1 Samuel 17

Translator Notes

1. The verb va-ya'asfu ('they gathered') is repeated twice in this verse — first for the gathering of the army camps (machaneihem), then for the assembly at the specific location. Sokoh (Sokho) was a fortified town in the Shephelah, the low hill country between the coastal plain and the Judean highlands. The name Ephes-dammim (efes dammim) means 'boundary of blood' or 'end of blood' — an ominous place name that foreshadows the violence to come. The Philistine advance into Judean territory indicates an aggressive incursion, not a border skirmish.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Valley of Elah (emeq ha-elah) means 'the valley of the terebinth tree,' named for the large oaks or terebinths that grew there. The verb va-ya'arkhu ('they arranged, drew up') comes from the root arekh, which means to set in order or arrange — a military term for forming ranks. The same root gives us ma'arakhah ('battle line, array'), which will become a key word in this chapter. The geography places the two armies on opposing ridges with the valley between them — a natural setting for the champion combat that follows.

Translator Notes

1. The Hebrew draws the scene with geometric precision: omedim el ha-har mi-zeh ('standing toward the hill from this side') is repeated for both armies, with ve-ha-gay beineihem ('and the valley between them') as the dividing line. The word gay ('valley, ravine') is distinct from emeq ('broad valley') used in verse 2 — the gay is the narrow ravine or wadi at the bottom between the two ridges. This topography creates a natural arena: neither side wants to descend into the valley to attack uphill. The stalemate demands a different kind of resolution.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The term ish ha-benayim appears only here and in verse 23 in the Hebrew Bible. Standard translations render it 'champion,' which loses the spatial and conceptual force of the Hebrew. The benayim ('between') is the same word used in verse 3 for the valley 'between them' (beineihem). Goliath is literally the man who inhabits the gap between the two armies. We render it with a hyphenated phrase to preserve the Hebrew's strangeness.
2. Goliath's height in the Masoretic Text is shesh ammot va-zaret ('six cubits and a span'), approximately 9 feet 9 inches using the standard cubit of about 18 inches plus a span of about 9 inches. However, the Septuagint (LXX) and the Dead Sea Scroll fragment 4QSam-a read 'four cubits and a span' (approximately 6 feet 9 inches). The shorter reading may be the earlier tradition — a man of 6'9" would still be extraordinarily tall in the ancient world and would not require supernatural explanation. The taller reading may reflect later amplification to heighten the miracle. We follow the MT but note the variant as textually significant.

Translator Notes

1. The armor catalogue begins here and extends through verse 7, building an overwhelming picture of military hardware. The shiryon qasqassim ('armor of scales') describes overlapping metal plates sewn onto a garment, like fish scales — the word qasqassim is the same word used for fish scales in Leviticus 11:9. Five thousand shekels of bronze equals approximately 125 pounds (57 kg). The narrator is not simply describing equipment; he is constructing a portrait of material power that will be rendered irrelevant by a shepherd's sling.

Translator Notes

1. The mitschat nechoshet ('bronze greaves') are shin guards — protective armor for the lower legs. The kidon nechoshet ('bronze javelin') carried bein ketefav ('between his shoulders') was slung across his back. The word kidon is distinct from chanit ('spear') mentioned in the next verse; it refers to a shorter throwing weapon or scimitar-type javelin. The repetition of nechoshet ('bronze') in every piece of equipment (helmet, armor, greaves, javelin) creates a literary effect — Goliath is encased in metal from head to foot.

Translator Notes

1. The comparison ki-menor orgim ('like a weaver's beam') refers to the horizontal bar of a loom — a thick, heavy wooden rod. The spearhead alone weighed six hundred shekels of iron, approximately 15 pounds (7 kg). The shift from bronze (nechoshet) to iron (barzel) for the spearhead is significant: iron was the superior military technology of the Philistines, who controlled iron-working (1 Samuel 13:19-22). The shield-bearer (nosei ha-tsinnah) carried the large body-shield (tsinnah), distinct from the smaller magen. Goliath enters the scene with a personal entourage — he does not even carry his own shield.

