Continuing a chronological Bible study after a brief interlude of psalms:
(1 Samuel 17:1) Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle and were gathered together at Shochoh in Judah and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah in Ephes Dammim.
In chapter 16, David had been anointed to be the next king and had meanwhile gone to live in the palace of King Saul as his musician, Saul not knowing David was to replace him. Chapter 17 reverts back to the Philistine wars (1 Samuel 14:52). The Philistines gathered their armies together at Shochoh, a city in the tribe of Judah, and actually camped between Shochoh and Azekah in a place called Ephes Dammim.
(2) And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together and pitched by the valley of Elah and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
Saul gathered his men together and they camped by the valley of Elah, also called the valley of Terebinth for the terebinth or turpentine trees. Saul set his army in array, prepared to go against the Philistines.
(3) And the Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, and a valley between them.
The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, apparently at or near Ephes Dammim, and the Israelites apparently went up a mountain from the valley of Elah and faced the Philistines, with the valley of Elah between them.
(4) And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
Someone called a champion of the Philistines, named Goliath, went forth out of the camp of the Philistines. He was a giant of a man, six cubits and a span in height. A cubit was the length from the cubitus (the elbow) to the end of the middle finger, about eighteen inches. A span was the span of a hand, from the tip of the middle finger to the bottom of the thumb at the wrist. That was generally thought to be about half a cubit, or nine inches. Therefore Goliath was about nine feet nine inches tall.
(5) And a helmet of brass on his head and armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat five thousand shekels of brass.
Goliath wore a helmet of brass on his head and a coat of chain mail that weighed 5000 shekels of brass, or 156 pounds, meaning Goliath must have been a very strong man to carry all that weight.
(6) And greaves of brass on his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders,
Goliath had shin armor of brass on his legs and something of brass between his shoulders. The original word "kiydon" that was translated as "target" was most often translated as "spear" or "shield." It was likely something of brass to protect his neck.
(7) And the staff of his spear like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head six hundred shekels of iron, and one bearing a shield went before him.
The staff of Goliath's spear was like a weaver's beam on which the weaver's cloth was rolled, but there is no consensus on the exact size of that. The spear's head weighed 600 shekels of iron, or about eighteen pounds. One carrying a shield went before Goliath.
(8) And he stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, "Why have you come out to set battle in array? Am not I a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me."
Goliath stood in the valley between the two mountains of armies and cried out to the army of Israel. Why had they set a battle line as if to fight the Philistines? He seemed to be suggesting that it was needless as he was a Philistine and their dispute could be settled by a battle between just him and a servant to Saul, as he called the Israelites. He told them to choose a man and send him down into the valley to Goliath.
(9) "If he is able to fight with me and to kill me, then will we be your servants, but if I prevail against him and kill him, then shall you be our servants and serve us."
Goliath proposed that the Israelites send one man out to fight him, and if he was able to kill him, the Philistines would become the servants of Israel. However, if Goliath was able to kill the Israelite man, then Israel would be servants to the Philistines.
(10) And the Philistine said, "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together."
Goliath taunted the Israelites, challenging them to send one man to fight him.
(11) When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
When Saul and the Israelites heard those words of Goliath, they were disheartened and afraid. Saul had formerly behaved with much courage against his enemies, but now the Spirit of God had left him, and he was afraid.
(12) Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and he had eight sons, and the man went among men an old man in the days of Saul. (13) And the three eldest sons of Jesse followed Saul to the battle, and the names of his three sons who went to the battle, Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
David was the youngest son of Jesse, the Ephrathite from Bethlehem Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and he was considered an old man among men in the days of Saul, maybe said to explain that he was too old for war, but his three oldest sons, Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah, followed Saul to battle.
(14) And David was the youngest, and the three oldest followed Saul. (15) But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.
David, Jesse's youngest son, did not follow Saul to battle, but left Saul's palace to return to his father to tend his sheep.
(16) And the Philistine drew near morning and evening and presented himself forty days.
Meanwhile, the Philistine Goliath came near the Israelite camp every morning and evening for forty days, daring them to send down a man to fight with him, and probably taunting and ridiculing them for their cowardice in not doing it.
(17) And Jesse said to David his son, "Take now for your brethren an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to your brethren, (18) And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brethren fare and take their pledge."
Jesse told David to take some food out to his brothers at the Israelite camp. He told him to also take ten cheeses to the captain of one thousand men under whom his brothers fought. He told him to see how his brothers were faring and bring back what they had to say in return.
(19) Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
Saul, David's brothers, and all the army of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, or probably actually in array on the mountain just above the valley because they weren't actually in battle yet but prepared for it, as it appears that only Goliath was in the valley calling on someone to come down and fight him.
