1 Samuel 17

Israel and the Philistines face each other across a valley, and a giant named Goliath taunts God’s people for forty days while Saul’s army trembles. David, a shepherd boy sent to bring food to his brothers, hears the insult and takes it as an insult to the living God. Armed with a sling and trust in the LORD, he brings Goliath down, and Israel wins the day.

1 Samuel 17:1-3

The Philistines, Israel’s long-time enemy, march into Judah and set up camp. Saul gathers Israel’s army in the Valley of Elah. The two armies sit on facing hills with a valley between them, a standoff that sets the stage for one man’s challenge.

BSA: stood (“in a strong sense, like a military formation”): Both armies are drawn up in battle order, ready and yet unmoving.

1 Samuel 17:4

Goliath of Gath steps out as the Philistines’ champion. At six cubits and a span he stands close to ten feet tall. The sight alone is meant to win the war before anyone fights.

BSA: champion (“man between two armies”): He is the one man who stands in the gap between the lines to fight on behalf of his whole side.

Hebrew: הַבֵּנַיִם (habbenayim, H1143) — “the one between (the two camps).” The Hebrew calls him literally ’the man of the between.’ He is the go-between figure whose single fight is meant to decide for everyone.

1 Samuel 17:5-7

The writer piles up the details of Goliath’s armor: bronze helmet, a coat of mail of about 125 pounds, leg guards, a javelin, and a spear with an iron head of about fifteen pounds. He looks unbeatable, and a shield bearer walks ahead of him.

BSA: weaver’s beam (“loom-beam, used for weaving”): The spear shaft was as thick and heavy as the great beam of a loom.

1 Samuel 17:8-9

Goliath proposes that one man fight for each side, with the loser’s whole nation becoming slaves of the winner. It sounds fair but is really a taunt. He mocks Israel as mere servants of Saul, and no one will step forward.

BSA: servants (“slaves, attendants”): He wants Israel to feel what defeat would mean: life as the slaves of Philistia.

1 Samuel 17:10

Goliath says it again: ‘I defy the ranks of Israel.’ His contempt is aimed not only at soldiers but at the people who bear God’s name. Verse after verse the reader waits for someone to answer.

Hebrew: חֵרַפְתִּי (cherafti, H2778) — “I have taunted, reproached.” The word means to hurl scorn and shame at someone. It returns through the chapter, showing that the real question is who is being insulted.

1 Samuel 17:11

Saul and all Israel lose their nerve. The king, who stood head and shoulders above the people, has no answer to the giant. Fear has taken the place of faith.

BSA: dismayed (“completely broken, shattered”): Their courage was not just shaken but smashed to pieces.

Hebrew: וַיֵּחַתּוּ (vayyechattu, H2865) — “they were shattered, terrified.” The verb describes being broken in spirit, as though the inside of a man had cracked.

See also: Joshua 1:9.

1 Samuel 17:12-15

The scene moves to Bethlehem. Jesse has eight sons, and the three eldest serve with Saul. David, the youngest, goes back and forth between the king’s camp and the family’s sheep. God often works through the overlooked.

BSA: Bethlehem (“house of bread, a place of food production”): The little town known for bread will one day give Israel a shepherd-king. youngest (“small, insignificant”): David seems unimportant to everyone but God.

See also: 1 Samuel 16:11-13; Micah 5:2.

1 Samuel 17:16

For forty days Goliath comes out morning and evening to repeat his challenge. Day after day Israel is shamed and silenced. The long delay shows how deep the fear had gone.

BSA: forty (“a significant period of time, often marking trial or testing”): Forty is a number Scripture often uses for a time of testing.

1 Samuel 17:17-19

Jesse sends David with roasted grain, bread and cheese for his brothers and their commander, and asks him to bring back word of their welfare. It is an ordinary errand from a father, and God uses it to change history.

BSA: welfare (“peace, well-being”): Jesse wants to know whether his sons are safe and well, using the word ‘shalom.’.

1 Samuel 17:20-22

David rises early, leaves the sheep with a keeper, and does exactly as his father said. He arrives as the army shouts its battle cry. He leaves his supplies behind and runs to the front line to greet his brothers. He is faithful in small duties.