Translator Notes

1. Goliath's opening taunt is carefully constructed. He calls himself ha-Pelishti ('the Philistine') — with the definite article, as if he alone embodies the entire nation. He reduces Israel to avadim le-Sha'ul ('servants of Saul'), implying they are slaves rather than warriors. The command beru lakhem ish ('choose for yourselves a man') issues the formal challenge of representative combat. The verb yered ('let him come down') reflects the topography — the Israelites are on the ridge and would have to descend into the valley to face him.

Translator Notes

1. The terms of the challenge are presented in a perfect chiastic structure: if he kills me, we serve you / if I kill him, you serve us. The verb hikani ('strike me') and hikkitiv ('strike him') use the same root nakah ('to strike'). The stakes are national servitude — avadim ('servants, slaves'). Goliath frames the combat as a winner-take-all contest that decides the political fate of both peoples. This was a recognized form of warfare in the ancient Near East, designed to avoid the mass casualties of a full battle.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The verb cherafti ('I have taunted, defied') is from the root charaf, which carries a weight far heavier than simple challenge — it means to expose to shame, to reproach, to strip of honor. When Goliath charaf the battle lines of Israel, he is not merely challenging them to fight; he is publicly shaming them, declaring them unworthy of their God and their national identity. This verb will recur throughout the chapter (vv. 25, 26, 36, 45) and becomes the theological trigger for David's response: the shame of Israel's God is at stake.

Translator Notes

1. The verb va-yechatu ('they were shattered, dismayed') comes from the root chatat, which means to be broken, shattered, terrified. It is stronger than ordinary fear — it describes a collapse of morale, a breaking of the will. Paired with va-yir'u me'od ('and they feared greatly'), the verse presents Israel's response as both psychological collapse (chatat) and visceral terror (yare'). Saul is named specifically — the tallest man in Israel (9:2), the king chosen for battle, is as paralyzed as the rest.

Translator Notes

1. The narrative reintroduces David with a formal genealogical notice, as if the reader has not yet met him — a feature that has led many scholars to see chapter 17 as drawing from a different source than chapter 16. The term Efrati ('Ephrathite') here refers to the clan of Ephrath associated with Bethlehem (see Ruth 4:11, Micah 5:1), not to the tribe of Ephraim as in 1:1. Jesse is described as zaken ba ba-anashim ('old, coming among men'), an idiom meaning advanced in age. The number eight sons conflicts with 1 Chronicles 2:13-16, which lists seven — a minor textual discrepancy.

Translator Notes

1. The narrative carefully names the three brothers who are at the front. Eliab (Eli'av, 'my God is father') is the firstborn whom Samuel initially thought was God's chosen in 16:6. Abinadab (Avinadav, 'my father is generous') and Shammah (Shammah, possibly 'desolation' or 'astonishment') are second and third. The repetition of 'three' — sheloshet benei Yishai ha-gedolim ('the three great/eldest sons of Jesse') — emphasizes that all the fighting-age sons are already at the battle. David, the youngest, is conspicuously absent from the military camp.

Translator Notes

1. The word ha-qatan ('the small one, the youngest') defines David's position: he is the runt, the afterthought, the one left behind. The contrast between the three gedolim ('great ones, eldest') who follow the king and the one qatan who stays home is deliberate — the narrative is setting up the reversal where the smallest and least likely will accomplish what the warriors cannot.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase holekh va-shav me'al Sha'ul ('going and returning from upon Saul') describes a pattern of movement — David oscillates between two worlds, the royal court and the pastoral field. The verb lir'ot ('to shepherd') places David back in his primary role: he is a shepherd, not a soldier. This verse bridges the tension between chapter 16 (where David serves Saul) and the narrative here (where he seems unknown) — the text suggests David's court service was intermittent, not permanent.

