Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 16:11

"And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he come hither." — 1 Samuel 16:11 (ASV)

Are here all your children? —For a moment the prophet is uncertain. The command from the Eternal Friend to come and anoint “the son of Jesse of Bethlehem” had been definite. However, the sons of Jesse had passed before him, and no sign had been granted to him indicating that God had chosen one of these youths of whom the father was so fond. So the seer asks, Are these all your children?

There remains yet the youngest. —Why David was kept in the background is uncertain. He, clearly, was different from the sturdy band of elder brothers who were grouped around their father. Although handsome, his beauty was of a very different type from that of his brothers. He was probably, compared with Saul and his own brothers, small in stature, with reddish-brown hair and a fair complexion. His father and the men in the village thought less of him than of his dark, tall brothers: in any case, Jesse considered him of too little importance to present to Samuel.

But, as so often, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. In a moment, Samuel saw that in the ruddy shepherd boy—small in stature and considered unimportant in his father’s house—he beheld the future king of Israel.