1Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered together at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with the valley between them. 4And a man came out from the camp of the Philistines between the two armies, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was wearing a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6And he had armor of bronze on his legs, and a bronze gorget between his shoulders. 7The stock of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield bearer went before him. 8And he stood and called out to the ranks of Israel, and said to them, Why have you come out to be arrayed for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us. 10And the Philistine said, I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 12Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons. And the man was old in the days of Saul, advanced in years among men. 13The three oldest sons of Jesse went out after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14David was the youngest, and the three oldest had gone after Saul. 15And David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. 16And the Philistine drew near and presented himself morning and evening, forty days. 17And Jesse said to his son David, Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18And carry these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them. 19Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20And David arose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the battle line and shouting for the battle. 21For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, rank against rank. 22And David left the things in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and inquired after the welfare of his brothers. 23And as he talked with them, behold the man came out from the ranks of the armies of the Philistines, between the two armies, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name; and he spoke according to the same words. And David heard. 24And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid. 25And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who comes up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And it shall be that the man who kills him, the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free from taxes in Israel. 26And David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the ranks of the living God! 27And the people answered him in this manner, saying, Thus shall it be done for the man who kills him. 28Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger burned against David, and he said, Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and your naughty heart, for you have come down to see the battle. 29And David said, What have I done now? Was it not just words? 30And he turned from him toward another and spoke the same words; and these people answered him according to the first words. 31And when the words which David had spoken were heard, they were reported before Saul; and he sent for him. 32And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant shall go and fight with this Philistine. 33And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34And David said to Saul, Your servant was grazing his father's sheep; and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35I went out after it and struck it, and rescued the lamb out of its mouth; and when it arose against me, I took hold of it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has reproached the ranks of the living God. 37Moreover David said, Jehovah, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and Jehovah be with you! 38And Saul clothed David with his garments, and he put a bronze helmet on his head, and clothed him with body armor. 39And David girded his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them. And David took them off. 40Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41And the Philistine proceeded to come near to David, with the man carrying the shield before him. 42And when the Philistine considered and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and of good appearance. 43And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you are coming to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field! 45Then David said to the Philistine, You are coming to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I am coming to you in the name of Jehovah of Hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have reproached. 46This day Jehovah will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the heavens and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47Then all this assembly shall know that Jehovah does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is Jehovah's, and He has given you into our hands. 48So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened and ran toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their strong man was dead, they fled. 52And the men of Israel and Judah rose up and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the way to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53And the sons of Israel returned from hotly pursuing the Philistines, and plundered their camps. 54And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his weapons in his tent. 55Now when Saul saw David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I do not know. 56So the king said, Inquire whose son this young man is. 57So when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58And Saul said to him, Lad, whose son are you? And David answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE ISRAELITES AND PHILISTINES BEING READY TO BATTLE. (
1Sam 17:1-3)
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 (
Josh 15:35), nine Roman miles from Eleutheropolis, toward Jerusalem [ROBINSON].
Azekah--a small place in the neighborhood.
Ephes-dammim--or, "Pas-dammim" (
1Chr 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.
4 GOLIATH CHALLENGES A COMBAT. (
1Sam 17:4-11)
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 (
1Sam 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 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.
17 DAVID ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE, AND SLAYS HIM. (1Sa. 17:12-58)
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 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 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 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
Josh 15:36).
54 tent--the sacred tabernacle. David dedicated the sword of Goliath as a votive offering to the Lord.
55 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 [
1Sam 16:23].