Outline of Chapter 17:

       vv.    1–3        The Armies of Israel and Philistia Face Off

       vv.    4–11      Goliath Issues a Challenge to the Any Man in of Israel

       vv.   12–15      Background on David and His Brothers

       v.      16        Goliath Issues His Challenge for 40 Days

       vv.   17–20      David Brings Supplies to His Brothers

       vv.   21–27      David Inquires About What Saul Would Do for the Man Who Defeats Goliath

       vv.   28–30      David’s Oldest Brother Harangues Him for His Impertinence/David Confirms Answers

       vv.   31–37      Saul Interviews David Concerning Goliath’s Challenge

       vv.   38–40      David Prepares to Battle the Philistine

       vv.   41–51      David Battles Goliath

       vv.   52–54      Israel is Victorious Over the Philistine Army

       vv.   55–58      Saul Interviews David a Second Time

Charts and Maps:

       v.      1           Summarizing the Doctrine of the Three Socoh’s

       v.      4           A Summary of the Doctrine of the Anakim

       v.     12           The Three Introductions to Saul and to David

       v.     16           A Re-Ordering of 1Sam. 17:11–19

       v.     25           How David Hears About Saul’s Reward to the Man who Defeats Goliath

       v.     29           Various Interpretations of 1Samuel 17:29b

       v.     33           What is Going Through David’s Mind as He Speaks to Saul?

       v.     54           If Saul Ordered Goliath’s Head to be Displayed, Why did he Choose Jerusalem?

       v.     54           Why Goliath’s Head Was Taken by David to his Meeting with Saul and Then to Jerusalem

       v.     55           Why Does Saul not Recognize David?

       v.     56           The Order of Events in David’s Early Life

       v.     58           The LXX β of 1Samuel 17 (with the Missing Portions in Magenta)

I ntroduction: 1Sam. 17 is a big change of pace and scenery from the previous chapter. In 1Sam. 16, we have the anointing of David as the future king of Israel. In v. 17, we have yet another war between Israel and Philistia, which is different from any other war, as this huge man stands before Israel issuing a challenge to fight any Israelites in leu of an out and out war. This is the chapter which brings to the forefront David’s preparation and training for adulthood. Although the notes of the NLT place the events of this chapter several years after the previous one, I know of no reason why this could not have occurred a week or a month after 1Sam. 16.

To break this chapter down: (1) The Philistines move into Israeli territory in an intentionally provocative action. Saul gathers his army to stand in opposition to the Philistines (vv. 1–3). (2) Goliath steps forward, a huge man, well-armored, and he issues a challenge to all of Israel: “Send out one man to face me—if he prevails, then we are your servants; if I prevail, then you will be our servants.” This challenge unnerves all of Saul’s army (vv. 4–11). (3) Then we switch scenes, and examine a little about David’s background, and come to find that three of his brothers are in Saul’s army, listening to Goliath’s challenge (vv. 12–15). (4) Goliath issues this challenge, morning and evening, for 40 days; no one from the Israeli army steps forward to meet his challenge (v. 16). (5) Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jesse gathers supplies for David to bring to his brothers (vv. 17–20). (6) When David arrives at the Israelite camp, he overhears the challenge of Goliath and what Saul would do for the man who defeats Goliath. Once he arrives at his brothers’ station, he inquires further about what he has overheard, and it is confirmed that Saul would make this man wealthy, give him the king’s daughter in marriage, and exempt his family from taxes and public service (vv. 21–27). (7) His eldest brother, Eliab, overhears David’s questions, and berates him for his impertinence and audacity (v. 28). David responds to his brother, and then asks for further confirmation of what he has overheard (vv. 29–30). (8) Saul hears about David’s questions, and calls for him, apparently not recalling who David was and not recognizing David once he reported to Saul. Saul questions David, asking him how on earth would he, as an untrained youth, face Goliath, a veteran soldier. David recalls two similar incidents, when his flock was threatened by a bear and by a lion. In both instances, David chased after the intruder and killed it (vv. 31–37). (9) Saul agrees to let David face Goliath (recall that no one else has stepped forward), but dresses him up in his personal armor and gives him his own weapons. David had not learned how to maneuver in the armor, nor was he able to handle the weapons given him by Saul, and chose to go without them, choosing, instead, his own weapons, a staff, a sling, 5 stones which he picks up, and his shepherd’s bag. Although it is not mentioned, I would have expected him to carry a knife in his belt (vv. 38–40). (10) Then David steps out before Goliath and Goliath harangues David, in an obvious attempt at psychological warfare. Furthermore, Goliath was probably a bully from his youth up, and he took this opportunity to try to bully David, whom he saw as smaller and weaker. David’s gives Goliath an eloquent and doctrinal reply, and propels a stone into Goliath’s forehead. It is not completely clear whether this kills Goliath or not, but David runs up and uses Goliath’s own sword to behead him, which certainly completes their contest (vv. 41–51). (11) The Israeli army responds with great cheering and they suddenly charge the Philistines, who are caught off guard and who flee toward their cities of Ekron and Gath. Many of them are killed in this retreat (vv. 52–53). David, meanwhile, collects his own souvenirs—Goliath’s heard and his weapons (v. 54). (12) Finally, Saul inquires about David’s father, as part of his promise is to exempt the family of David’s father from taxes and public service. Since his commanding officer, Abner, does not know, he is sent to find out. Abner finds David and brings him to Saul. David comes into Saul’s presence with the head of Goliath in his hand, and tells Saul whose family he belongs to (vv. 55–58).

