1 Samuel 17:4-7 NIV

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

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

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 17:6

Greaves of brass upon his legs - This species of armor may be seen on many ancient monuments. It was a plate of brass (though perhaps sometimes formed of laminae or plates, like the mail) which covered the shin or fore part of the leg, from the knee down to the instep, and was buckled with straps behind the leg. From ancient monuments we find that it was commonly worn only on one leg. Vegetius, de Re Militari, says, Pedites Scutati etiam ferreas ocreas in dextris cruribus... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 17:7

The staff on his spear was like a weaver ' s beam - Either like that on which the warp is rolled, or that on which the cloth is rolled. We know not how thick this was, because there were several sorts of looms, and the sizes of the beams very dissimilar. Our woollen, linen, cotton, and silk looms are all different in the size of their beams; and I have seen several that I should not suppose too thick, though they might be too short, for Goliath's spear. His spear ' ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 17:1-11

Aggression not defence. The facts are— 1 . The armies of Israel and Philistia are drawn up in array, with a valley between them. 2 . A gigantic champion, heavily armed and proud of his strength, challenges any one of Saul's army to a personal encounter, and with lofty words defies the armies of Israel. 3 . Saul and his men are in great fear. The episode given by the sacred writer is one of those occurrences likely to arise under the conditions of ancient warfare. It must be... read more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 17:6

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 17:7

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Samuel 17:1-11

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