(20) And David rose up early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took and went as Jesse had commanded him, and he came to the trench as the host was going forth to the fight and shouted for the battle. (21) For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
David rose up early in the morning, leaving his father's sheep in the care of a keeper, and took the provisions Jesse had told him to take, and went to where the Israelite army was. He came to the trench of the army just as they were preparing to go forth to battle and shouted for it, for the Israelites and the Philistines had put themselves in battle lines to go forth against each other.
(22) And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage and ran into the army and came and saluted his brothers.
The original word "keliy" that was translated as carriage, actually more precisely meant anything prepared, any apparatus--utensils, vessels, bags, furniture, tools, weapons, etc. In this case, I'm sure it rather meant the vessels in which were the provisions he brought. He probably left those in the care of the keeper of such things for the army and ran to greet his brothers among the army.
(23) And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words, and David heard.
As David talked to his brothers, Goliath came forth, speaking the same words he had been speaking for forty days, telling the Israelite army to send one man out to fight him. David heard him.
(24) And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were sore afraid. (25) And the men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely to defy Israel has he come up, and it shall be, the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel."
When they saw Goliath come forth, all the Israelites were afraid and fled from him. However, they spoke among themselves, probably trying to encourage one another, that the king had said he would reward the man who killed Goliath, enriching him with great riches, giving him his daughter in marriage, and making his father's house free from tributes or taxes.
(26) And David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, "What shall be done to 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 after this manner, saying, "So shall it be done to the man who kills him."
David spoke to the men near him and asked what was to be done with the man who killed Goliath and took away the dishonor that the uncircumcised pagan Philistine was doing to Israel, for that detestable man was not one to be defying the armies of the one true living God. The people told David what they had been discussing in verse 25, that the king would enrich such a man who killed Goliath and reward him and his father's house.
(28) And Eliab, his oldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the haughtiness of your heart, for you have come down that you might see the battle."
David's oldest brother Eliab heard what David had been saying to the men, and he grew angry, probably because he felt what David had said was a reproach of him and the others who did not have the courage to fight Goliath. He asked David why he had come there. He suggested that he had been negligent in the care of his father's sheep, that perhaps he was too proud to be merely a shepherd, and he had come down to see the battle for selfish reasons.
(29) And David said, "What have I done now? Is there not a cause?"
David asked Eliab what blameworthy thing he had done. He had merely spoken what he felt. Was there not a reason for his indignation against this uncircumcised Philistine and a concern for the glory of God and the honor of the people of Israel?
(30) And he turned from him toward another and spoke after the same manner, and the people answered him again after the former manner.
David turned from Eliab and spoke to another man near him, asking him what was to be done about this Philistine and the man who should attempt to kill him, and probably also communicating to him his indignation against the pagan wretch who defied the one true living God and His people. People told him the same thing about how the king wished to reward the man who killed Goliath.
(31) And when the words were heard which David spoke, they reported them to Saul, and he sent for him.
Eventually the words that David had been speaking reached Saul, and he sent for David.
(32) And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."
When David came before Saul, he told him that no more should men be afraid of Goliath, nor should Saul worry about who to send, for he volunteered to go fight him.
(33) And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."
Saul told David he was not able to go against Goliath as he was but a youth, and Goliath, besides being a giant of a man, had been an experienced man of war since his youth.
(34) And David said to Saul, "Your servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, (35) And I went out after it, and struck it, and delivered it out of its mouth, and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck it, and killed it."
David told Saul that as a shepherd of his father's sheep, he had opportunities to fight and kill dangerous beasts who would take lambs from the flock, and he had been successful and rescued the lambs.
(36) "Your servant killed both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God."
David went on to tell Saul that he had killed a lion and a bear, and he saw the Philistine Goliath as just another beast deserving of death because he had defied the armies of the one true living God.
(37) David said moreover, "The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord be with you."
David went on to add that He knew that the Lord who had delivered him from the lion and the bear, would deliver him out of the hand of that Philistine. David had complete faith that the Lord would give him victory over Goliath. Saul, seeing that great faith and assuredness of victory, told David to proceed and prayed the Lord be with him.
(38) And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
Saul armed David with his own personal armor. He put a brass helmet on his head and covered him with a chain mail coat.
(39) And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he assayed to go, for he had not proved it. And David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them." And David put them off him.
David girded his sword onto the armor and appraised how it would work on him since he had not before tested it. He then told Saul that he could not use the armor because he had not ever tested and practiced with such armor. He took the armor off.
(40) And he took his staff in his hand and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a pouch, and his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
Having taken off the armor, David took his staff in his hand and picked up five smooth stones out of the brook. He put them in a shepherd's pouch that he had, and with his sling in his hand, he drew near to the Philistine.
(41) And the Philistine came on and drew near to David, and the man who bore the shield before him. (42) And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him for he was a youth, and ruddy, and of fair countenance. (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.
