Person Old Testament
Eliab
Eliab was the eldest brother of King David and the son of Jesse. Mentioned in 5 verses across 3 books, first at 1 Samuel 16:6.
Why it matters. Eldest brother of King David
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Eliab
Eliab, mentioned in 1Sa.16.6; 17.13,28; 1Ch.2.13; and 2Ch.11.18, was the eldest son of Jesse and the brother of King David. When the prophet Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse's sons as the future king, Eliab was the first to pass before him. However, God instructed Samuel not to judge by appearance, as He had not chosen Eliab (1Sa.16.6-7). Eliab, along with his brothers, served in Saul's army during the battle against the Philistines. When David visited the camp, Eliab rebuked him, accusing him of neglecting their father's sheep out of pride and curiosity (1Sa.17.28). Despite this tension, Eliab witnessed David's victory over Goliath and his rise to prominence in Israel. Eliab's daughter, Abihail, later married King Rehoboam, the son of Solomon (2Ch.11.18), indicating a continued connection between the families.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Children
- Abihail
Appears in Scripture
Named in 5 verses across 3 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.