Translator Notes

1. The verb va-yityatsev ('he stationed himself, took his stand') conveys deliberate, defiant positioning — Goliath plants himself in the open as a provocation. The phrase hashkem ve-ha'arev ('early and late,' literally 'the making-early and the making-evening') means he came at both ends of the day, twice daily. The number forty (arba'im) is loaded in Hebrew narrative — it is the number of testing (forty days of flood, forty years in the wilderness, forty days on Sinai). Goliath's forty-day stand is a period of testing for Israel's faith.

Translator Notes

1. Jesse's instructions are mundane — a father sending food to his sons at the front. The qali ('roasted grain') was parched wheat or barley, a standard field ration. An ephah is approximately 22 liters (about 3/5 of a bushel). The verb haretz ('hurry, run') conveys urgency. The ordinary domesticity of this errand — grain and bread for brothers — sets up the extraordinary confrontation that follows. God's providence operates through a lunch delivery.

Translator Notes

1. The charitsei he-chalav ('cuts of milk') are cheese — literally 'sliced milk products.' The ten cheeses are not for the brothers but for the sar ha-elef ('commander of the thousand'), likely a gift to maintain the officer's goodwill toward Jesse's sons. The verb tifqod ('you shall attend to, check on') means to visit and assess — Jesse wants a report on his sons' condition. The arubbatam ('their pledge, their token') is obscure; it may refer to a sign or proof of their well-being, or possibly something they had pledged or left as security.

Translator Notes

1. The participle nilchamim ('fighting') is ironic — the narrative has just told us that for forty days no actual fighting has taken place. The Hebrew may indicate their posture (drawn up for battle) rather than active combat. The phrase 'Saul and they' (ve-Sha'ul ve-hemmah) has an oddly disjointed quality, as if the narrator is listing participants in a conflict that is all stance and no substance.

Translator Notes

1. The verb va-yitosh ('he abandoned, left') is a strong word — David does not gently hand off the sheep but drops them with a guard and goes. The timing is providential: he arrives at ha-ma'galah ('the wagon circle, the encampment') precisely as the army is marching out to form ranks. The verb here'u ('they shouted') is the battle cry — the terua'h, the war shout that was both a military signal and a liturgical act (see Numbers 10:9). The army shouts but does not fight.

Translator Notes

1. The Hebrew is compact and vivid: ma'arakhah liqra't ma'arakhah ('array to meet array, line facing line'). The repetition of ma'arakhah creates a visual mirror — two armies standing as reflections of each other across the valley. The verb va-ta'arokh ('they arranged') comes from the same root as ma'arakhah, reinforcing the sense of ordered military formation.

Translator Notes

1. David deposits the kelim ('vessels, supplies, equipment') with the shomer ha-kelim ('keeper of the equipment') — a designated supply guard. Then he runs (va-yarots) — the same urgency Jesse commanded in verse 17. The verb va-yish'al ('he asked') is from the root sha'al ('to ask'), the wordplay root that connects to both Samuel and Saul throughout 1 Samuel. He asks le-shalom ('concerning peace/welfare'), fulfilling his father's instruction from verse 18.

Translator Notes

1. The timing is again providential: ve-hu medabber immam ('while he was speaking with them') — at the precise moment David is present, Goliath emerges. The verb oleh ('coming up, ascending') suggests Goliath is climbing from the valley floor toward the Israelite position. The narrator repeats the full identification — ish ha-benayim, Goliath the Philistine, from Gath — as if reintroducing him for David's benefit. The phrase va-yishma David ('and David heard') is the turning point of the chapter: what Israel had heard with terror (v. 11), David hears with something else entirely.

Translator Notes

1. The verb va-yanusu ('they fled') is stark — trained soldiers run away at the sight of one man. The phrase mi-panav ('from his face, from his presence') indicates they cannot even bear to be near him. The narrator says kol ish Yisra'el ('every man of Israel') — the fear is universal. This sets up the contrast with David, who alone does not flee and does not fear. The verse functions as a lens through which to measure David's response.

