1 Samuel 17:24

24 and all the men of Israel when they see the man flee from his presence, and are greatly afraid.

1 Samuel 17:24 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:24

And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man
Even as it should seem before they heard him; knowing who he was, and what he was about to say, having seen and heard him forty days running:

fled from him, and were sore afraid;
it is pretty much a whole army should be afraid of one man, and flee from him; they must be greatly forsaken of God, and given up by him, see ( Deuteronomy 32:30 ) ; but perhaps they were not so much afraid of personal danger from him, as that they could not bear to hear his blasphemy.

1 Samuel 17:24 In-Context

22 And David letteth down the goods from off him on the hand of a keeper of the goods, and runneth into the rank, and cometh and asketh of his brethren of welfare.

23 And he is speaking with them, and lo, a man of the duellists is coming up, Goliath the Philistine [is] his name, of Gath, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and he speaketh according to those words, and David heareth;

24 and all the men of Israel when they see the man flee from his presence, and are greatly afraid.

25 And the men of Israel say, `Have ye seen this man who is coming up? for, to reproach Israel he is coming up, and it hath been -- the man who smiteth him, the king doth enrich him with great riches, and his daughter he doth give to him, and his father's house doth make free in Israel.'

26 And David speaketh unto the men who are standing by him, saying, `What is done to the man who smiteth this Philistine, and hath turned aside reproach from Israel? for who [is] this uncircumcised Philistine that he hath reproached the ranks of the living God?'