BSA: keeper (“a shepherd, one who protects and guards”): David does not abandon the flock but sees that it is cared for.

1 Samuel 17:23-25

While David talks with his brothers, Goliath comes out again with his usual words. David hears them, and the soldiers run in terror. They also talk of the king’s reward: great riches, his daughter in marriage, and freedom from taxes for the family.

BSA: defy (“to taunt, to reproach”): The soldiers feel the insult but still do nothing about it.

See also: 1 Samuel 18:17-27.

1 Samuel 17:26

David sees what the soldiers miss. To him Goliath is not a terrifying giant but an uncircumcised outsider, one who stands outside God’s covenant, mocking the armies of the living God. David asks what the reward is, but his deeper concern is God’s honor.

BSA: disgrace (“reproach, shame”): David feels Israel’s shame as God’s own name being dishonored. living (“eternal, all-powerful”): The God Goliath mocks is no idol but the One who is truly alive and has power.

Hebrew: עָרֵל (arel, H6189) — “uncircumcised.” Circumcision was the sign of belonging to God’s covenant people. David calls Goliath ‘uncircumcised’ to say that he has no covenant with God.

1 Samuel 17:27

The people repeat the reward to David. Everyone is eager to talk about the prize, but no one is willing to fight for it.

BSA: offer (“a promise, a reward”): The king’s promise is on every tongue, but no one will claim it.

1 Samuel 17:28-30

Eliab, David’s oldest brother, burns with anger. He accuses David of pride and of leaving the sheep just to watch the battle. David answers calmly and goes on asking his question. Eliab’s accusation is unfair, and it shows how David’s own family underestimated him.

BSA: pride (“arrogance, haughtiness”): Eliab misreads David’s boldness as arrogance when it is really zeal for God.

1 Samuel 17:31

Someone overhears David’s words and reports them to Saul, and the king sends for the shepherd boy. The young man whom his own brother brushed aside now stands before the king.

BSA: reported (“told, declared openly”): His words spread through the camp until they reached the king.

1 Samuel 17:32-33

David tells Saul that no one should lose heart, for he himself will fight. Saul answers sensibly by human standards: David is a boy, and Goliath has fought since his youth. But Saul sees only the size of the fight, not the size of God.

BSA: heart (“the seat of emotions, will, and intellect”): David speaks of courage, because the battle is first won or lost in the heart. boy (“a young person, from infancy to adolescence”): Saul stresses how young and untried David seems.

See also: 1 Timothy 4:12.

1 Samuel 17:34-37

David points to his past as a shepherd. He has fought lions and bears to save his father’s lambs. He does not credit himself but the LORD, who rescued him then and will rescue him now. Saul gives his blessing and sends him out.

BSA: delivered (“rescued, saved”): David saw each victory over a wild beast as the LORD’s rescue, not his own. LORD (“Yehovah, The covenant Name of God”): David trusts the God who has bound Himself by covenant to His people.

Hebrew: יַצִּילֵנִי (yatsileni, H5337) — “will rescue me.” The verb means to snatch someone out of danger. David is confident that the same hand that snatched him from the lion’s claws will do so again.

See also: 2 Timothy 4:17-18.

1 Samuel 17:38-39

Saul puts his own tunic, helmet and armor on David. David can barely move, so he takes it all off. He will not fight in borrowed gear that he has never tested. He will go as himself, with the tools he knows.

BSA: accustomed (“had not proven, untested”): David will rely only on what he has already proved in the field.

1 Samuel 17:40

David takes his shepherd’s staff, picks five smooth stones from the stream and puts them in his bag, with his sling in hand. These are a shepherd’s simple tools, and nothing about them looks like the equipment for beating a giant.

BSA: smooth (“polished, rounded”): Stones worn smooth by the water fly straight and true.

Hebrew: קֶלַע (qela, H7050) — “sling.” A sling is a leather strap that whirls a stone at great speed. In skilled hands it was a real weapon, and skilled slingers were prized in ancient armies.

See also: 1 Corinthians 1:27.