Translator Notes

1. The soldiers' speech reveals the triple reward Saul has offered: osher gadol ('great wealth'), marriage to the king's daughter (et bitto yitten lo, 'his daughter he will give him'), and tax exemption for the family (beit aviv ya'aseh chofshi, 'his father's house he will make free'). The word chofshi ('free') denotes freedom from royal obligations — corvée labor, military levies, and taxes. The verb lecharef ('to taunt, to defy') appears again — the soldiers correctly identify Goliath's purpose. They know the problem but cannot act on it. The rewards are extraordinary, yet no one steps forward.

Translator Notes

1. David's question reframes the entire situation. The soldiers focused on the reward (v. 25); David focuses on the disgrace (cherpah) and the identity of the challenger. His use of arel ('uncircumcised') is a covenant term — circumcision marks membership in God's people (Genesis 17), and Goliath's uncircumcision places him outside the covenant and therefore outside the sphere of divine protection. The phrase ma'arkhot Elohim chayyim ('battle lines of the living God') is David's interpretive key: these are not merely Israel's battle lines but God's. To taunt them is to taunt God.
2. The term Elohim chayyim ('living God') appears relatively rarely in the Hebrew Bible and always in contexts of confrontation with human presumption or pagan power (see Deuteronomy 5:26, Joshua 3:10, 2 Kings 19:4). The 'living' God is the one who acts — in contrast to idols who have mouths but do not speak, eyes but do not see (Psalm 115:4-7).

Translator Notes

1. The people repeat the promised reward — ka-davar ha-zeh ('according to this word') refers back to the triple reward of verse 25. Their answer confirms the offer but also underlines that no one has yet claimed it. The verb yakkenu ('who strikes him') uses the same root nakah that appeared in Goliath's own challenge (v. 9). Everyone talks about striking; no one acts.

Translator Notes

1. Eliab's anger (va-yichar af, 'his nose burned') erupts immediately. His accusations are three: David has abandoned his responsibilities (the sheep), he is driven by zedon ('arrogance, presumption, insolence'), and he has a ra lev ('wicked heart'). The phrase me'at ha-tson ha-hennah ('those few sheep over there') is dripping with contempt — Eliab minimizes David's role to make him seem insignificant. The irony is sharp: Eliab, who is afraid to face Goliath, accuses David of coming merely to spectate. Eliab's resentment may also echo 16:6-13, where he was passed over and David was chosen.
2. The accusation of zedon ('arrogance') is the same word used for willful, high-handed sin in Numbers 15:30 and Deuteronomy 17:12. Eliab is not just calling David proud — he is accusing him of rebellious presumption against proper authority.

Translator Notes

1. David's response is brief and composed: meh asiti attah ('what have I done now?'). The phrase halo davar hu is ambiguous and has been rendered many ways. It could mean 'Is it not just a word?' (I was merely speaking), 'Is there not a matter/cause?' (is there not reason for this?), or 'Is it not a thing?' (isn't this worth talking about?). The root davar means both 'word' and 'matter.' We render it as a question about David's right to speak, since Eliab's accusation was about David talking to the men.

Translator Notes

1. The verb va-yissov ('he turned') shows David physically rotating away from Eliab's anger and repeating his question to others. He is not deterred by his brother's rebuke. The phrase ka-davar ha-zeh ('according to this word') and ka-davar ha-rishon ('according to the first word') indicate that David persists and the crowd consistently confirms the reward. David is not asking for information — he is building momentum.

Translator Notes

1. David's words travel through the camp by oral report — va-yishma'u ha-devarim ('the words were heard'), using a passive construction that suggests the news spread organically. The verb va-yaggidu ('they reported, they told') indicates formal communication to the king. Saul's response — va-yiqqachehu ('he took him, he sent for him') — is immediate. David's theology has reached the ear of the king.

