4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
4 And there went out H3318 a champion H376 H1143 out of the camp H4264 of the Philistines, H6430 named H8034 Goliath, H1555 of Gath, H1661 whose height H1363 was six H8337 cubits H520 and a span. H2239
5 And he had an helmet H3553 of brass H5178 upon his head, H7218 and he was armed H3847 with a coat H8302 of mail; H7193 and the weight H4948 of the coat H8302 was five H2568 thousand H505 shekels H8255 of brass. H5178
6 And he had greaves H4697 of brass H5178 upon his legs, H7272 and a target H3591 of brass H5178 between his shoulders. H3802
7 And the staff H6086 H2671 of his spear H2595 was like a weaver's H707 beam; H4500 and his spear's H2595 head H3852 weighed six H8337 hundred H3967 shekels H8255 of iron: H1270 and one bearing H5375 a shield H6793 went H1980 before H6440 him.
8 And he stood H5975 and cried H7121 unto the armies H4634 of Israel, H3478 and said H559 unto them, Why are ye come out H3318 to set your battle H4421 in array? H6186 am not I a Philistine, H6430 and ye servants H5650 to Saul? H7586 choose H1262 you a man H376 for you, and let him come down H3381 to me.
9 If he be able H3201 to fight H3898 with me, and to kill H5221 me, then will we be your servants: H5650 but if I prevail H3201 against him, and kill H5221 him, then shall ye be our servants, H5650 and serve H5647 us.
10 And the Philistine H6430 said, H559 I defy H2778 the armies H4634 of Israel H3478 this day; H3117 give H5414 me a man, H376 that we may fight H3898 together. H3162
11 When Saul H7586 and all Israel H3478 heard H8085 those words H1697 of the Philistine, H6430 they were dismayed, H2865 and greatly H3966 afraid. H3372
4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.
7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head `weighed' six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield-bearer went before him.
8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
9 If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
11 And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
4 And there goeth out a man of the duellists from the camps of the Philistines, Goliath `is' his name, from Gath; his height `is' six cubits and a span,
5 and a helmet of brass `is' on his head, and `with' a scaled coat of mail he `is' clothed, and the weight of the coat of mail `is' five thousand shekels of brass,
6 and a frontlet of brass `is' on his feet, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders,
7 and the wood of his spear `is' like a beam of weavers', and the flame of his spear `is' six hundred shekels of iron, and the bearer of the buckler is going before him.
8 And he standeth and calleth unto the ranks of Israel, and saith to them, `Why are ye come out to set in array the battle? `am' not I the Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose for you a man, and let him come down unto me;
9 if he be able to fight with me, and have smitten me, then we have been to you for servants; and if I am able for him, and have smitten him, then ye have been to us for servants, and have served us.'
10 And the Philistine saith, `I have reproached the ranks of Israel this day; give to me a man, and we fight together.'
11 And Saul heareth -- and all Israel -- these words of the Philistine, and they are broken down and greatly afraid.
4 And there went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 And he had a helmet of bronze upon his head, and he was clothed with a corselet of scales; and the weight of the corselet was five thousand shekels of bronze.
6 And he had greaves of bronze upon his legs, and a javelin of bronze between his shoulders.
7 And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and the shield-bearer went before him.
8 And he stood and cried to the ranks of Israel, and said to them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I the Philistine, and ye servants of Saul? choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me.
9 If he be able to fight with me, and to smite me, then will we be your servants; but if I overcome and smite him, then shall ye be our servants and serve us.
10 And the Philistine said, I have defied the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
11 And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
4 There went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 He had a helmet of brass on his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
6 He had brass shin-armor on his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.
7 The staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head [weighed] six hundred shekels of iron: and his shield-bearer went before him.
8 He stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, Why are you come out to set your battle in array? am I not a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
9 If he be able to fight with me, and kill me, then will we be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall you be our servants, and serve us.
10 The Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
4 And a fighter came out from the tents of the Philistines, named Goliath of Gath; he was more than six cubits tall.
5 And he had a head-dress of brass on his head, and he was dressed in a coat of metal, the weight of which was five thousand shekels of brass.
6 His legs were covered with plates of brass and hanging on his back was a javelin of brass.
7 The stem of his spear was as long as a cloth-worker's rod, and its head was made of six hundred shekels' weight of iron: and one went before him with his body-cover.
8 He took up his position and in a loud voice said to the armies of Israel, Why have you come out to make war? Am I not a Philistine and you servants of Saul? Send out a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.
9 If he is able to have a fight with me and overcome me, then we will be your servants: but if I am able to overcome him, then you will be our servants and do work for us.
10 And the Philistine said, I have put to shame the armies of Israel this day; give me a man so that we may have a fight together.
11 And Saul and all Israel, hearing those words of the Philistine, were troubled and full of fear.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Samuel 17
Commentary on 1 Samuel 17 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 17
1Sa 17:1-3. The Israelites and Philistines Being Ready to Battle.
1. the Philistines gathered together their armies—twenty-seven years after their overthrow at Michmash. Having now recovered their spirits and strength, they sought an opportunity of wiping out the infamy of that national disaster, as well as to regain their lost ascendency over Israel.
Shocoh—now Shuweikeh, a town in the western plains of Judah (Jos 15:35), nine Roman miles from Eleutheropolis, toward Jerusalem [Robinson].
Azekah—a small place in the neighborhood.
Ephes-dammim—or, "Pas-dammim" (1Ch 11:13), "the portion" or "effusion of blood," situated between the other two.
2. valley of Elah—that is, "the Terebinth," now Wady Er-Sumt [Robinson]. Another valley somewhat to the north, now called Wady Beit Hanina, has been fixed on by the tradition of ages.