Keil and Delitzsch do an outstanding job providing even a briefer summary this chapter: A war between the Philistines and the Israelites furnished David with the opportunity of displaying before Saul and all Israel, and greatly to the terror of the enemies of his people, that heroic power which was firmly based upon his bold and pious trust in the omnipotence of the faithful covenant God (vv. 1–3). A powerful giant named Goliath, came forward from the ranks of the Philistines, and scornfully challenged the Israelites to produce a man who would decide the war by a single combat with him (vv. 4–11). David, who had returned home for a time from the court of Saul, and had just been sent into the camp by his father with provisions fo his elder brothers, who were serving in the army, as soon as he heard the challenge and the scornful words of the Philistine, offered to fight with him (vv. 15–37), and killed the giant with a stone from a sling; whereupon the Philistines took to flight, and were pursued by the Israelites to Gath and Ekron (vv. 38–54).

In order to recognize the importance of textual criticism, one source which I employ is Brenton’s Septuagint, which has the Greek translation of the Old Testament, as well as Brenton’s English rendering of same (which I modernize somewhat). There are quite a large number of varying Greek manuscripts, which we studied in Textual Criticism of the Old Testament back in 1Sam. 14:18. Brenton has transcribed what is apparently LXX β; LXX α is the Alexandrian Septuagint. There are several verses in this chapter which are found in the Hebrew text but are not found in LXX β; however, these verses are found in LXX α. Therefore, I will substitute from LXX α these verses missing from LXX β. Brenton includes an English translation of said verses in his Old Testament index (prior to the Apocrypha), but not the Greek for them. Since it will be difficult to keep track of, I will, at the end of this chapter, provide the English translation of this chapter where one can see it with and without the material found in the Alexandrian Septuagint.

Behind the scenes, there is a lot of debate and discussion about this chapter—whether we should accept the short version (that found in LXX β) or the long version (that found in LXX α and Masoretic Text). Apart from this exegesis, many of you would have no idea that there is a dispute about what is inspired and what is not in this chapter. You see, most translations, where there is missing text, generally will follow the Masoretic text, which refers to the vowel-pointed Hebrew manuscripts from the 9^th and 10^th centuries. A few English translations (Brenton’s Septuagint and the NAB are the only two which come to mind) bracket the disputed text. Most do not even mention this. However, when you read anyone’s exegesis of this chapter, then there is a great deal of discussion about what belongs and what does not. There are times that I provide two viewpoints (or more) on an issue, and do not take a side. However, this issue can be determined logically; you’ll hear the arguments on both sides, fairly presented, and then I will accurately conclude what belongs and what does not.

Generally speaking, the more liberal the exegete, the more likely they are to treat these as two separate accounts which were woven together (and often it is suggested that one or both accounts are dubious). Conservative scholarship tends to go along with the Masoretic text. However, the lack of a third of this chapter in the LXX should bear some commentary in any translation with footnotes.

The Armies of Israel and Philistia Face Off

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so gather Philistines their camps to war and so they are gathered [at] Socoh which [is] to Judah. And so they camp between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-SeptuagintAnd the Philistines gather their armies to battle, and gather themselves to Socchoth of Judæa, and encamp between Socchoth and Azeca Ephermen [Alexandrian, Apheadommin].

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       The Philistines got ready for war and brought their troops together to attack the town of Socoh in Judah. They set up camp at Ephes-Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah.

NAB                                       The Philistines rallied their forces for battle at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes-dammim.

NJB                                        The Philistines mustered their troops for war; they assembled at Socoh in Judah and pitched camp between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-Dammim.

NLT                                The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim.

REB                                       The Philistines mustered their forces for war; they massed at Socoh in Judah and encamped between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes-dammim.

TEV                                       The Philistines gathered for battle in Socoh, a town in Judah; they camped at a place called Ephes-Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         The Philistines assembled their armies for war. They assembled at Socoh, which is in Judah, and camped between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes Dammim.

JPS (Tanakh)                        The Philistines assembled their forces for battle; they massed at Socoh of Judah, and encamped at Ephes-dammim, between Socoh and Azekah.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.

Young's Updated LT              And the Philistines gather their camps to battle, and are gathered to Shochoh, which is to Judah, and encamp between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-Dammim;...

What is the gist of this verse? You will recall that the Philistines absolutely hated the Jews and they attacked them whenever possible. They had built up their forces again; they hated the Jews, so they went into Judah and gathered for an attacked against Israel.

Translation: The Philistines gathered their armies [lt., camps] for war. The Philistines and the Israelites were mortal enemies. There were a number of times that the Philistines were soundly defeated. The continued to face off Israel. You will recall that God told Israel that all of the indigenous peoples of the Land of Promise needed to be completely wiped out. This is the reason. These Philistines could not simply be defeated and let it go at that. Every time that their strength was back up to a point where an army could be supported, they would then attack Israel. If you recognize the present-day hatred of Israel, then what we find here is easy to understand.

