Chapter Seventeen
David and Goliath
17:1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
The Philistines had gathered their armies in Socoh (approximately ten miles east of Gath, see Joshua 15:35), which was an incursion into Judah’s land, and set up camp between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim, which has been translated a number of ways, most believe either a “boundary of blood” or “edge of blood.” The Philistines were on a mountain on one side and the Saul and the men of Israel were on a mountain on the opposite side of the Valley of Elam.[1] This creates the setting of the main series of events recorded in this chapter.
17:4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him.
We are introduced to a giant man named Goliath, a name that has become a common synonym for something or someone very large in our culture today. These four verses reveal the enormity of him and his weapons. He is described as being six cubits and a span tall, making him approximately nine feet four inches (the Septuagint, the Dead Sea Scrolls,[2] and Josephus record him as being four arm lengths, that being the definition of a cubit, and one span, making him only six foot four, not much or a giant). His helmet was made of bronze and his bronze coat of mail weighed approximately 125 pounds. He had bronze armor on his legs, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. The shaft of his spear is described as being similar to a weaver’s beam, which since these beams had to be able to handle stress holding the threads and warp apart while the shuttle carrying the weft passed between them,[3] that would make the beam substantial in heft, the description can also apply to it having a loop and cord attached to it for retrieval. The spear’s tip was made of iron weighing fifteen pounds. This description offers us a visual of a large man covered with heavy armor that is likely not very maneuverable or fast, but is able to simply stand and be extremely intimidating. The end of verse seven tells us that Goliath’s shield-barrier went before him. We are not given much information about him, but in order to effectively carry Goliath’s shield he must have been a large man as well.
17:8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
Goliath stood between the Philistines and the men of Israel and offers a challenge to Saul and to the people of Israel. He wants them to choose a man that would represent Israel and fight him. If he is able to fight and kill Goliath then they will become their servants. But if he wins and kills their man, they will become servants to the Philistines. And so the taunting begins, Goliath calls out to the Israelites for them to send someone out to fight him, proclaiming, “I defy the ranks of Israel…” When Saul and all Israel heard these words, they were dismayed (Hebrew yē·ḥǎt’·tû, broken, shattered, afraid) and terrified. The Targum records that Goliath’s battlefield speech included him being personally responsible for Eli’s sons death and the capturing of the Ark, but there is no support of those claims in the Hebrew text.
17:12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.
The author has provided us a location, a good description of the evil antagonist, the grim situation Israel is facing, and now we see that the protagonist is none other than David, who we are reintroduced to here as being the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who we are told had eight sons (see also 1 Samuel 16:10-11). Then to give us a general time frame, this event took place when Saul was much older and advance in years.
It is important to note that in the Old Testament, and especially true in the twelve “history books” (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther) regarding the nation of Israel, that a person can have what appears to be dual identities, one regarding their bloodline (lineage), and one based on their location or place of dwelling. Since both use tribal names, it can be difficult sometimes to determine a person’s true lineage when stated in the text. Some commentators point out that the term “Ephrathite” has two meanings, being a member of the tribe of Ephraim and a member of the tribe of Judah. In most scenarios it doesn’t make much difference as both are names of Israel’s sons (Joseph’s son Ephraim was adopted by Israel, see Genesis 48:16), however, regarding the royal line of David and the lineage of the Messiah, they are to be from the line of Judah (see Genesis 49:10). And we read here that Jesse, David’s father is an “Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah” But what is really being said here? The word Ephrath is an ancient name for the area around Bethlehem (see Genesis 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11; Micah 5:2) and has no connection to the name or tribe of Ephraim. Being called an Ephrathite of Bethlehem means he was from the city of Bethlehem in Ephrath, and not some other city named Bethlehem (like the one in Zebulun, see Joshua 19:15). It is also interesting to note that verses 12-31 are not included in the Septuagint.
17:13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
We are again given the names of Jesse’s three oldest sons, Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah (see 1 Samuel 16:6-9) and that David was his youngest. The three oldest sons were members of Saul’s army and were there among the other men of Israel waiting with Saul. David was apparently still playing for Saul but had the responsibility of taking care of his father’s sheep in Bethlehem, some fifteen miles to the east.
