1 Samuel 17:6

6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs and a shield of brass between his shoulders.

1 Samuel 17:6 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:6

And he had greaves of brass upon his legs
Which were a sort of boots, or leg harnesses, which covered the thighs and legs down to the heels; such as Iolaus ^F11 and the Grecians usually wore, as described by Homer; which are supposed to be double the weight of the helmet, reckoned at fifteen pounds, so that these must weigh thirty pounds of avoirdupois weight:

and a target of brass between his shoulders;
the Targum is,

``a spear or shield of brass, which came out of the helmet, and a weight of brass upon his shoulders.''

Jarchi says the same, and that it was in the form of a spear to defend the neck from the sword; it seems to be a corslet of brass, worn between the helmet and the coat of mail for the defence of the neck, supposed to weigh thirty pounds ^F12

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 Hesiod. Scutum Herc. ver. 122.
F12 Vid. Hostii Monomach. David & Goliath, c. 5.

1 Samuel 17:6 In-Context

4 And a man named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span, came out of the camp of the Philistines and stood between the two camps.

5 And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clothed with a coat of mail of scales; and the weight of the coat of mail was five thousand shekels of brass.

6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs and a shield of brass between his shoulders.

7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron, and one bearing a shield went before him.

8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? Am I not a Philistine, and ye slaves to Saul? Choose a man from among you, and let him come down to me.