1 Samuel 17:4-10

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 17:1-11

It was not long ago that the Philistines were soundly beaten, and put to the worse, before Israel, and they would have been totally routed if Saul's rashness had not prevented; but here we have them making head again. Observe, I. How they defied Israel with their armies, 1 Sam. 17:1. They made a descent upon the Israelites? country, and possessed themselves, as it should seem, of some part of it, for they encamped in a place which belonged to Judah. Israel's ground would never have been... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 17:4

And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines ,.... Or a "middle person", or a man "between two" F25 איש הבינים "vir intermedius", Montanus; "inter duo", Vatablus; "vir medietatum", Noldius, p. 194. No. 283. ; meaning either one that went and stood between the two armies of Israel and the Philistines, as the Jewish writers generally interpret it: or a "dueller" F26 "Quidam duellator", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. , as others, with which our version... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 17:5

And he had an helmet of brass upon his head ,.... This was a piece of armour, which covered the head in the day of battle; these were usually made of the skins of beasts, of leather, and which were covered with plates of iron, or brass; and sometimes made of all iron, or of brass F7 Vid. Lydium "de re militari": l. 3. c. 5. p. 63. ; as this seems to have been: and he was armed with a coat of mail ; which reached from the neck to the middle, and consisted of various plates of brass... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 17:6

And he had greaves of brass upon his legs ,.... Which were a sort of boots, or leg harnesses, which covered the thighs and legs down to the heels; such as Iolaus F11 Hesiod. Scutum Herc. ver. 122. and the Grecians usually wore, as described by Homer; which are supposed to be double the weight of the helmet, reckoned at fifteen pounds, so that these must weigh thirty pounds of avoirdupois weight: and a target of brass between his shoulders ; the Targum is,"a spear or shield of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 17:7

And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam ,.... The wooden part of it, held in the hand; this for thickness was like the beam in the weaver's loom, about which the warp, or else the web, is rolled; and it is conjectured that, in proportion to the stature of Goliath, his spear must be twenty six feet long, since Hector's in Homer F13 Iliad. 18. was eleven cubits, or sixteen feet and a half: and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron ; the iron part of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 17:8

And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel ,.... He stood in the valley between the two armies, and cried with a loud voice that he might be heard; and as he was of such a monstrous stature, no doubt his voice was very strong and sonorous; and as the battalions of Israel designed by armies were posted on the mountain or hill, his voice would ascend, and be the more easily heard: and said unto them, why are ye come out to set your battle in array ? either as wondering at their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 17:9

If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants ,.... For which it does not appear he had any commission or authority to say; nor did the Philistines think themselves obliged to abide by what he said, since, when he was slain, they did not yield themselves servants to the Israelites: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us ; to which terms also the Israelites did not consent; nor did David, who engaged with... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 17:10

And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day ,.... Or "reproach" F19 חרפתי "exprobravo". V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "probro affeci", Tigurine version; "probro affecero", Junius & Tremellius. them; that is, should they not accept his challenge, and send down a man to fight with them, he should then upbraid them with cowardice; and now he disdained them, as if there was not a man among them that dared to encounter with him: give me a man that we may fight... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 17:4

There went out a champion - Our word champion comes from campus, the field; Campio est enim ille qui pugnat in campo, hoc est, in castris , "Champion is he, properly, who fights in the field; i.e., in camps." A man well skilled in arms, strong, brave, and patriotic. But is this the meaning of the original הבנים איש ish habbenayim , a middle man, the man between two; that is, as here, the man who undertakes to settle the disputes between two armies or nations. So our ancient... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 17:5

He was armed with a coat of mail - The words in the original, קשקשים שרון shiryon kaskassim , mean a coat of mail formed of plates of brass overlapping each other, like the scales of a fish, or tiles of a house. This is the true notion of the original terms. With thin plates of brass or iron, overlapping each other, were the ancient coats of mail formed in different countries; many formed in this way may be now seen in the tower of London. The weight - five ... read more

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