Translator Notes

1. David's declaration is direct and bold: al yippol lev adam alav ('let not a man's heart fall upon him'). The verb nippol ('fall') is the same root that will describe Goliath falling (v. 49) — the word that now describes Israel's collapsing courage will soon describe the giant's collapse. David calls himself avdekha ('your servant'), adopting the formal posture of a subject before the king. The contrast between the young shepherd volunteering and the entire army cowering is the narrative's sharpest edge.

Translator Notes

1. Saul's objection is logical: ki na'ar attah ('for you are a youth') versus ve-hu ish milchamah minne'urav ('and he is a man of war from his youth'). The word na'ar can mean boy, youth, or young man — it implies inexperience and low status. The irony is that Goliath has been a professional warrior since he himself was a na'ar, while David is still in that stage. Saul measures by military calculus: age, training, experience. David will measure by a different standard entirely.

Translator Notes

1. David's resume is pastoral, not military. The phrase ro'eh hayah avdekha le-aviv ba-tson ('your servant has been a shepherd for his father among the flock') establishes his credentials through experience in the wild, not in the barracks. The Hebrew u-va ha-ari ve-et ha-dov ('and the lion came and the bear') uses the definite article — 'the lion' and 'the bear' — suggesting specific, remembered encounters, not hypothetical ones. The verb nasa ('carried off') indicates the predator snatching a seh ('sheep or goat, a small animal') from the flock.

Translator Notes

1. The verbs come in rapid sequence: yatsati ('I went out'), hikkitiv ('I struck it'), hitsalti ('I rescued'), hechezaqti ('I seized'), hikkitiv ('I struck it'), hamittiv ('I killed it'). This is not boasting but a recitation of facts. The word zeqano ('its beard/jaw') when applied to a lion likely means the mane or the jaw area — the most dangerous place to grab a predator. David's willingness to pursue, strike, and kill a lion or bear bare-handed establishes a pattern: he does not calculate odds, he acts on responsibility. The sheep were his charge; he defended them.

Translator Notes

1. David draws a direct theological line from predator to Philistine: the lion and the bear were threats to his flock; Goliath is a threat to God's flock. The phrase ke-achad mehem ('like one of them') equates the human giant with the animal predators — in David's framework, Goliath is not a superhuman threat but another beast menacing the sheep. The reason is stated explicitly: ki cheref ma'arkhot Elohim chayyim ('because he has taunted the battle lines of the living God'). This is the second time David uses this exact phrase (see v. 26), establishing it as his theological thesis.

Translator Notes

1. David's logic is not reckless courage but theological reasoning: the same God (hu, 'he' — emphatic pronoun) who delivered from the lion and the bear will deliver from the Philistine. The verb hitsil ('rescue, deliver') is repeated three times — past deliverance is the ground for present confidence. The shift from mi-yad ha-ari ('from the paw of the lion,' literally 'from the hand of') to mi-yad ha-Pelishti ('from the hand of this Philistine') makes the parallel explicit: animal paw and human hand are equally powerless against God.
2. Saul's response — lekh va-YHWH yihyeh immakh ('go, and may the LORD be with you') — is both a commission and a blessing, but it also reveals Saul's abdication. The king who should fight for Israel sends a boy, with a prayer instead of a strategy.

Translator Notes

1. The verb va-yalbbesh ('he clothed, he dressed') is significant — Saul is not merely equipping David but re-clothing him, imposing his own identity (maddav, 'his garments/uniform') on the boy. The qova nechoshet ('bronze helmet') and shiryon ('armor coat') echo the same equipment Goliath wears (vv. 5-6). Saul's solution is to make David a miniature version of Goliath — to fight the enemy's way. The theological point is that David must reject the king's armor to fight in God's way.

