1 Samuel 17:52

52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines until thou come to the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath and unto 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 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
51 Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines until thou come to the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath and unto Ekron.
53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they despoiled their tents.
54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.