Edersheim makes the suggestion that the Philistines also knew of Saul’s mental state (mentioned back in 1Sam. 16:14–15), and determined that it would be opportune to attack Israel while their leader was disturbed. We do not have any evidence of this information leaking from the castle of Saul to the cities of Philistia, and, although it is a reasonable theory, I would think that the simple building up of the Philistine army was reason enough for the Philistines to attack. Furthermore, there is no evidence that Saul’s mental illness (which came and went) negatively affected his ability to lead Israel in war. It was his spiritual weakness which was his downfall.

Translation: They were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah. Socoh is a city which lay on the Israeli-Philistine border. Now might be a good time to examine The Three Socoh’s found in Scripture. This particular Socoh is located southwest of Jerusalem, about a 3½ hour walk away. The NIV Study Bible places it 15 miles west of Bethlehem.

Translation: [Specifically], they set up camp between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim. Socoh belonged to Judah, and therefore was controlled by the Israelites. We first hear about Azekah in Joshua 10:10–11 when the five king coalition attacked the Gibeonites, who were allied with Israel. Israel chased their armies as far as Azekah, where God killed many of them with hailstones.

Although Azekah was one of the cities given by God to Judah (Joshua 15:35), it is apparent that the Philistines had control of this city throughout much of the Philistine-Israeli conflict. Azekah was a Palestinian city which dates back to at least 1300 b.c. and remained until Byzantine times. A ZPEB map places it just 3 miles northwest of Socoh, 9 miles north of Beit Jibrin (Eleutheropolis) and 15 miles northwest of Hebron in the Shephelah. The NIV Study Bible suggests that it is a little over a mile northwest of Socoh. Since the Israelites did not camp in Socoh, but in Ephes-dammim instead (which was between Socoh and Azekah), we would expect Socoh and Azekah to be further than a mile apart (otherwise, Israel would have simply camped on the outskirts of Socoh). ZPEB suggests that the Byzantine incarnation of Azekah is possibly Khirbet el ׳Alami, which is just east of the tell where the Philistine version probably was.

Israel eventually took Azekah back, and 2Chron. 11:7–9 tells us that Rehoboam rebuilt and fortified both Soco and Azekah (Rehoboam was the first king after Solomon). This fortification was probably prompted by the invasion of Shishak, circa 918 b.c. When Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, invaded and defeated Judah in 587 b.c., two of the last cities to fall were Lachish and Azekah (Jer. 34:7). That Azekah was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar is implied in the Lachish Letters. Azekah was re-occupied by Israel after the exile (Neh. 11:30).

ZPEB gives us the topological description: Tel Zaķarēyeh, the site of ancient Azekah, is a triangular mound about 1000 ft. by 500 ft., rising about 350 ft. above the Valley of Elah, the modern Wadi es Sunţ. On a plateau at the top of the tell there is still a wall and towers from ancient fortifications. Archeological explorations tell us that the rock underneath the city had been carefully excavated into a series of underground chambers which could be used as places of refuge during a war. ISBE also tells us that there is a long-used north-south high route coming from the area of Ajalon, which fits nicely with the narrative found in Joshua 10. It was a fortified city, as one would expect, being right at the Philistine-Israeli border.

Finally, Ephes-dammim is probably equivalent to Pasdammim, mentioned in 1Chron. 11:13. This particular site is only mentioned these two times in Scripture, and appears to simply refer to this general area where Israel and Philistia faced each other. According to the Oxford Genesis, this is located 16 miles southwest of Jerusalem.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And Saul and a man of Israel were gathered and so they encamp in a valley of the Elah. And so they set in array a war to meet Philistines.

Septuagint                             And Saul and the men of Israel gather together, and they encamp in the valley, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

NAB                                       Saul and the Israelites also gathered and camped in the Vale of the Terebinth, drawing up their battle line to meet the Philistines.

NJB                                        Saul and the Israelites also mustered, pitching camp in the Valley of the Terebinth, and drew up their battle-line opposite the Philistines.

NLT                                Saul countered by gathering his troops near the valley of Elah.

REB                                       Saul and the Israelites also mustered, and they encamped in the valley of Elah. They drew up their lines of battle facing the Philistines,...

TEV                                       Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in Leah Valley, where they got ready to fight the Philistines.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         So Saul and the army of Israel assembled and camped in the Elah Valley. They formed a battle line to fight the Philistines.

JPS (Tanakh)                        Saul and the men of Israel massed and encamped in the valley of Elah. They drew up their line of battle against the Philistines,...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and camped in the valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array to encounter the Philistines.

NRSV                                    Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines.

Young's Updated LT              ...and Saul and the men of Israel have been gathered, and encamp by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array to meet the Philistines.

What is the gist of this verse? When Israel hears of the Philistines who have gathered in Judah, Saul also gathers his troops in Elah, and organizes them for battle.

Translation: Saul and the men of Israel were also gathered;... No matter what you say negative about Saul, he was an incredibly brave man. He did not back down in war. The Philistines were the toughest opponents that Israel faced. When intelligence informed Saul that their army had gathered en masse in Judah, Saul gathered the men of Israel to respond.

Translation: ...setting up [their] camp in the valley of Elah. Saul chose a place near to where the Philistines were. An army must be organized prior to going to war.