The Philistine came toward David, with a man bearing a shield before him. When Goliath the Philistine saw David, that this fresh-faced good-looking kid was going to fight him, he had disdain for David. He asked him sarcastically if he was dog to be beaten by David's stick or staff. Goliath then cursed David by his pagan gods.
(44) And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me and I will give your flesh to the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field."
The Philistine, probably having so much disdain for so pitiful a combatant, that he would not go forth as if to consider this an actual battle, told David to come to him, and he would give his flesh to the birds and the beasts.
(45) Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, 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 will the Lord deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you, and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day to the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel."
Then David told Goliath that although he had come to David with a sword and a spear and a shield, he, David, had come in the name of the Lord of all the hosts, the heavenly hosts and the hosts of the world, and particularly the armies of Israel whom Goliath had defied. And rather than Goliath giving David's flesh to the birds and the beasts, the Lord would deliver Goliath to David, and he would give the carcasses of the Philistines to the birds and the beasts, so that all the world would know that there was the all-powerful living God in Israel.
(47) "And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands."
David went on to add that everyone there would know that the Lord did not need the swords and spears of men, for this battle was His and His alone, and He Himself would deliver the Philistines into Israel's hand.
(48) And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
Then the Philistine Goliath came toward David, and David ran toward him and the Philistine army. So confident in his complete faith of the Lord to deliver him and Israel, he ran directly toward the enemy and did not flee as the Israelite army had done.
(49) And David put his hand in his bag and took from there a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.
David then retrieved a stone from his pouch and using his sling, slung the stone and struck Goliath on his forehead. The stone went deep into his forehead, and Goliath fell on his face to the ground. Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, pointed out what he called a difficulty, with how David could strike Goliath in the forehead if he was wearing a brass helmet (verse 5). I see no such difficulty as he could have struck him in between his eyes or even in his eye, as the original word "metsach" also meant "brow." If David struck right underneath the brow of Goliath's eye, it would account for how the stone could sink deep into Goliath's head, into his brain, and kill him instantly.
(50) So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone and struck the Philistine and killed him, but no sword in the hand of David.
Thus David killed Goliath with just a sling and a stone; he had no sword or spear, nor any such weapon. The Lord, working through David and his great faith, killed the Philistine just as David said He would in verse 47, "not with sword and spear."
(51) Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
David ran toward the body of Goliath and stood on it. He took Goliath's sword out of its sheath and cut off his head with his own sword. When the Philistines saw that their champion had been killed, they fled.
(52) And the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines until you come to the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath and to Ekron.
The men of Israel and Judah rose up out of their camps and their trenches, shouted, and pursued the fleeing Philistines back to the gates of their own city, Ekron, one of the five principalities of the Philistines. The wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, a city in Judah, and to the borders of Gath and Ekron, Philistine cities.
(53) And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
The Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines and 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.
David took the head of Goliath to Jerusalem, and he kept Goliath's armor in his own tent.
(55) And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, "Abner, whose son is this youth?" And Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I cannot tell." (56) And the king said, "Enquire whose son the stripling is."
When Saul had seen David go forth against Goliath, he asked the captain of his army, whose son he was. Saul had evidently not recognized David when he tried to arm him with his armor. That seems a bit strange, but then Saul employed David when his mind was plagued by the evil spirit, and even then he may not have had occasion to actually see much of David. I can imagine servants whisking David into the room of the king who was sitting or lying down and having him play his harp behind the king. Abner, the captain of his army, said that he did not know whose son David was, so the king sent him on a mission to find out.
(57) And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
As David returned from killing Goliath and with his head in his hand, Abner took him aside and brought him before the king, Saul.
(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."
Saul asked David whose son he was, and David told him he was the son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, which I suppose differentiated him from any other Jesse. Perhaps this refreshed Saul's memory of David, but we aren't told that specifically.
Robert Hawker, in his Poor Man's Commentary, made the observation of how illustrative David and this encounter were of the coming Messiah. Goliath, with his bold and open defiance of Israel and with his taunting of the people, was symbolic of Satan who goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). David who was very indignant that no one defended the Lord's honor is likened to Jesus in the prophecy in Isaiah 63:5, he "looked and there was none to help...therefore my own arm brought salvation to me..."
I saw even more similarities in the event. As the Messiah defeated Satan without a sword, so David defeated Goliath, actually the Lord Himself through David. And when David stood upon the body of Goliath, I couldn't help but think of Genesis 3:15 when God prophesied and cursed the serpent in the garden of Eden that the eminent seed of the woman, the Messiah, would bruise the head of the serpent, the devil. You can just picture Jesus crushing the head of the serpent, and David cut off the head of Goliath. I am always in awe of the many places you find Jesus in the Old Testament!
