1 Samuel 17

David and Goliath

1 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah.
2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines.
3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.
4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.[a]
5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels[b] ;
6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back.
7 His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels.[c] His shield bearer went ahead of him.
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me.
9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.”
10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.”
11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old.
13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah.
14 David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul,
15 but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
17 Now Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah[d] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp.
18 Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance[e] from them.
19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.
21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other.
22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were.
23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it.
24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
25 Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.”
26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?”
30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before.
31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock,
35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.
36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.
37 The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head.
39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David.
42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him.
43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.
49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
52 Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath[f] and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.
53 When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
54 David took the Philistine’s head and brought it to Jerusalem; he put the Philistine’s weapons in his own tent.
55 As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?” Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.”
56 The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.”
57 As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head.
58 “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him. David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”

1 Samuel 17 Commentary

Chapter 17

Goliath's challenge. (1-11) David comes to the camp. (12-30) David undertakes to fight Goliath. (31-39) and goes to meet him. (40-47) He kills Goliath. (48-58)

Verses 1-11 Men so entirely depend upon God in all things, that when he withdraws his help, the most valiant and resolute cannot find their hearts or hands, as daily experience shows.

Verses 12-30 Jesse little thought of sending his son to the army at that critical juncture; but the wise God orders actions and affairs, so as to serve his designs. In times of general formality and lukewarmness, every degree of zeal which implies readiness to go further, or to venture more in the cause of God than others, will be blamed as pride and ambition, and by none more than by near relations, like Eliab, or negligent superiors. It was a trial of David's meekness, patience, and constancy. He had right and reason on his side, and did not render railing for railing; with a soft answer he turned away his brother's wrath. This conquest of his own passion was more honourable than that of Goliath. Those who undertake great and public services, must not think it strange if they are spoken ill of, and opposed by those from whom they expect support and assistance. They must humbly go on with their work, in the face not only of enemies' threats, but of friends' slights and suspicions.

Verses 31-39 A shepherd lad, come the same morning from keeping sheep, had more courage than all the mighty men of Israel. Thus God often sends good words to his Israel, and does great things for them, by the weak and foolish things of the world. As he had answered his brother's passion with meekness, so David answered Saul's fear with faith. When David kept sheep, he proved himself very careful and tender of his flock. This reminds us of Christ, the good Shepherd, who not only ventured, but laid down his life for the sheep. Our experience ought to encourage us to trust in God, and be bold in the way of duty. He that has delivered, does and will continue to do so. David gained leave to fight the Philistine. Not being used to such armour as Saul put upon him, he was not satisfied to go in that manner; this was from the Lord, that it might more plainly appear he fought and conquered in faith, and that the victory was from Him who works by the feeblest and most despised means and instruments. It is not to be inquired how excellent any thing is, but how proper. Let Saul's coat be ever so rich, and his armour ever so strong, what is David the better if they fit him not? But faith, prayer, truth, and righteousness; the whole armour of God, and the mind that was in Christ; are equally needful for all the servants of the Lord, whatever may be their work.

Verses 40-47 The security and presumption of fools destroy them. Nothing can excel the humility, faith, and piety which appear in David's words. He expressed his assured expectation of success; he gloried in his mean appearance and arms, that the victory might be ascribed to the Lord alone.

Verses 48-58 See how frail and uncertain life is, even when a man thinks himself best fortified; how quickly, how easily, and by how small a matter, the passage may be opened for life to go out, and death to enter! Let not the strong man glory in his strength, nor the armed man in his armour. God resists the proud, and pours contempt on those who defy him and his people. No one ever hardened his heart against God and prospered. The history is recorded, that all may exert themselves for the honour of God, and the support of his cause, with bold and unshaken reliance on him. There is one conflict in which all the followers of the Lamb are, and must be engaged; one enemy, more formidable than Goliath, still challenges the armies of Israel. But "resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Go forth to battle with the faith of David, and the powers of darkness shall not stand against you. But how often is the Christian foiled through an evil heart of unbelief!

