'Man' in the Bible

The young man answered Saul again, "Look here! I have in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I'll give it to the man of God, and he will tell us about our journey."

Saul told his young man, "That's a good suggestion! Come on, let's go!" Then they entered the town where the man of God was.

"About this time tomorrow I'll send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him as Commander-in-Chief over my people Israel. He'll deliver my people from the control of the Philistines, because I've seen the suffering of my people and because their cry has come up to me."

When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, "Here is the man I told you about. This man will rule over my people."

Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them to a room where he gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, of whom there were about 30 men.

As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel told Saul, "Tell your young man to go ahead of us and when he has gone ahead, stop for a while so I may declare God's word to you."

A man from there answered: "Now who is their father?" Therefore it became a proverb, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Saul's uncle told him and to his young man, "Where did you go?" He said, "To look for the donkeys, and when we saw that they couldn't be found, we went to Samuel."

So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?" The LORD said, "He is here, hiding among the baggage."

Then Samuel told all the people, "Do you see the man whom the LORD has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people." Then all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"

But some troublemakers said, "How can this man deliver us?" They despised him and did not bring him a gift. But Saul remained silent.

He took a yoke of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers through all the territory of Israel: "This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not come out and join Saul and Samuel!" The fear of the LORD fell on the people and they came out as one man.

but now your kingdom won't be established. The LORD has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as Commander-in-Chief over his people because you didn't obey that which the LORD commanded you."

Then Saul said, "Disperse yourselves among the soldiers and say to them, "Let each man bring his ox and his sheep to me, and you are to slaughter them here and eat. But don't sin against the LORD by eating meat with the blood.'" So every soldier brought his ox with him that night, and they slaughtered them there.

Now, go and attack Amalek. Completely destroy all that they have. Don't spare them, but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, both ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"

Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind, for he's not a man that he should change his mind."

The LORD told Samuel, "Don't look at his appearance or his height, for I've rejected him. Truly, God does not see what man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart."

Let our lord order his servants who attend you to look for a man who is skilled in playing the lyre. And then when an evil spirit from God comes on you, he will play and you will be better."

Saul told his servants, "Find a man for me who can play well and bring him to me."

One of the young men answered: "Look, I've seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skilled in playing. The man is a valiant soldier, gifted in speech, and handsome. And the LORD is with him."

The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam and the iron point of his spear weighed 600 shekels. A man carrying his shield walked in front of him.

He stood still and called out to the ranks of Israel, "Why should you move into position for battle? Am I not a Philistine and you Saul's servants? Choose a man for yourselves to come down against me.

The Philistine said, "I defy the ranks of Israel today. Send me one man and let's fight together."

David was the son of that Ephrathite man named Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons; at the time when Saul was king he was old, having lived to an advanced age.

When all the Israelis saw the man, they fled from him and were very frightened.

"Did all of you see this man coming up?" one Israeli asked. "He comes up to defy Israel, and the king will richly reward the man who kills him. He will give his daughter to him and will make his father's house tax free in Israel."

David asked the men who were standing by him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? Indeed, who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

The people also told him the same thing, saying, "This is what will be done for the man who kills him."

Saul told David, "You can't go against this Philistine and fight him. You are only a young man, but he has been a warrior since his youth."

With a man carrying his shield in front of him, the Philistine kept coming closer to David.

When the Philistine looked and saw David, he had contempt for him, because he was only a young man. David had a dark, healthy complexion and was handsome.

When Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of the army, "Whose son is this young man, Abner?" Abner said, "As surely as you live, your majesty, I don't know."

The king replied, "Go find out whose son the young man is."

Saul told him, "Whose son are you, young man?" David said, "The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem."

Saul's officials delivered this message to David, and he asked, "Is becoming the king's son-in-law an unimportant thing to you? I'm a poor and unimportant man."

But if I say this to the young man: "Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then go, for the LORD has sent you away.

As long as Jesse's son lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established! Now send someone and bring David to me. He's a dead man!"

One man, Ahimelech's son Abiathar, a grandson of Ahitub, escaped and fled to David.

David got up and went down to the Wilderness of Paran. Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel of Judah, and the man was very rich. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

The man's name was Nabal and his wife's name was Abigail. The woman was intelligent and beautiful, while the man was harsh and wicked in his dealings. He was a descendant of Caleb.