1Sa 17:4-11. Goliath Challenges a Combat.
4-11. a champion—Hebrew, a "man between two"; that is, a person who, on the part of his own people, undertook to determine the national quarrel by engaging in single combat with a chosen warrior in the hostile army.
5. helmet of brass—The Philistine helmet had the appearance of a row of feathers set in a tiara, or metal band, to which were attached scales of the same material, for the defense of the neck and the sides of the face [Osborn].
a coat of mail—a kind of corslet, quilted with leather or plates of metal, reaching only to the chest, and supported by shoulder straps, leaving the shoulders and arms at full liberty.
6. greaves of brass—boots, terminating at the ankle, made in one plate of metal, but round to the shape of the leg, and often lined with felt or sponge. They were useful in guarding the legs, not only against the spikes of the enemy, but in making way among thorns and briers.
a target of brass—a circular frame, carried at the back, suspended by a long belt which crossed the breast from the shoulders to the loins.
7. staff of his spear—rather under five feet long, and capable of being used as a javelin (1Sa 19:10). It had an iron head.
one bearing a shield—In consequence of their great size and weight, the Oriental warrior had a trusty and skilful friend, whose office it was to bear the large shield behind which he avoided the missile weapons of the enemy. He was covered, cap-a-pie, with defensive armor, while he had only two offensive weapons—a sword by his side and a spear in his hand.
8-11. I defy the armies of Israel …; give me a man, that we may fight together—In cases of single combat, a warrior used to go out in front of his party, and advancing towards the opposite ranks, challenge someone to fight with him. If his formidable appearance, or great reputation for physical strength and heroism, deterred any from accepting the challenge, he used to parade himself within hearing of the enemy's lines, specify in a loud, boastful, bravado style, defying them, and pouring out torrents of abuse and insolence to provoke their resentment.
1Sa 17:12-58. David Accepts the Challenge, and Slays Him.
17. Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves—In those times campaigns seldom lasted above a few days at a time. The soldiers were volunteers or militia, who were supplied with provisions from time to time by their friends at home.
18. carry these ten cheeses to the captain—to enlist his kind attention. Oriental cheeses are very small; and although they are frequently made of so soft a consistence as to resemble curds, those which David carried seem to have been fully formed, pressed, and sufficiently dried to admit of their being carried.
take their pledge—Tokens of the soldiers' health and safety were sent home in the convenient form of a lock of their hair, or piece of their nail, or such like.
20. David left the sheep with a keeper—This is the only instance in which the hired shepherd is distinguished from the master or one of his family.
trench—some feeble attempt at a rampart. It appears (see Margin) to have been formed by a line of carts or chariots, which, from the earliest times, was the practice of nomad people.
22. left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage—to make his way to the standard of Judah.
25. make his father's house free in Israel—His family should be exempted from the impositions and services to which the general body of the Israelites were subjected.
34-36. a lion, and a bear—There were two different rencontres, for those animals prowl alone. The bear must have been a Syrian bear, which is believed to be a distinct species, or perhaps a variety, of the brown bear. The beard applies to the lion alone. Those feats seem to have been performed with no weapons more effective than the rude staves and stones of the field, or his shepherd's crook.
37. The Lord that delivered me—It would have been natural for a youth, and especially an Oriental youth, to make a parade of his gallantry. But David's piety sank all consideration of his own prowess and ascribed the success of those achievements to the divine aid, which he felt assured would not be withheld from him in a cause which so intimately concerned the safety and honor of His people.
Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee—The pious language of the modest but valiant youth impressed the monarch's heart. He felt that it indicated the true military confidence for Israel, and, therefore, made up his mind, without any demur, to sanction a combat on which the fate of his kingdom depended, and with a champion supporting his interests apparently so unequal to the task.
38, 39. Saul armed David with his armour—The ancient Hebrews were particularly attentive to the personal safety of their warriors, and hence Saul equipped the youthful champion with his own defensive accoutrements, which would be of the best style. It is probable that Saul's coat of mail, or corslet, was a loose shirt, otherwise it could not have fitted both a stripling and a man of the colossal stature of the king.
40. brook—wady.
bag—or scrip for containing his daily food.
sling—The sling consisted of a double rope with a thong, probably of leather, to receive the stone. The slinger held a second stone in his left hand. David chose five stones, as a reserve, in case the first should fail. Shepherds in the East carry a sling and stones still, for the purpose of driving away, or killing, the enemies that prowl about the flock.
42-47. the Philistine said … said David to the Philistine—When the two champions met, they generally made each of them a speech, and sometimes recited some verses, filled with allusions and epithets of the most opprobrious kind, hurling contempt and defiance at one another. This kind of abusive dialogue is common among the Arab combatants still. David's speech, however, presents a striking contrast to the usual strain of these invectives. It was full of pious trust, and to God he ascribed all the glory of the triumph he anticipated.
49. smote the Philistine in his forehead—At the opening for the eyes—that was the only exposed part of his body.
51. cut off his head—not as an evidence of the giant's death, for his slaughter had been effected in presence of the whole army, but as a trophy to be borne to Saul. The heads of slain enemies are always regarded in the East as the most welcome tokens of victory.
52. Shaaraim—(See Jos 15:36).
54. tent—the sacred tabernacle. David dedicated the sword of Goliath as a votive offering to the Lord.
55-58. Saul … said unto Abner … whose son is this youth?—A young man is more spoken of in many Eastern countries by his father's name than his own. The growth of the beard, and other changes on a now full-grown youth, prevented the king from recognizing his former favorite minstrel [1Sa 16:23].