1 Samuel 16:11-19 KJV
And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. [12] And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. [13] Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. [14] But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. [15] And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. [16] Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. [17] And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. [18] 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. [19] Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
David wasn't a little puny kid when he was anointed by Samuel and entered Saul's court.
1 Samuel 16:21 KJV
And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.
He was immediately appointed as the king's armourbearer. This is not some little kid, no matter what Veggie Tales says.
According to
Numbers 1:3, 20 years old was the minimum age for military service. David was identified as a "man of war" prior to killing Goliath, and afterwards was immediately placed in charge of a battalion (1000 soldiers). If he was under 20 it is highly likely somebody (especially Samuel the prophet of God and champion of "obedience is better than sacrifice") would have objected that he was not yet eligible for military service.
It is thus most likely that he was 20-21 years old when he killed Goliath. Such persons were often called "youths" (as was Absalom even though he was definitely older than 20). Goliath calling him a "boy" would just be an example of a giant warrior insulting a young challenger.
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