Now David had said, "Surely it was for nothing that I protected everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness, and nothing was missing of all that belonged to him. But he has repaid me with evil for good!

Please, your majesty, don't pay attention to this worthless man Nabal, for he's just like his name. Nabal is his name and folly is his constant companion. But I, your servant, didn't see your majesty's young men whom you sent.

David told Abner, "Are you not a man, and who is like you in Israel? Why didn't you guard your lord, the king? Indeed, a soldier came to destroy the king, your lord.

David struck the land and did not leave a man or woman alive. He took sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing, and then came back and went to Achish.

David answered, "Against the Negev of Judah, against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites, and against the Negev of the Kenites." David did not leave a man or woman alive to bring to Gath. He told himself, "Otherwise, they'll say, "This is what David is doing, and this has been his practice all the time he has lived in Philistine territory.'"

Saul told her, "What does he look like?" She said, "An old man is coming up, and he's wrapped in a robe." Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed low to the ground and prostrated himself.

But the Philistine leaders were angry with him, so they pleaded with him, "Send the man back! Let him return to the place you assigned him. He mustn't go into battle with us. Otherwise, he may become our adversary in the battle! How could there be a better way for this fellow to reconcile himself with his lord? Wouldn't it be with the heads of these men?

They found an Egyptian man in the field, and they took him to David. They gave him food to eat and provided water for him.

The Egyptian replied, "I'm a young Egyptian man, the slave of an Amalekite man. My master abandoned me, because I got sick three days ago. We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory that belongs to Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we set Ziklag on fire."

The next day, a man escaped from Saul's camp! With torn clothes and dirty hair, he approached David, fell to the ground, and bowed down to him.

David asked the young man who related the story, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"

The young man who had been relating the story answered, "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa and there was Saul, leaning on his spear! Meanwhile, the chariots and horsemen were rapidly drawing near.

Meanwhile, David asked the young man who had told him the story, "Where are you from?" He answered, "I'm an Amalekite, the son of a foreign man."

Each man grabbed his opponent by the head, plunged his sword into his opponent's side, and then they both fell together. That's why the place at Gibeon was named The Field of Swords.

The king reminded his staff, "Don't you know that a prince and a great man has fallen today in Israel?

when the man who told me "Look! Saul is dead!' thought he was bringing me good news, I arrested him and had him killed at Ziklag as the reward I gave him for his news.

How much worse will it be, then, when evil men kill an innocent man on his own bed in his own house! Shouldn't I avenge his blood which you are responsible for shedding by removing you from the earth?"

Nathan approached David and said, "There are two men in the city. One is rich and one is poor. The rich man has many flocks and herds,

but the poor man had nothing except for one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It used to share his food and drink from his own cup. It even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

A traveler arrived to visit the rich man. Because he was unwilling to take an animal from one of his own flocks or herds to prepare for the guest who had come to visit him, he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to visit him."

David flew into a rage at the man and told Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!

But Nathan replied to David, "You are the man! This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ""I anointed you king and you became king over Israel. ""I delivered you from Saul's control.

Meanwhile, Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, who was the son of David's brother Shimeah. Now Jonadab was a very shrewd man.

But he was unwilling to listen to her. So he called out to a young man who was serving him, and told him: "Send this woman away from me and lock the door after her."

Meanwhile, Absalom had run away. While the young man standing watch was looking around, all of a sudden he observed many people coming down the road behind and to the west of the mountain! So the watchman left his post and reported, "I have seen men coming from the direction of Horonaim."

Perhaps the king will listen and deliver his humble servant from the oppression of the man who intends to eliminate both me and my son from what God has apportioned to us!'

Then the king addressed Joab, "Look! I'll do this thing that you've requested. Go bring back the young man Absalom."

Furthermore, if a man approached him to bow down in front of him, he would put out his hand, grab him, and embrace him.

Then I'll bring everybody else back to you. When the man you're looking for is dead, all the rest of the people will return quietly."

Then even men who would otherwise be as brave as lions will be scared, because every Israeli knows your father is a mighty man, and they know his men are valiant!

We'll go find David wherever he's hiding. We'll fall on him like dew on the ground! We'll kill him and all of his men, and we won't leave even one man alive!

But a young man observed Jonathan and Ahimaaz and informed Absalom, so they left in a hurry, arrived at the home of a man who lived at Bahurim, and hid inside a well that was in his courtyard.

