20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
20 And David H1732 rose up early H7925 in the morning, H1242 and left H5203 the sheep H6629 with a keeper, H8104 and took, H5375 and went, H3212 as Jesse H3448 had commanded H6680 him; and he came H935 to the trench, H4570 as the host H2428 was going forth H3318 to the fight, H4634 and shouted H7321 for the battle. H4421
21 For Israel H3478 and the Philistines H6430 had put the battle in array, H6186 army H4634 against H7125 army. H4634
22 And David H1732 left H5203 his carriage H3627 in the hand H3027 of the keeper H8104 of the carriage, H3627 and ran H7323 into the army, H4634 and came H935 and saluted H7592 H7965 his brethren. H251
23 And as he talked H1696 with them, behold, there came up H5927 the champion, H376 H1143 the Philistine H6430 of Gath, H1661 Goliath H1555 by name, H8034 out of the armies H4634 H4630 of the Philistines, H6430 and spake H1696 according to the same H428 words: H1697 and David H1732 heard H8085 them.
24 And all the men H376 of Israel, H3478 when they saw H7200 the man, H376 fled H5127 from him, H6440 and were sore H3966 afraid. H3372
25 And the men H376 of Israel H3478 said, H559 Have ye seen H7200 this man H376 that is come up? H5927 surely to defy H2778 Israel H3478 is he come up: H5927 and it shall be, that the man H376 who killeth H5221 him, the king H4428 will enrich H6238 him with great H1419 riches, H6239 and will give H5414 him his daughter, H1323 and make H6213 his father's H1 house H1004 free H2670 in Israel. H3478
20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the place of the wagons, as the host which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.
21 And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
22 And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
20 And David riseth early in the morning, and leaveth the flock to a keeper, and lifteth up, and goeth, as Jesse commanded him, and he cometh in to the path, and to the force which is going out unto the rank, and they have shouted for battle;
21 and Israel and the Philistines set in array rank to meet rank.
22 And David letteth down the goods from off him on the hand of a keeper of the goods, and runneth into the rank, and cometh and asketh of his brethren of welfare.
23 And he is speaking with them, and lo, a man of the duellists is coming up, Goliath the Philistine `is' his name, of Gath, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and he speaketh according to those words, and David heareth;
24 and all the men of Israel when they see the man flee from his presence, and are greatly afraid.
25 And the men of Israel say, `Have ye seen this man who is coming up? for, to reproach Israel he is coming up, and it hath been -- the man who smiteth him, the king doth enrich him with great riches, and his daughter he doth give to him, and his father's house doth make free in Israel.'
20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took his charge and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the wagon-defence; and the host which was going forth to the battle-array shouted for the fight.
21 And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, rank against rank.
22 And David left the things he was carrying in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran into the ranks, and came and saluted his brethren.
23 And as he talked with them, behold there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words; and David heard [them].
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were greatly afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that comes up? for to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who smites him, him will the king enrich with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
20 David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the place of the wagons, as the host which was going forth to the fight shouted for the battle.
21 Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
22 David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.
23 As he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words: and David heard them.
24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
25 The men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
20 And David got up early in the morning, and, giving the sheep into the care of a keeper, took the things and went as Jesse had said; and he came to the lines where the carts were, when the army was going out to the fight giving their war-cry.
21 And Israel and the Philistines had put their forces in position, army against army.
22 And David gave his parcels into the hands of the keeper of the army stores, and went running to the army and came to his brothers to get knowledge about them.
23 And while he was talking to them, the fighter, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came out from the Philistines' lines and said the same words, in David's hearing.
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw him, went in flight, overcome with fear.
25 And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man? Clearly he has come out to put shame on Israel: and it is certain that if any man overcomes him, the king will give that man great wealth, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's family free in Israel.
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].