1 Samuel 17:52

52 The soldiers from Israel and Judah jumped up with a shout and chased the Philistines all the way to Gath and the gates of Ekron. The dead Philistines were littered along the Shaarim road all the way to Gath and Ekron.

1 Samuel 17:52 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:52

And the men of Israel and of Judah arose
From their encampment and entrenchment, or they prepared for a pursuit:

and shouted, and pursued the Philistines;
shouted when they first set out, and continued shouting as they pursued, to animate their own troops, and terrify the enemy:

until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron;
which was one of the five principalities of the Philistines; so that they pursued them to their own cities, and to the very gates of them:

and the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim;
a city in the tribe of Judah, and seems to be the same with Sharaim, (See Gill on Joshua 15:36). Josephus says F14, there were killed of the Philistines thirty thousand, and twice as many wounded:

even unto Gath, and unto Ekron;
Josephus F15 has it, to the borders of Gath, and to the gates of Ashkelon, which were two other principalities of the Philistines; according to Bunting F16, the whole chase was this, to the valley and river Sorek four miles; from thence to Ekron eight miles; to Ashkelon twenty miles, and to Gath twenty four miles; that is, from the place where Goliath was killed.


FOOTNOTES:

F14 Antiqu. l. 6. c. 9. sect. 5.
F15 Ibid.
F16 Travels of the Patriarchs p. 128.

1 Samuel 17:52 In-Context

50 And that's how David triumphed over the Philistine with just a sling and a stone, striking the Philistine down and killing him—and David didn't even have a sword!
51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed the Philistine's sword, drew it from its sheath, and finished him off. Then David cut off the Philistine's head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.
52 The soldiers from Israel and Judah jumped up with a shout and chased the Philistines all the way to Gath and the gates of Ekron. The dead Philistines were littered along the Shaarim road all the way to Gath and Ekron.
53 When the Israelites came back from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put the Philistine's weapons in his own tent.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. LXX; MT Gai or a valley
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