Elah refers specifically to a terebinth, a 35 foot, long-lived tree, although it apparently can be applied to any large tree. What we have here is a valley named for the most common tree of that valley (it may not even be a proper name, as there is no difference between the proper noun and the word translated terebinth). The Valley of Elah is thought to be equivalent to the Wadi es-Sant (or, Valley of the Acacia), which is 14 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Keil and Delitzsch tell us that terebinth valley is a plane by the Wady Musur. Since wadi’s are rivers only during the rainy season, what would remain at this time is a bed of rocks.

Translation: They organized [themselves for] battle to meet the Philistines. What this means is that they are simply organizing their troops to meet the Philistines in battle. What we will have day after day is that the Philistines and the Israelites will line up in preparation for battle across the valley from one another.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And Philistines are standing toward the mountain from this one and Israel is standing toward the mountain from this one and the valley [is] between them.

Septuagint                             And the Philistines stand on the mountain on one side, and Israel stands on the mountain on the other side, and the valley was between them.

Significant differences:          None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

NJB                                        The Philistines occupied the high ground on one side and the Israelites occupied the high ground on the other side, with the valley between them.

NLT                                So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.

REB                                       ...the Philistines occupying a position on one hill and the Israelites on another, with a valley between them.

TEV                                       The Philistines lined up on one hill and the Israelites on another, with a valley between them.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

JPS (Tanakh)                        ...with the Philistines stationed on one hill and Israel stationed on the opposite hill; the ravine was between them.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And the Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with the valley between them.

Young's Updated LT              And the Philistines are standing on the mountain on this side, and the Israelites are standing on the mountain on that side, and the valley is between them.

What is the gist of this verse? Once the armies had gathered, Israel took their stand along the side of one mountain and the Philistines stationed their troops on an opposite mountain. There was a valley which was between them.

Translation: The Philistines stood toward the mountain on one side [lit., this] while the Israelites stood toward the mountain on the other [lit., that] with a valley between them. As is today, there are varying tactics which an army takes. Here, both armies stationed themselves on opposite mountains (probably near the foot of each mountain) with a valley between them. Barnes suggests that in the middle of this valley is another valley, the dried river bed of the Wadi which ran through there during the rainy season.

Edersheim paints the picture for us: About ten miles southwest of [Bethlehem]...lay...Shochoh, the modern Shuweikeh. Here a broad wady, or valley, marking a water-course, runs north for about an hour’s distance. This is the modern Wady-es-Sumt, the valley of the acacias, the ancient valley of Elah, or of the terebinth. At the modern village of Sakarieh, the ancient Shaarim, the wady divides, turning westwards towards Gath, and northwards by the Wady Surar towards Ekron. Shochoh and Ephes-Dammim,...[which lies] about three miles north-east of Shochoh, between which two points the Philistine camp was pitched, lay on the southern slope of the wady, while the host of Israel was camped on the northern slope, the two being separated by the deep part of the wady. But no longer did the former God-inspired courage fire Israel. The Spirit of God had departed from their leader, and his followers seemed to share in the depression which this consciousness brought. In such a warfare, especially among Easterns, all depended on decision and boldness. But unbelief makes cowards; and Saul and his army were content with a merely defensive position, without venturing to attack their enemies. Day by day the two armies gathered on the opposite slopes, only to witness what was for Israel more than humiliation, even an open defiance of their ability to resist the power of Philistia—by implication, a defiance of the covenant-people as such, and of Jehovah, the covenant-God, and a challenge to a fight between might in the flesh and power in the Spirit. And truly Israel, under the leadership of a Saul, was ill prepared for such a contest.

Goliath Issues a Challenge to the Any Man in of Israel

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so comes out a man of the betweens [or, midst, valley, betweeness] from a camp of Philistines. Goliath [is] his name from Gath; his height six cubits and a span.

Septuagint                             And there went forth a mighty man out of the army of the Philistines, Goliath by name, out of Gath. His height [was] four cubits and a span.

Significant differences:          The primary difference between the texts is Goliath’s height, to be discussed in great detail in the exegesis. The Latin, Syriac and Hebrew are in agreement (as usual).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       The Philistine army had a hero named Goliath who was from the town of Gath and wa over nine feet tall.

NAB                                       A champion named Goliath of Gath came out from the Philistine camp; he was six and a half feet tall.

TEV                                       A man named Goliath, from the city of Gath, came out from the Philistine camp to challenge the Israelites. He was over nine feet tall. Hebrew nine feet; one ancient Hebrew manuscript and one ancient translation seven feet.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         The Philistine army’s champion came out of their camp. His name was Goliath from Gath. He was ten feet tall. [Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek “seven feet tall.”]

JPS (Tanakh)                        A champion [lit., the man of the space between, i.e., between the armies] of the Philistine forces stepped forward; his name was Goliath of Gath, and he was six cubits and a span tall.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

NRSV                                    And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. Six cubits as per the MT; the Qumran manuscripts (Dead Sea Scrolls) and the Greek have four cubits.

Young's Updated LT              And there goes out a man of the duelists from the camps of the Philistines, Goliath is his name, from Gath. His height is six cubits and a span,...