17:16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening. 17 And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18 Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them. 19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
This standoff had been going on for forty days, where the same routine is repeated, Goliath comes out and taunts the Israelite army every morning and every evening. Meanwhile the men of Israel need to stand ready to fight, requiring provisions to be brought to them. So Jesse prepares some grain, loaves of bread, and some cheese to be delivered to his brother’s commanding officer. While there David is to find out how they are doing and to bring back some token (Hebrew ‛ǎrǔb·bāṯ, a pledge, a thing exchanged, in context a report as to how they are doing) from them. Verse nineteen is not a statement that the battle between the Philistines and the men of Israel had begun, it is should be considered part of Jesse’s instruction to David, that he is to go to and deliver to where Saul and the men of Israel were facing the Philistines.
17:20 And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
David did as his father had instructed, he got up early, left the sheep with someone else, and took what his father packed (likely on a donkey) to the battle line. The morning ritual of Goliath coming out and everyone then getting into position for battle. David left the provisions with the keeper of supplies (the quartermaster) and went to the battle line to greet his brothers. Then came the morning taunt, Goliath offered the same challenge as before (see verses 8-10). But this time David heard Goliath.
17:24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” 26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27 And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
When the men of Israel saw Goliath they fled from him and were very afraid. The men of Israel were apparently saying to each other, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel.” Then as an incentive to volunteer to fight Goliath, they are told that the king will “pay handsomely,” offer his daughter to them in marriage, and their family will be free of a conscription and possibly taxes. We are not told if this response occurred every time Goliath appeared, but it is clear that no one from the Israelite army was willing to face the giant, nor was Saul appointing anyone to do so. David, upon hearing all this, asks if that applies to the one who kills this Philistine and removes the threat from Israel, and further asks, who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he would defy the armies of the Living God. Everyone answered him, yes, it shall be done for the man who kills him.
17:28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.
David’s brother Eliab heard him say these things and was angry because it made everyone there look like cowards. In his anger he asks David, “why are you here?” and who did he leave in charge of the ‘few’ sheep (possibly downplaying his role as a shepherd) in the field. And much like siblings around the world undoubtedly ask, “what did I do now?” to get you angry. David responds that they were just words.
17:31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”
But those words were forwarded on to Saul, who then sent for him. Now in front of Saul, David offers, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” David is now clearly saying that he is willing to fight Goliath! Saul probably smiled and told David that he was not able to fight him, as he is just a youth (Hebrew nǎ’·‛ǎr, a young man). Perhaps the New Living Translation of verse thirty-three captures the king’s perspective best, “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” (NLT)
17:34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”
David’s response to Saul’s comment is two-fold, he first tells him that as a shepherd he had to retrieve lambs from the mouths of lions and bears. If they went after him personally, he would strike and kill the predator, and that Goliath would be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the Living God. Secondly, just as YHWH had delivered him from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, He will deliver David from the hand of Goliath. Saul agreed, perhaps reluctantly, but gave him the permission to go, and that YHWH be with him.
17:38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
Saul had David put on his armor, but he could barely move, let alone fight someone. He took off the armor, helmet, sword, and coat of mail as he had not tested (Hebrew nis·sāh’, to try, prove) them before. Instead, he took his staff, sling, and found five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his pouch and headed toward Goliath. With confidence David approaches the Philistine, so why five stones? There are potentially a number of good reasons, but we will later find out that Goliath had four brothers, perhaps he was preparing for any potential retaliation (see 2 Samuel 21:18-22).
17:41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
Seeing David approach, Goliath started towards him with his shield-bearer leading the way. When he got close enough to see that David was just a youth, he disdained him as he was ruddy and handsome in appearance. This would be like taking a good-looking Hollywood celebrity and placing them on the front line of a battle, or in the middle of a football play, in other words, Goliath thought that the Israelites were not taking him seriously.
