to their thousands. But I have heard, that 'to the captain of the thousand' refers to Yonoson, concerning whom [Scripture] stated, 'And a thousand were with Yonoson in Givas Binyomin'.

And take the tidings of their welfare. The assurance of their salvation and their welfare you shall take into your ears and to your heart, and tell it to me. And so did Targum Yonoson render, 'and their welfare you shall bring.'

Tidings of their welfare. This is an expression of salvation, as in 'Assure your servant for good'; garantis in O.F. Our Rabbis said [it means] that he should take a divorce from them, and deliver it to their wives, to break the connection [עֵרוּב] between him [husband] and her [wife].

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.