וַיַּ֩עַן֩ אֶחָ֨ד מֵהַנְּעָרִ֜ים וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֨ה רָאִ֜יתִי בֵּ֣ן לְיִשַׁי֮ בֵּ֣ית הַלַּחְמִי֒ יֹדֵ֣עַ נַ֠גֵּ֠ן וְגִבּ֨וֹר חַ֜יִל וְאִ֧ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֛ה וּנְב֥וֹן דָּבָ֖ר וְאִ֣ישׁ תֹּ֑אַר וַיהֹוָ֖ה עִמּֽוֹ׃
One of the attendants spoke up, “I have observed a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skilled in music; he is a stalwart fellow and a warrior, sensible in speech, and handsome in appearance,* and GOD is with him.”
*Or “strikingly handsome.”
(The above rendering comes from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation. Before accounting for this rendering, I will analyze the plain sense of the Hebrew term containing אִישׁ, by employing a situation-oriented construal as outlined in this introduction, pp. 11–16.)
Here אִישׁ is used in a predicate nominal term, to characterize an individual with regard to his looks. Now, ancient Hebrew has various ways of describing a man’s appearance as being attractive: יְפֵה־תֹאַר (Gen 39:6); טוֹב רֹאִי (1 Sam 16:12); יְפֵה מַרְאֶה (1 Sam 17:42); טוֹב־תֹּאַר (1 Kgs 1:6); בַּחוּר חֶמֶד (Ezek 23:6); יָפֶה (Song 1:16); and טוֹב מַרְאֶה (Dan 1:4). All of those are adjectival—they focus on an attribute as incidental to the person. In contrast, the present characterization is couched as a noun phrase. Here, אִישׁ marks the stated quality as essential for grasping the situation in question. In other words, the speaker is asserting that David is handsome to a degree that it should influence his being chosen as a candidate.
As for rendering into English, the NJPS ‘handsome in appearance’ does not express the situational nuance. A new footnote offers the idea that David’s appearance is not only handsome but also remarkably so.