1 Samuel 17:41-43

Goliath approaches with his shield bearer and sees only a handsome, ruddy boy with a stick. He feels insulted and curses David by his gods. He is judging by appearances, and that is where his mistake begins.

BSA: despised (“to hold in contempt, to disdain”): Goliath looks down on David, not knowing God is behind him.

Hebrew: אַדְמֹנִי (admoni, H132) — “ruddy, reddish.” It describes David’s healthy, reddish complexion. Goliath sees youth and good looks, not a warrior.

1 Samuel 17:44

Goliath threatens to leave David’s body for the birds and wild animals. It is the kind of boast made by one who is sure of victory, and David will soon turn the very same words back on him.

BSA: flesh (“body, living being”): Goliath speaks of David as a body to be thrown away.

1 Samuel 17:45

David answers with a bold contrast. Goliath comes with sword, spear and javelin, but David comes in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies. His confidence is in who God is, not in what he himself carries.

BSA: name (“divine authority”): To come in God’s name is to come with His authority and on His behalf.

Hebrew: צְבָאוֹת (tseva’ot, H6635) — “hosts, armies.” ‘LORD of Hosts’ calls God the commander of every army, heavenly and earthly. Goliath, who defied ’the armies of Israel,’ has really defied God’s own host.

See also: Psalm 20:7; Hebrews 11:32-34.

1 Samuel 17:46-47

David declares that the LORD will give Goliath into his hand, so that the whole world may know there is a God in Israel. Everyone watching will learn that the LORD does not save by sword or spear. The battle belongs to Him.

BSA: saves (“rescues, delivers”): Salvation is the LORD’s own work, not something won by weapons.

Hebrew: יְהוֹשִׁיעַ (yehoshia, H3467) — “He saves.” This is the same root as the name Joshua, and in Greek form, Jesus. David says that saving is what the LORD Himself does.

See also: Psalm 44:6-7; 2 Chronicles 20:15.

1 Samuel 17:48-49

As Goliath moves in, David runs toward him, not away. He takes a stone from his bag, slings it, and it strikes the giant in the forehead. Goliath falls facedown. The champion of the Philistines is brought down by one stone.

Hebrew: מֵצַח (metsach, H4696) — “forehead.” It was the one exposed spot above the face. David’s aim finds the single gap in the armor.

1 Samuel 17:50-51

The narrator stresses that David had no sword, only a sling and a stone. Then David stands over the fallen Goliath, takes the giant’s own sword, and cuts off his head. Seeing their champion dead, the Philistines flee.

BSA: prevailed (“was strong, conquered”): David’s strength came from God, since he had no sword in his hand.

1 Samuel 17:52-53

Israel and Judah, now emboldened, shout and chase the Philistines all the way to Gath and Ekron, leaving the dead along the road. Afterward they plunder the abandoned Philistine camp. The courage that began with one man spreads to the whole army.

BSA: Shaaraim (“double gate, a town in Palestine”): The name is a place on the road along which the fleeing Philistines fell.

1 Samuel 17:54

David takes Goliath’s head to Jerusalem and keeps the giant’s weapons in his own tent. The text does not say exactly when each was done. Later, Goliath’s sword is kept as a memorial in the sanctuary at Nob.

BSA: tent (“a nomad’s home, a temporary dwelling”): David was still a simple man living in a modest dwelling, far from a palace.

See also: 1 Samuel 21:9.

1 Samuel 17:55-56

As David goes out to fight, Saul asks Abner whose son he is. Abner does not know, and the king orders him to find out. Earlier David had played music for Saul, so Saul may be asking about David’s family, not his identity. The text does not explain further.

BSA: young man (“youth, boy”): To Saul, David is still just a youth whose background he wants to know.

See also: 1 Samuel 16:21-22.

1 Samuel 17:57-58

Abner brings David before Saul, still holding Goliath’s head. Saul asks whose son he is, and David simply answers that he is the son of Jesse of Bethlehem. He claims no title, only the name of his humble father and town.

BSA: servant (“a slave, one who serves a master, or a devoted follower”): David speaks as a humble servant even after his great victory.