Translator Notes

1. The verb va-yo'el ('he attempted, tried') indicates an actual physical attempt — David tried to move in Saul's armor and found he could not function. The reason given is lo nissah ('he had not tested/tried them'). The repetition — lo nissah in the narrator's voice, then lo nissiti in David's — underscores that this is not about the armor being bad but about it being untested and foreign. The verb va-yesirem ('he removed them') is decisive. David strips off the conventional military solution because it does not belong to him. He will fight with what he knows.

Translator Notes

1. The inventory of David's equipment is deliberately contrasted with Goliath's arsenal (vv. 5-7): a maqqel ('staff' — a shepherd's walking stick), chamishah challuqei avanim ('five smooth stones' — waterworn, rounded by the stream), a keli ha-ro'im ('shepherd's vessel/pouch'), a yalqut ('bag, wallet'), and a qela ('sling'). The five smooth stones from the nachal ('wadi, stream bed') have been shaped not by human craft but by water and time. The sling was a lethal weapon in ancient warfare — Judges 20:16 records Benjaminite slingers who could hit a hair's width target — but in this narrative it reads as pastoral equipment pressed into military service.
2. The number five has generated much discussion. Some connect it to Goliath and his four brothers (2 Samuel 21:15-22); others see it as simply practical preparedness. The verb va-yivchar ('he chose') implies careful selection — David does not grab random rocks but selects specific stones, as a warrior would select arrows.

Translator Notes

1. The participle construction holekh ve-qarev ('going and coming near') conveys continuous, steady advance — Goliath keeps closing the distance. The shield-bearer (nosei ha-tsinnah) walks before him, carrying the large defensive shield. The scene is visually imposing: a giant, his personal shield-carrier, and the full weight of Philistine military technology bearing down on a boy with a stick and stones.

Translator Notes

1. The verb va-yivzehu ('he despised him') is from bazah ('to despise, to hold in contempt'). Goliath's contempt has a specific basis: ki hayah na'ar ('because he was a youth'), ve-admoni ('and ruddy/reddish'), im yefeh mar'eh ('with a handsome appearance'). David looks like a beautiful boy, not a warrior. The word admoni ('ruddy, reddish') was used to describe David at his anointing (16:12) — his physical beauty, which marked him as God's chosen, now provokes the enemy's scorn. What God sees as chosen, Goliath sees as contemptible.

Translator Notes

1. Goliath's question ha-kelev anokhi ('Am I a dog?') is an expression of outrage — being treated as an animal is the deepest insult to a warrior's honor. He sees the maqqelot ('sticks, staffs') and interprets David's approach as an insult: you bring a dog-beating stick to face a champion? The verb va-yeqallel ('he cursed') is from qalal ('to make light of, to curse') — Goliath invokes his own gods (be-elohav, 'by his gods') to place a curse on David. The Philistine deity would likely be Dagon (see 1 Samuel 5:2). The scene sets up the clash of divine names: Goliath curses by his gods, David will come in the name of the LORD of Armies.

Translator Notes

1. Goliath's threat follows ancient Near Eastern battle rhetoric: to leave an enemy's body unburied, exposed to scavengers, was the ultimate degradation. The phrase le-of ha-shamayim u-le-behemot ha-sadeh ('to the birds of the sky and to the beasts of the field') appears in covenant curse language (Deuteronomy 28:26, Jeremiah 7:33). Goliath unwittingly speaks in covenantal terms, invoking a curse that will boomerang: it is the Philistine dead, not David, who will be left exposed (v. 46).

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The three weapons — cherev ('sword'), chanit ('spear'), kidon ('javelin') — constitute the full armament of a heavy infantry warrior. Against this David sets a single phrase: be-shem YHWH Tseva'ot ('in the name of the LORD of Armies'). The word shem ('name') in Hebrew is not merely a label but the full reality, character, and authority of the one named. To come 'in the name of' someone is to come bearing their authority and power. David is not invoking magic; he is declaring allegiance and trust.
2. The title YHWH Tseva'ot ('LORD of Armies') was introduced in 1:3 at the beginning of the book. Its appearance here, at the moment of Israel's greatest military crisis, completes a narrative arc: the God first named in the context of a barren woman's prayer now fights through a shepherd boy against a giant. The 'armies' (tseva'ot) of God stand against the army of the Philistines.