What is the gist of this verse? A man from the Philistine side stepped out into the valley between the two armies. His name was Goliath from Gath and he was about 7 feet tall.

Translation: A man of the midst came out from the camp of the Philistines. It is difficult to understand the actual meaning of bênayim, except that he was a man who stood in the gap for the Philistines. He was their hero of the valley. As you have no doubt noticed, most translators made no attempt to give a literal rendering here and opted for such renderings as champion. Barnes indicates that the literal rendering of champion (as have I) is “a man between the two camps;” i.e., one who did not fight in the ranks like an ordinary soldier, but came forth into the space between the hostile camps to challenge the mightiest man of his enemies to come and fight him.

The NIV Study Bible also comments on the word champion here: The ancient Greeks, to whom the Philistines were apparently related, sometimes decided issues of war through chosen champions who met in combat between the armies. Through this economy of warriors the judgment of the gods on the matter at stake was determined (trial by battle ordeal). Israel too may have known this practice (see 2Sa 2:14–16). For those who already know about David and Goliath, or who have read ahead, know that this is the basis of Goliath’s challenge to Israel.

We have the two camps of opposing armies with a valley between them. A man steps out to the midst of the valley and stares down the opposing army of Israelites.

Translation: His name [is] Goliath from Gath [and] his height is nearly 7 feet tall [lit., four (MT reads six) cubits and a span]. As is the case with many historic incidents, there is possibly some exaggeration associated with David and Goliath. The only exaggeration which is recorded here is that Goliath was nearly 10 feet tall (as per the MT), or, more conservatively, 9'2" tall. As has been mentioned, the LXX and the Dead Sea Scrolls tell us that Goliath is four cubits and a span, which makes him more like 7 ft. tall. Now, even though it may be possible that Goliath is somewhere between 9 and 10 ft. tall, my guess is that Goliath is more likely around 7 feet tall. Since the Israelites were historically a short people—probably none of them were over 6' and most were about 5'6" or shorter, Goliath at 7 feet would appear to be quite large. I’m a pretty big guy at 6'3" and I have seen some professional wrestlers who, at 6'5", make me feel puny. Also, given the material that the human body is constructed from, when someone is larger than normal, this does not mean that they are proportionately stronger. Most of the famous body builders are significantly shorter than 6' tall, as muscle builds more readily on a shorter frame. A person of significant height is just as likely to be generally weaker than many shorter men. There is also the question as to just how tall a person can be. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the tallest man is Robert Wadlow at 8'11" tall (he died in 1940 at the young age of 22 from an infected foot blister). Another of the tallest men (apparently he made the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest living man was Mohammad Alam Channa, who died from kidney failure in the United States at the age of 42. He was a paltry 7'7" tall and apparently suffered from numerous maladies throughout his life. My point here is that the materials out of which the body is made can ideally support a person within a certain height and weight range and when that is considerably exceeded, the various organs, nerves, muscles, bones, etc. cannot fully support normal bodily functions. Our skeletal structure, for instance, is ideal when supporting a frame which has specific boundaries. It is questionable as to how well it could support a man who is 10 ft. tall.

Now, don’t misunderstand me—I am not back-peddling on the inspiration of Scripture here. I present this information primarily because there is uncertainty as to the correct rendering of this passage. Furthermore, that the Dead Sea Scrolls are in agreement with the Septuagint is further support that Goliath is a 7 ft. giant.

On the other hand, there is the possibility, however, than one copyist thought, “No way is this guy 10' tall!” and subsequently changed Goliath’s height to the more reasonable 7' height. I should also point out that the bed of Og king of Bashan was 9 cubits by 4 cubits Deut. 3:11). That would suggest that Og may have been 6 or 6½ cubits tall (over 9 feet tall). There will also be an Egyptian mentioned later, who was considered very tall at 5 cubits (7½’ tall—1Chron. 11:23). Still, my money is on Goliath being 7' (4 cubits) tall. Given this height, he could still be reasonable strong and healthy. In any case, now would be a good time to examine the Doctrine of the Anakim.

I want you to recall that Saul is very tall and a mighty warrior himself. He is a head taller than the general population of Israel (1Sam. 9:2 10:23). I am about 5' at my shoulders, so my guess is that Saul is about 6'6" or slightly taller himself. However, as I have mentioned, I’ve seen wrestlers at 6'5" that seem huge to me. So if Saul is looking at a man a half a foot taller than he is, he is not likely to step forward either with the idea of going one-on-one with Goliath. This is unfortunate, as Saul would be the man who should have stepped forward in the power of the Holy Spirit.

This information was written after the fact; at the time that Goliath came out, no one on the Israelite side knew who he was. Since Goliath will come out before Israel 80 times, he probably related some of his personal information to them (we would not expect him to simply repeat the exact same words time after time). This may have included information about his 4 sons and relatives, who were also giants. Obviously, the Israelite soldiers were all deathly afraid of him.

Interesting fact: Almost everyone has heard the names David and Goliath together. However, the name Goliath only occurs twice in this chapter and perhaps a half-dozen times elsewhere (and many of those instances refer to Goliath Jr.). This is the only chapter which describes in detail the fight that occurred. However, throughout most of this chapter, Goliath will be called the Philistine.

