1 Samuel 17:35

35 I would go out after it and strike it down and rescue [the sheep] from its mouth. If it rose against me, I would grab [it] by its beard and strike it down and kill it.

1 Samuel 17:35 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:35

And I went out after him
Whether a lion or a bear; but mention after being made of his beard, a lion rather is meant:

and smote him;
with his fist, or rather with his shepherd's staff:

and delivered [it] out of his mouth;
snatched it out from thence, or obliged him to drop it, by beating him:

and when he arose against me;
after he had let go the lamb, threatening to tear him in pieces for attempting to disturb him in his prey, and take it away from him;

I caught [him] by his beard;
such as lions have; hence a lion is often called in Homer ^F7 (liv heugeneiov) , the well-bearded lion. Kimchi thinks the beard with the nether jaw is meant, which David caught hold on:

and smote him, and slew him;
tore him to pieces, as Samson did, ( Judges 14:5 Judges 14:6 ) , or slew him with some weapon in his hand.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Iliad. 17. ver. 109. & Iliad. 18. ver. 318.

1 Samuel 17:35 In-Context

33 But Saul said to David, "You will not be able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, because you are [only] a boy, whereas [he has] been a man of war since his childhood!"

34 And David said to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd of the flock for his father. If the lion or the bear would come and carry off a sheep from the group,

35 I would go out after it and strike it down and rescue [the sheep] from its mouth. If it rose against me, I would grab [it] by its beard and strike it down and kill it.

36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he defied the battle lines of the living God."

37 And David said, "Yahweh, who rescued me from the hand of the lion and from the hand of the bear, will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine!" Then Saul said to David, "Go and may Yahweh be with you!"