1 Samuel 17:42

42 And when the Philistine, taking note, saw David, he had a poor opinion of him: for he was only a boy, red-haired and good-looking.

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 Then he took his stick in his hand, and got five smooth stones from the bed of the stream and put them in a bag such as is used by sheep-keepers; and in his hand was a leather band used for sending stones: and so he went in the direction of the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine came nearer to David; and the man who had his body-cover went before him.

42 And when the Philistine, taking note, saw David, he had a poor opinion of him: for he was only a boy, red-haired and good-looking.

43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come out to me with sticks? And the Philistine put curses on David by all his gods.

44 And the Philistine said to David, Come here to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.