We covered the City of Gath back in 1Sam. 5:8. It is one of the five primary cities of the Philistines. It is also a city where some of the Anakim went (Joshua 11:22).

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And a helmet of bronze upon his head and body armor of scales he was clothed [with] and a weight of the body armor: five of a thousand shekels bronze;...

Septuagint                             And [there was] a helmet upon his head, and he wore a breastplate of chain armor; and the weight of his breastplate [was] five thousand shekels of brass and iron.

Significant differences:          That his helmet is bronze is mentioned in the MT, but not in the Greek. That is the only significant difference between the texts.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       He wore a bronze helmet and had bronze armor to protect his chest and legs. The chest armor alone weighted about one hundred twenty-five pounds.

NLT                                He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he wore a bronze coat of armor scales weighing 125 pounds.

JPS (Tanakh)                        He had a bronze helmet on his head, and wore a breastplate of scale armor, a bronze breastplate weighing five thousand shekels.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze.

Young's Updated LT              ...and a helmet of brass is on his head, and with a scaled coat of mail he is clothed, and the weight of the coat of mail is five thousand shekels of brass,...

What is the gist of this verse? Goliath is decked out in heavy armor.

Translation: He was wearing a helmet of bronze on his head and scaled body armor;... Apparently, the Israelites, in general, fought without armor and this was a new thing. We have already seen that earlier, the Israelites did not have access to iron for weapons of war (1Sam. 13:19). By this time, they do have armor (see v. 38), but it is still a fairly new thing. What Goliath is wearing is impressive enough for the writer to note.

Young’s translation suggests that Goliath’s armor is a coat of mail, which is armor made of rings and hooked together. This would give a warrior protection from a sword being swept from the side, although one could sustain some damage if the point of a sword was used (however, I don’t know if this was a common method of usage for swords at that time). A coat of mail would allow for maximum mobility and a reasonable amount of protection in battle. Freeman tells us that Goliath’s armor was made of metallic scales rounded at the bottom and squared at the top, and sewn to linen or felt.

We have the armor of Rameses III in the British Museum, and the breastplate is essentially a shirt made of scales of armor (as opposed to the armor being fashioned out of one or two pieces). The word qas^eqeseth bears out this understanding of Goliath’s armor (compare its use in Lev. 11:9–10 Deut. 14:9–10). My guess is that this either made the manufacturing of the armor easier and it gave more mobility to the wearer of the breastplate.

Translation: ...the weight of the body armor [was] 125 lbs. [lit., 5000 shekels] [and it was] bronze;... This was the most impressive aspect to the writer is that Goliath’s armor alone weighed 125 lbs, which is not far from the weight of some of Israel’s smaller soldiers. You may wonder how did the author of the book of Samuel weigh this—at the end of this chapter, David will keep Goliath’s armor and weapons as souvenirs (v. 54), which means that these items probably were weighed at a later date. This is an incredible amount of weight for someone to carry around; it would suggest to me that Goliath weighed perhaps 300 lbs. (or more) himself, that weight being mostly muscle.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       ...and greaves [shin guards] of bronze upon his [two] feet and a javelin of bronze [or, possibly a shield] between his shoulders.

eptuagint                        And greaves of brass [were] upon his legs, and a brazen target [was] between his shoulders.

Significant differences: 

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       He carried a bronze sword strapped on his back,... [The CEV combined vv. 5–6]

NAB                                       ...and bronze greaves, and had a bronze scimitar slung from a baldric. A scimitar, by the way, is a curved oriental sword and a baldric is a belt for same which runs between the waist and the shoulder.

REB                                       On his legs were bronze greaves, and one of his weapons was a bronze dagger.

TEV                                       His legs were also protected by bronze armor, and he carried a bronze javelin slung over his shoulder.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         On his legs he had bronze shin guards and on his back a bronze javelin.

JPS (Tanakh)                        He had bronze greaves on his legs, and a bronze javelin [slung] from his shoulders.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Emphasized Bible           ...and ║greaves of bronze║ on his feet,— and ║a javelin of bronze║ between his shoulders;...

NASB                                     He also had bronze greaves [or, shin guards] on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders.

Young's Updated LT              ...and a frontlet of brass is on his feet, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.

What is the gist of this verse? The writer goes on to describe what Goliath was wearing. He had a spear or javelin (or, possibly a hand shield) slung over his back, between his shoulders, and he had on leg guards.

Translation: ...and [he had] bronze shin guards above his feet and a bronze javelin [or, possibly a shield] [was slung] between his shoulders. Not only was Goliath huge, and not only did he have a breastplate of armor, but he had armor over his legs, and he wore a javelin slung over his back, between his shoulders. There was almost no way he could be hurt and he carried weapons to kill.

Greaves or shin-guards could be made out of leather or wood, but, in Goliath’s case, they were made of brass. They were bound together by thongs around the calves and above the ankles, which provide protection and yet allowed mobility.

Because of the confusion of the word kîydôwn, Goliath either had two shields—a huge one carried by shield bearer who walked in front of him), and a smaller one, for hand-to-hand combat, which he carried on his back—or he had two spear-type weapons—one which he carried and the other which was slung over his back. The shield bearer and the spear he bore will be covered in the next verse.