Translator Notes

1. David turns Goliath's own threat (v. 44) back on him with devastating escalation. Goliath threatened David's flesh to the birds; David promises the peger machaneh Pelishtim ('corpses of the Philistine camp') — not just Goliath but the entire army. The verb yesaggerkha ('he will deliver you, shut you up') uses the root sagar ('to close, to deliver'), the same verb used in 1:5-6 for God closing Hannah's womb. God closes and God delivers — the same sovereign hand.
2. The purpose clause ve-yede'u kol ha-arets ki yesh Elohim le-Yisra'el ('so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel') expands the scope from personal combat to universal witness. The battle is not about David's glory but about God's reputation among the nations. The word yesh ('there is') is an assertion of existence and presence — there is a God, a real and active God, belonging to Israel.

Translator Notes

1. The sentence ki la-YHWH ha-milchamah ('for the battle belongs to the LORD') is one of the most important theological statements in the Hebrew Bible. It summarizes the doctrine of holy war: God is the true warrior, and human instruments are secondary. This principle appears in the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:3, 'the LORD is a man of war'), in Deuteronomy's war regulations (20:1-4), and will echo in 2 Chronicles 20:15 ('the battle is not yours but God's').
2. The shift from singular (v. 46, 'I will strike you') to plural (etkhem, 'you' plural; yadenu, 'our hands') in this verse is significant — David speaks as the representative of all Israel. His singular combat is for the benefit of the collective. The 'our' in 'our hands' includes the whole Israelite army.

Translator Notes

1. The contrast in speed is telling: the Philistine qam va-yelekh va-yiqrav ('rose and went and drew near') — a measured, heavy advance. David va-yemaher va-yarots ('hurried and ran') — explosive speed toward the enemy. The verb va-yarots ('he ran') describes David sprinting directly at the giant. While Israel ran away from Goliath (v. 24, va-yanusu), David runs toward him. The narrator uses the same root (ruts, 'to run') for both movements, creating an exact reversal.

Translator Notes

1. The sequence of four verbs without any conjunction except va- ('and') creates a staccato rhythm that mirrors the speed of the action. The entire combat — from David reaching into his bag to Goliath hitting the ground — is narrated in a single verse. After forty days of standoff and an elaborate verbal exchange, the actual fight takes seconds.
2. The mitscho ('his forehead') is mentioned twice — the narrator emphasizes the precision of the strike. The forehead is the gap in Goliath's armor, the one vulnerability in his otherwise total coverage. Ancient slingers could achieve velocities of over 100 mph with lead or stone projectiles; a smooth stone from a skilled slinger was a lethal weapon, not a toy.

Translator Notes

1. This verse is the narrator's summary and theological commentary. The verb va-yechezaq ('he overpowered, prevailed') from the root chazaq ('to be strong') describes David's victory in terms of strength — but the strength was exerted through a sling and a stone, not through conventional weapons. The final clause is devastating in its simplicity: ve-cherev ein be-yad David ('and a sword — there was none in the hand of David'). The narrator drives home the point: no sword. The weapon Goliath wielded, the weapon Saul offered, the weapon every soldier carried — David had none of it. The victory confirms David's theology from verse 47: the LORD does not save by sword and spear.

Translator Notes

1. David uses Goliath's own sword (charbo, 'his sword') to complete the kill and sever the head. The verb va-yemottehu ('he finished him off, he put him to death') indicates Goliath was not yet dead from the stone but was incapacitated — David's sword stroke was the killing blow. The irony is complete: Goliath is killed by his own weapon. The phrase va-yikhrot bah et rosho ('he cut off his head with it') is graphic and intentional — the removal of the head is both a military act (proof of kill) and a symbolic reversal of power.
2. The Philistine response is immediate: va-yanusu ('they fled'). The word gibboram ('their champion, their mighty one') comes from gibbor ('mighty warrior, hero'). When the gibbor falls, the army's morale collapses. The representative combat has worked exactly as designed — the loss of the one means the loss of all.

