1 Samuel 17:43

43 “Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

1 Samuel 17:43 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:43

And the Philistine said unto David, [am] I a dog?
&c.] Truly David did not think him much better, because of his impudence, impurity, and barking blasphemy against God, and the armies of Israel; the Targum is,

``am I a despised dog?''

verily he was by David:

that thou comest to me with staves?
or with a staff, the plural for the singular, to beat him with it as a dog is beaten, and as David used to beat his dog with, while keeping his father's sheep, when the dog he had with him did not do his business as he should; he says nothing of his sling and stones, they being out of sight:

and the Philistine cursed David by his gods:
by Dagon and others; he made an imprecation by them, and wished the greatest evils might befall him from them; he devoted him to them, and doubted not to make a sacrifice of him.

1 Samuel 17:43 In-Context

41 Now the Philistine came closer and closer to David, with his shield-bearer before him.

42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.

43 “Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

44 “Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

45 But 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 of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.