The idea that this is a shield comes from the Latin, which is also the way that Luther understood it. However, in hand-to-hand combat, Goliath is wearing armor, which considerably lessens the need for a hand-held shield. The best argument in favor of this being an offensive weapon (e.g., a javelin) is its use in v. 45, where it is both seen by David and apparently identified by him as an offensive weapon. If this were a smaller hand or arm-held shield, then David would not have even seen it, as it would have been slung over Goliath’s back. However, if this were a 6 ft. javelin, for instance, then part of it could be seen from David’s view. Obviously, there would have been a strap or some sort of holster to hold this weapon where Goliath could easily reach it, but where it would be out of his way for most instances of combat. This is also Freeman’s take on this item, offering the various interpretations that I did, but stating his view that it was a light javelin which would be hurled at an enemy.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And a shaft of his spear like a beam of weavers and a spear-head of his spear six hundreds shekels—iron. And a bearer of the shield is walking to his faces.

Septuagint                             And the staff of his spear [was] like a weavers’ beam, and the spear’s head [lit., the spear] was [formed] of six hundred shekels of iron; and his armor-bearer went before him.

Significant differences:          No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       ...and his spear was so big that the iron spearhead alone weighed more than fifteen pounds. A soldier always walked in front of Goliath to carry his shield.

NLT                                The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed fifteen pounds. An armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a huge shield.

TEV                                       His spear was as thick as the bar on a weaver’s loom, and its iron head weighted about fifteen pounds. A soldier walked in front of him carrying his shield.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         The shaft of his spear was like the beam used by weavers. The head of his spear was made of 15 pounds of iron. The man who carried his shield walked ahead of him.

JPS (Tanakh)                        The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s bar, and the iron head of his spear weighted six hundred shekels; and the shield-bearer marched in front of him.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-carrier also walked before him.

Young's Updated LT              ...and the wood of his spear is like a beam of weavers, and the flame of his spear is six hundred shekels of iron, and the bearer of the buckler is going before him.

What is the gist of this verse? Goliath’s spear shaft was the size of a weavers’ beam and his spear head alone weighed fifteen pounds. His shield was carried by a shield bearer—a man who walked in front of him.

Translation: The shaft of his spear was like a weavers’ beam and the head of his spear [was] 600 shekels [or, 15 lbs] of iron. Here we complete the telling of Goliath’s weaponry. The shaft of his spear of large in itself; like a weavers’ beam (we will assume that is larger than a typical spear shaft). The head of the spear weighed 15 lbs. alone and was made of iron, as opposed to Goliath’s armor, which was brass. Lahmi, Goliath’s brother, will be similarly armed in his last battle (2Sam. 21:19 1Chron. 20:5).

Translation: And his shield bearer walked before him. It took one man simply to carry Goliath’s shield (which he would hold with one arm during battle). This shield carrier walked in front of him (also mentioned in v. 41). This is the largest kind of a shield—a full-bodied shield which was designed to protect the entire body. The Egyptian shield was about five feet tall, square at the bottom, and came to a pointed arch at the top. The Assyrian shield was taller and some of them curved backward at the very top. Although I visualized metal shields, according to Freeman, they were generally made of wicker work or of light wood covered with hides. They were grasped by a handle of wood or of leather. Although Freeman tells us first that this was a full-bodied shield, he also says to the shields of the Philistines appear to have been circular, which seems somewhat contradictory to me.

Interestingly enough, Goliath’s sword is not mentioned in this description (by the way, no other exegete that I refer to other than Gordon mentions this). He certainly did have a sword probably fastened to his waist (compare v. 39a), as David will mention his sword in v. 45 and he will make use of the sword in v. 51. The only guess I can offer here is that it was a standard issue sword, which was carried by almost all Philistine soldiers, and so did not require comment. I didn’t catch this until my third sweep through this material; therefore, the author may have taken the sword for granted, as I did. Also recall that most of the comments were about the weapons and armor of Goliath and how much it weighed.

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so he stands and so he calls unto ranks of Israel and so he says to them, “For why are you coming out to prepare a battle? Not I the Philistine and you [all] servants of Saul? Separate for yourselves a man and he will come down unto me.

Septuagint                             And he stood and cried to the army of Israel, and said to them, “Why are you come out to set yourselves in battle array against us? Am I not a Philistine, and you [are] Hebrews of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me.

Significant differences:          The men of Israel are called servants of Saul in the Hebrew, Latin and Syriac; and Hebrews of Saul in the Greek (very little of this chapter is readable in the Greek).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Goliath went out and shouted to the army of Israel:

Why are you lining up for battle? I’m the best soldier in our army, and all of you are in Saul’s army. Choose your best soldier to come out and fight me!

NJB                                        Taking position in front of the Israelite lines, he shouted, ‘Why have you come out to range yourselves for battle? Am I not a Philistine and are you not Saul’s lackeys? Choose a man and let him come down to me.

NLT                                Goliath stood and shouted across to the Israelites, “Do you need a whole army to settle this? Choose someone to fight for you, and I will represent the Philistines. We will settle this dispute in single combat!

TEV                                       Goliath stood and shouted at the Israelites, “What are you doing there, lined up for battle? I am a Philistine, you slaves of Saul! Choose one of your men to fight me.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         Goliath stood and called to the Israelites, “Why do you form a battle line? Am I not a Philistine, and aren’t you Saul’s servants? Choose a man, and let him come down to └fight┘ me.

