1 Samuel 17:42

42 When Goliath looked at David and saw that he was only a boy, tanned and handsome, he looked down on David with disgust.

1 Samuel 17:42 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:42

And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he
disdained him
He looked about for his antagonist, to take a view of him, what sort of a man he was, expecting to see one much like himself; but observing a puny young man, he despised him in his heart, and perhaps looked upon it as an affront to him to send such a man to fight with him:

for he was [but] a youth;
his age was one reason why he despised him, being, as before observed, about twenty years of age, and not come to his full strength, a stripling, as he is called, ( 1 Samuel 17:56 ) , another reason follows,

and ruddy, and of a fair countenance;
looked effeminate, had not the appearance of a soldier, of a weather beaten veteran, exposed to heat and cold, and inured to hardships.

1 Samuel 17:42 In-Context

40 He took his stick in his hand and chose five smooth stones from a stream. He put them in his shepherd's bag and grabbed his sling. Then he went to meet the Philistine.

41 At the same time, the Philistine was coming closer to David. The man who held his shield walked in front of him.

42 When Goliath looked at David and saw that he was only a boy, tanned and handsome, he looked down on David with disgust.

43 He said, "Do you think I am a dog, that you come at me with a stick?" He used his gods' names to curse David.

44 He said to David, "Come here. I'll feed your body to the birds of the air and the wild animals!"