Absalom had installed Amasa in place of Joab over the army. (Amasa was the son of a man named Jether the Ishmaelite. His mother was Abigail, a daughter of Nahash and a sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother.)

Joab asked the man who was reporting to him, "What! You saw him? Why didn't you kill him right then and there? I would've given you ten pieces of silver and a warrior's sash!"

But the soldier replied to Joab, "I wouldn't have touched the king's son even if you dropped 1,000 pieces of silver right into my hands, because we heard the king command you, Abishai, and Ittai, "Watch how you treat the young man Absalom!'

But Joab answered Ahimaaz, "You're not the man to deliver news today. Do it any other time, but not today, because the king's son is dead."

So Joab ordered a man from Ethiopia, "Go tell the king what you've seen." So the Ethiopian saluted Joab and then ran to tell David.

Meanwhile, David was sitting between the inner and outer gates of the city. The watchman was up on the roof of the gateway near the walls, looking around, and there was a man running by himself!

The king responded, "If he's alone, he's bringing some news to report." As the man continued to draw near and approach the palace, the watchman observed another man running. So he called out to the gatekeeper, "There's another man running by himself!" The king replied, "He's also bringing some news to report!"

Then the watchman observed, "It looks to me that the runner out in front is running like Zadok's son Ahimaaz!" The king replied, "This is a good man bearing good news!"

"Are things fine with respect to the young man Absalom?" the king asked. Ahimaaz answered, "I saw a lot of confusion about the time Joab was getting ready to send the king's courier and me, your servant, but I'm not sure what was going on."

The king asked the Ethiopian, "Is the young man safe?" The Ethiopian answered, "May the enemies of your majesty the king including everyone who rebels and tries to harm you become like that young man"."

Now get up and restore the morale of your army. I swear by the LORD that if you don't get out there, you won't have a single man left in your army by nightfall! You'll be in more trouble today than all the disasters you've been through from your boyhood until now!"

Now Barzillai was a very old man at the age of 80 years. A very wealthy man, Barzillai had provided for king David during his sojourn in Mahanaim.

Right about then, Bichri's son Sheba, an ungodly man from the tribe of Benjamin, sounded a battle trumpet and announced: We've never been a part of David! We'll never gain anything from Jesse's son! It's every man to his tent, Israel!

That's a lie! But there is a man from the Ephraim hill country he's known as Bichri's son Sheba who has rebelled against King David. Turn him over and I'll withdraw from the city!"

They told the king, "The man who consumed us, who planned our destruction intending to leave us with nothing in the territory of Israel

Later on, there was another battle at Gath, where there was a very tall man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot 24 in number who had also been fathered by giants.

Jehoiada's son Benaiah, who was a valiant man, accomplished great things. He was from Kabzeel. He killed two men named Ariel from Moab and then he also went down into a pit and struck down a lion during a snow storm one day.

While he was still asking that question, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest arrived, so Adonijah told him, "Come on in, since you're a worthy man and are bringing us good news!"

"If he's done nothing wrong, not a hair of his head will be harmed," Solomon replied. "But if we find evil in him, he's a dead man."

"I'm headed down the road that everyone who lives on earth travels, so be strong and demonstrate that you're a grown man

and so that the LORD may fulfill his promise that he spoke about me when he said, "If your sons pay attention to how they live by walking truthfully in my presence with all their heart and with all their soul, you will never lack a man on the throne of Israel.'

So act consistently with your wisdom, and don't let him die as a peaceful old man.

But don't let him off unpunished, since you're a wise man and you'll know what you need to do to him. Find a way that he dies in his old age by shedding his blood."

"Now therefore, LORD God of Israel, keep your promise that you made to my father, your servant David, when you said, "You will not lack a man to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants will watch their lives, to live in my presence just as you have lived in my presence.'

"If a man should sin against his neighbor and he is required to take an oath, and he then comes to take an oath in front of your altar in this Temple,

whatever prayer or request is made, no matter whether it's made by a single man or by all of your people Israel, each praying out of his own hurting heart and anguish and stretching out his hands toward this Temple,

then I'll make your royal throne secure forever, just as I agreed to do so for your father David when I said, "You are to not lack a man on the throne of Israel.'

Jeroboam was a valiant soldier, and because Solomon observed that the young man was able to get things done, he set him in charge over all of the conscripted labor from the household of Joseph.