JPS (Tanakh)                        He stopped and called out to the ranks of Israel and he said to them, “Why should you come out to engage in battle? I am the Philistine [champion], and you are Saul’s servants. Choose one of your men and let him come down against me.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     And he stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.

Young's Updated LT              And he stands and calls unto the ranks of Israel, and says to them, “Why have you come out to set in array the battle? Am I not the Philistine, and you servants to Saul? Choose for you a man, and let him come down unto me;...

What is the gist of this verse? Goliath stands out in the valley between the armies and first grabs the attention of every Israelite by asking, “Why are you all preparing for a war? Am I not just one Philistine?” He says this to get the attention of each and every soldier. Then he tells them to select one man from their army.

Translation: He stood and called out to the army of Israel, saying, “Why have you [all] come forth to prepare a battle? Israel has observed that the Philistines had gathered for war, so they did the same on an opposite hill. Goliath steps out between the two armies and calls out to them, “Why are you all preparing for war?” At first, this seems to be a silly question. The Philistines are there ready to do battle, so certain the Israelites had to follow suit. However, the question was designed to be intriguing. Goliath wanted to get their attention.

Translation: [Am] I not the Philistine and you [all are] servants of Saul? Goliath is just one Philistine. When he says, literally, “Not I the Philistine...?”, he is saying, “Am I not just one Philistine?” It is as though Goliath is taunting them—I am just one Philistine and you are all preparing to fight a war? Again, his words are chosen to be provocative—he wants their attention. He wants the attention of each and every Israelite. This is psychological warfare. If all the Israelites are listening, then what he will say will be a lot more intimidating.

So, Israel is preparing to go to war on one hill. Goliath, one Philistine, is standing in the valley below them, calling out, “Why did all of you come out to do battle? Am I not just one Philistine and you are all the servants of Saul?” His question here is actually somewhat humorous. “You all showed up just to fight me, one Philistine?” Now, every man of Israel is quiet and listening. This is what Goliath wants.

Goliath refers to the Israelites as servants (or, slaves) of Saul. First of all, it was common for the people of a country to be spoken of as servants of the king. In Samuel’s warning to the people of Israel, he tells them that they will become the servants of the king they desire (1Sam. 8:17). When David is asked who his father is at the end of this chapter, he will refer to his father as a servant of Saul’s (v. 58). So, this was not an insult, but simply a way to address all of the army of Israel. The implication is, you are all Saul’s servants; therefore, one of you needs to step forward to fight me.

As has happened many times in the past, the verses are not separated as well as they could be. The next portion of v. 8 is better placed along with v. 9.

Translation: Choose for yourselves [one] man and he will come down to me. Now Goliath starts dictating how they will do battle. This is the position that every army wants to be in—they want to dictate the time, the place and the particulars of each battle; that way, they have the advantage, as they have planned for that time, place and particulars. An army has a certain strategy and they have planned specific tactics; this is dependent upon the environment of the battle itself—and if they control the specifics of the battle, it is more likely that their strategy and tactics will give them the war.

Keil and Delitzsch have a slightly different take on what Goliath says; their understanding is that Goliath is calling out, “Why would you engage in battle with us? I am the man who represents the strength of the Philistines, and you all are only servants of Saul. If you have any true heroes, choose one out, that we may decide the matter by a one-on-one fight.” 

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       If he is able to fight with me and he has struck me and we have been to you for servants; and if I [even] I am able to him and I have struck him and you have been to us for servants and you have served us.”

Septuagint                             And if he is able to fight against me, and strikes me down, then we will be your servants; but if I should prevail and strike him down, you all will be our servants, and you will serve us.”

Significant differences:          There is a minor difference with a verb in the middle of this verse.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       If he can kill me, our people will be your slaves. But if I kill him, your people will be our slaves.

NAB                                       If he beats me in combat and kills me, we will be your vassals; but if I beat him and kill him, you shall be our vassals and serve us.”

REB                                       If he defeats and kills me in fair fight, we shall become your slaves; but if I vanquish and kill him, you will be our slaves and serve us.

TEV                                       If he wins and kills me, we will be your slaves; but if I win and kill him, you will be our slaves.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         If he can fight me and kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I overpower him and kill him, then you will be our slaves and serve us.”

JPS (Tanakh)                        If he bests me in combat and kills me, we will become your slaves; but if I best him and kill him, you shall be our slaves and serve us.”

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     “If he is able to fight with me and kill [lit., smite] me, the we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill [lit., smite] him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.”

Young's Updated LT              ...if he is able to fight with me, and has struck me down, then we have been to you for servants; and if I am able for him, and have struck him down, then you [all] have been to us for servants, and have served us.”

What is the gist of this verse? Goliath sets up two scenarios; if the man chosen by Israel defeats him, then the Philistines will serve Israel; if he defeats any man chosen by Israel, then Israel is to agree to serve the Philistines.

Translation: If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, then we will be your servants;... Here Goliath actually proposes that which he wants all of the Israelite soldiers to hear. He suggests that whoever they choose come out and fight him, and if this man defeats him, then the Philistines will be Israel’s servants.