Cross References 65

  • 1. 1 Samuel 13:5
  • 2. Joshua 15:35; 2 Chronicles 28:18
  • 3. S Joshua 10:10,11
  • 4. 1 Samuel 21:9
  • 5. Joshua 11:21-22; 1 Samuel 21:9; 2 Samuel 21:19
  • 6. ver 45; 1 Samuel 18:10
  • 7. 2 Samuel 21:19; 1 Chronicles 11:23; 1 Chronicles 20:5
  • 8. ver 41
  • 9. 2 Samuel 2:12-17; 1 Samuel 8:17
  • 10. ver 26,45; 2 Samuel 21:21
  • 11. ver 23
  • 12. S Genesis 35:16; S Genesis 48:7; Psalms 132:6
  • 13. S Ruth 4:17; 1 Chronicles 2:13-15
  • 14. S Genesis 35:19
  • 15. 1 Samuel 16:11
  • 16. S 1 Samuel 16:6
  • 17. 1 Samuel 16:8
  • 18. S 1 Samuel 16:9
  • 19. S Genesis 37:2
  • 20. 1 Samuel 16:19
  • 21. S Leviticus 19:36
  • 22. S Leviticus 23:14; 1 Samuel 25:18
  • 23. Genesis 37:14
  • 24. S Joshua 1:11
  • 25. ver 8-10
  • 26. Joshua 15:16; 1 Samuel 18:17
  • 27. S 1 Samuel 8:15
  • 28. 1 Samuel 11:2
  • 29. S 1 Samuel 14:6
  • 30. S ver 10
  • 31. Deuteronomy 5:26; S Joshua 3:10; 2 Kings 18:35
  • 32. Ge 37:4,8,11; S Genesis 27:41; Proverbs 18:19; Matthew 10:36
  • 33. S Deuteronomy 20:3; Psalms 18:45; Isaiah 7:4; Jeremiah 4:9; Jeremiah 38:4; Daniel 11:30; 1 Samuel 16:18
  • 34. Numbers 13:31
  • 35. Job 10:16; Isaiah 31:4; Jeremiah 49:19; Hosea 13:8; Amos 3:12
  • 36. Judges 14:6
  • 37. 1 Chronicles 11:22
  • 38. 2 Corinthians 1:10
  • 39. 2 Timothy 4:17
  • 40. S 1 Samuel 16:18; S 1 Samuel 18:12; 1 Samuel 20:13; 1 Chronicles 22:11,16
  • 41. S Genesis 41:42
  • 42. ver 7
  • 43. 1 Samuel 16:12
  • 44. Psalms 123:3-4; Proverbs 16:18
  • 45. 1 Samuel 24:14; 2 Samuel 3:8; 2 Samuel 9:8; 2 Kings 8:13
  • 46. S Genesis 40:19; Revelation 19:17
  • 47. 2 Samuel 21:10; Jeremiah 34:20; 1 Kings 20:10-11
  • 48. S ver 6
  • 49. Deuteronomy 20:1; 2 Samuel 22:33,35; 2 Chronicles 13:12; 2 Chronicles 14:11; 2 Chronicles 32:8; Psalms 20:7-8; Psalms 124:8; Hebrews 11:32-34
  • 50. S ver 10
  • 51. S 1 Samuel 14:12
  • 52. S Deuteronomy 28:26
  • 53. S Joshua 4:24; 1 Kings 8:43; Isaiah 52:10; S Isaiah 11:9
  • 54. 1 Kings 18:36; 2 Kings 5:8; 2 Kings 19:19; Isaiah 37:20
  • 55. Hosea 1:7; Zechariah 4:6
  • 56. 1 Samuel 14:6; 2 Chronicles 14:11; Jeremiah 39:18
  • 57. S Exodus 14:14; S Numbers 21:14; S 1 Samuel 2:9; 2 Chronicles 20:15; Psalms 44:6-7
  • 58. 1 Samuel 25:29; 2 Samuel 23:21
  • 59. Hebrews 11:34
  • 60. 1 Samuel 21:9; 1 Samuel 22:10
  • 61. Joshua 15:11
  • 62. S Joshua 15:36
  • 63. 1 Samuel 16:21
  • 64. 1 Samuel 26:5
  • 65. S Ruth 4:17; ver 12

Footnotes 6

  • [a]. That is, about 9 feet 9 inches or about 3 meters
  • [b]. That is, about 125 pounds or about 58 kilograms
  • [c]. That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms
  • [d]. That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  • [e]. Or "some token" ; or "some pledge of spoils"
  • [f]. Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew "of a valley"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 17

This chapter relates how the armies of Israel, and of the Philistines, prepared for battle, and where, 1Sa 17:1-3, describes a champion of the Philistines, who defied the armies of Israel, 1Sa 17:4-11, and while he was so doing, it informs us that David came into the camp, and he heard his words, and signified to one and another his inclination to fight with him, 1Sa 17:12-30, which being reported to Saul, David was sent for by him, and much discourse passed between them about it, 1Sa 17:31-37 when we are told the manner in which he engaged with the Philistine, and the victory he obtained over him, 1Sa 17:38-51 upon which the Philistines fled, and Israel pursued them; and on account of this action David was taken notice of by Saul, and brought to court again, as the following chapter shows, 1Sa 17:52-58.

1 Samuel 17 Commentaries

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