17:43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”
Goliath asked if David thought that he was like a dog, someone to play fetch with. He then cursed David in the name of his gods. We are not told what he said or which gods he was invoking as that is not important, but he does threaten him by asking him to come to him, and that he will kill him and offer his flesh to the birds and wild beasts.
17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
David responds by comparing their weapons, Goliath has a sword, a spear, and a javelin. But he comes in the name of YHWH, the God of the armies of Israel. He tells him that YHWH will deliver him into his hand. He further elaborates, first he will strike him dead, cut off his head, and then give his body to the birds and wild beasts. So that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that this assembly (both the Philistines and the people of Israel) will know that YHWH saves, not with the weapons of man, as the battle is YHWH’s, therefore He will give victory to David.
17:48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
The two approach each other, David now running towards Goliath, pulls out one of the stones, and using his sling hurled it at the Philistine’s head. The stone sank into his forehead and Goliath fell to the ground on his face.
17:50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
David knocked down Goliath with one stone, since he had no sword, he pulled out Goliath’s sword and killed him by cutting off his head. The Philistines seeing that their champion (Hebrew gib·bô·rā’, mighty, strong) was dead, they fled.
17:52 And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
Then the men of Israel pursued after the Philistines as far as the Philistine cities of Gath and Ekron. Many wounded Philistines laid out on the route from Shaaraim (a city in Judah) to Gath and Ekron. On their way back from chasing them, the men of Israel plundered the Philistine camp. Meanwhile David took the head of Goliath and brought it to Jerusalem. But he took Goliath’s armor (Hebrew kē·lāy’, an article, instrument, utensil, in context weapons and armor) and put them in his own tent. Since Jerusalem was at this time was still in the hands of the Jebusites, to have Goliath’s head taken there is unlikely, it was probably brought to Nob just north of Jerusalem in Benjamin where the Tabernacle is believed to have been temporally located (see 1 Samuel 21:1-6). Some suggest that this refers to David bringing Goliath’s head to Jerusalem many years later.
17:55 As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” 57 And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”
The text has Saul asking Abner whose son “the boy” is, and then Abner brings David before Saul, with Goliath’s head in his hand. Saul asks him “Whose son are you, young man?” and David replied that he was the son of his servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite. These four verses are difficult to understand as it appears that Saul and his army commander Abner, had no clue as to the identity of David. But since we read earlier in 1 Samuel 16:14-23 that Saul was informed about David being the son of Jesse, who then employed him to sooth his spirit, so why now the inquiry? How can we reconcile or make sense of these four verses? Commentators and theologians have developed several interesting possibilities, here are just a few:
1. Since the Septuagint does not include these four verses, that these verses were placed in the Hebrew text by error.
2. Due to Saul’s declining mental state, possibly as a result of the harmful spirit (see 1 Samuel 16:14), he forgot who David was.
3. Saul was inquiring about David’s family so that his family could be celebrated and receive the benefits promised to the victor (see 1 Samuel 17:25).
4. That whenever David played his lyre for Saul in the past that he was behind curtains and he did not know or had seen David before.
All, of course, is speculation.
Considerations
Was Goliath one of the Nephilim?
The Bible records a 'race' of powerful warriors that are described as being giants known as the Nephilim (see Genesis 6:1-4, click here to read more about the Nephilim). Later we read in Numbers 13:32-33, where some of the group of Israelites that were sent into the Promised Land to spy the land, came back and said that they saw "the sons of Anak who come from the Nephilim." The Anakim were later driven from out of the hill country of Judah and Israel into Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod (see Joshua 11:22). And since Goliath was from Gath (see 1 Samuel 17:4), some believe that Goliath may have been an offspring of the Nephilim. Although, the Bible never associates the term Nephilim with Goliath.
⇐Previous (Introduction) Next⇒
[1] Corresponds to Wadi es-Sant located 18 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Warring armies could speak to each other across the valley. Baker, W., & Carpenter, E. E. (2003). In The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament (p. 53). AMG Publishers.
[2] 4Q51 (4QSamª)
[3] Driver, S. R. (1913). Notes on the Hebrew text and topography of the books of Samuel (pp. 139–140). Clarendon Press.