1 Samuel 17:16

16 Every morning and evening Goliath came forward and stood there. He did it for 40 days.

1 Samuel 17:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:16

And the Philistine drew near morning and evening
Twice a day he came near the camp, within the hearing of it. The Jews ^F23 say, he took those seasons on purpose to disturb them in reading their "Shema", or "hear, O Israel" and saying their prayers morning and evening:

and presented himself forty days;
Successively, before the armies of Israel, daring them to send down a man to fight with him, and reproaching them for their cowardice in not doing it.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 T. Bab. Sotah, fol. 42. 2.

1 Samuel 17:16 In-Context

14 David was the youngest. The three oldest sons followed Saul.

15 But David went back and forth from Saul's camp to Bethlehem. He went to Bethlehem to take care of his father's sheep.

16 Every morning and evening Goliath came forward and stood there. He did it for 40 days.

17 Jesse said to his son David, "Get at least half a bushel of grain that has been cooked. Also get ten loaves of bread. Take all of it to your brothers. Hurry to their camp.

18 Take along these ten chunks of cheese to the commander of their company. Find out how your brothers are doing. Bring me back some word about them.