Translator Notes

1. The army that had fled (v. 24, va-yanusu) now rises (va-yaqumu), shouts (va-yari'u), and pursues (va-yirdefu). The reversal is complete. The pursuit extends to the Philistine heartland — Gath (Goliath's own city) and Ekron (a major Philistine center). The word challelei ('slain, pierced') indicates heavy Philistine casualties along the pursuit route. The mention of both 'Israel and Judah' (anshei Yisra'el viYehudah) may reflect the later political division or may simply indicate tribal units fighting together. Shaaraim means 'double gates' — the topography of the Elah valley region.

Translator Notes

1. The verb mi-deloq ('from pursuing hotly') uses a rare word that implies burning, eager chase — not a casual follow-up but an energetic rout. The verb va-yashosu ('they plundered') indicates a thorough stripping of the abandoned Philistine camp. The army that had cowered for forty days now takes the enemy's supplies, weapons, and equipment. The plundering of the camp is the final proof that the Philistine army has been completely broken.

Translator Notes

1. This verse raises a well-known geographical difficulty: Jerusalem was still a Jebusite city at this time (it will not be captured by David until 2 Samuel 5:6-9). Several explanations have been proposed: the verse may be an editorial addition written from the perspective of a later time when Jerusalem was the capital; David may have brought the head there later after taking the city; or there may have been an Israelite presence near Jerusalem that the text does not elaborate. The kelav ('his weapons/equipment') — Goliath's captured arms — David places in his own tent (oholo), keeping them as trophies. Goliath's sword will later appear in the sanctuary at Nob (21:9).

Translator Notes

1. This passage (vv. 55-58) has long troubled interpreters because Saul appears not to know David, despite having made him his personal musician and armor-bearer in chapter 16. The question ben mi zeh ha-na'ar ('whose son is this youth?') may not be about David's identity but about his family's status — Saul promised his daughter to the champion (v. 25), so he needs to know the father's household for the marriage alliance. Abner's oath chei nafshekha ha-melekh ('as your soul/life endures, O king') is a strong asseveration — he genuinely does not know. Alternatively, the two chapters may preserve parallel traditions about how David entered Saul's service.

Translator Notes

1. The word ha-elem ('the young man, the adolescent') is a different term from na'ar used earlier. It comes from the root alam ('to be hidden, to be vigorous') and may emphasize youth and obscurity. Saul's command she'al attah ('inquire, you') uses the root sha'al — the same wordplay root that has threaded through the entire book. The king whose name derives from sha'al now asks about the boy who will replace him.

Translator Notes

1. The image is vivid and unsettling: David stands before the king holding a severed head. The phrase ve-rosh ha-Pelishti be-yado ('and the head of the Philistine in his hand') is placed at the end of the sentence for maximum impact. The verb me-hakkot ('from striking') uses the hiphil infinitive of nakah — the same root that has described every blow in the chapter. Abner fulfills Saul's command by bringing David directly to the throne.

Translator Notes

1. The chapter ends not with triumph but with a question and answer about identity — ben mi attah ha-na'ar ('whose son are you, young man?'). Saul asks the question that will dominate the rest of the book: who is David? The answer — ben avdekha Yishai beit ha-Lachmi ('the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite') — places David in the humblest possible frame. He is the son of a servant, from a small town. Yet this son of a servant has just done what the king and all his army could not. The phrase beit ha-Lachmi ('the Bethlehemite') connects David to Bethlehem — the town whose name means 'house of bread' and which will become, in Israel's prophetic tradition, the birthplace of the future messianic king (Micah 5:1).