1 Samuel 17 Footnotes

17:54 Jerusalem was not under Israelite control at the time of this incident, but it was a city of great military interest to David’s tribe of Judah. The tribe had fought against the city (Jos 15:63) and had taken a war trophy there previously after temporarily conquering it (Jdg 1:8). Jerusalem was a city of great interest to David as well, the first city he set out to conquer when he became king of all Israel (2Sm 5:6-9). Perhaps David took Goliath’s head there to intimidate Jerusalem’s Jebusite residents, letting them know that Israel was a nation to be feared. Alternatively, this verse may refer to an event that took place a few years later, after David had conquered the city.