CHAPTER XVII _The Philistines gather together against Israel at Ephes-dammim,_ _and Saul and his men pitch their camp near the valley of Elah_, 1-3. _Goliath of Gath, a gigantic man, whose height was six cubits and_ _a span, defies the armies of Israel, and proposes to end all_ _contests by si... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:2. _THE VALLEY OF ELAH_] Some translate this the _turpentine_ _valley_, or the _valley of the terebinth trees_; and others, _the_ _valley of oaks_. The situation of this valley is well known.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:3. _THE PHILISTINES STOOD ON A MOUNTAIN_] These were two eminences or hills, from which they could see and talk with each other.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 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 patriot... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:5. _HE WAS ARMED WITH A COAT OF MAIL_] The words in the original, שרון קשקשים _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... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:6. _GREAVES OF BRASS UPON HIS LEGS_] This species of armour 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 ins... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 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 _woolle... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:8. _I A PHILISTINE_] The _Targum_ adds much to this speech. This is the substance: "I am Goliath the Philistine of Gath, who killed the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas the priests; and led into captivity the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and placed it in the temple of Dagon... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:9. _THEN WILL WE BE YOUR SERVANTS_] Of this stipulation we hear nothing farther.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:10. _I DEFY_] אני חרפתי _ani cheraphti_, "I _strip_ and _make bare_," the armies of Israel; for none dared to fight him. From the _Dhunoor Veda Shastra_ it appears that, among the Hindoos, it was common, before the commencement of an engagement, to challenge the enemy by throwing o... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:11. _SAUL AND ALL ISRAEL - WERE DISMAYED_] They saw no man able to accept the challenge.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:12. The 1 Samuel 17:12-9, are wanting in the _Septuagint_; as also the 1 Samuel 17:41 verse; and from the 1 Samuel 17:54-9; with the first _five_ verses of 1 Samuel 18:1, and the 1 Samuel 18:9, 1 Samuel 18:10, 1 Samuel 18:11,... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:18. _CARRY THESE TEN CHEESES_] _Cheeses of milk_, says the _margin_. In the East they do not make what we call _cheese_: they press the milk but slightly, and carry it in rush baskets. It is highly salted, and little different from _curds_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:19. _FIGHTING WITH THE PHILISTINES._] See at the end of the chapter. 1 Samuel 17:58.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:29. _IS THERE NOT A CAUSE?_] הלוא דבר הוא _halo dabar hu_. I believe the meaning is what several of the versions express: _I_ _have spoken but a word_. And should a man be made an offender for a word?... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:32. _AND DAVID SAID_] This properly connects with the eleventh verse. 1 Samuel 17:11... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 33. _THOU_ ART BUT _A YOUTH_] Supposed to be about _twenty-two_ or _twenty-three_ years of age.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:34. _THY SERVANT KEPT HIS FATHER'S SHEEP_] He found it necessary to give Saul the _reasons_ why he undertook this combat; and why he expected to be victorious. 1. I have _courage_ to undertake it, and _strength_ to perform it. 2. Both have been tried in a very signal manner: (1.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 35. The slaying of the lion and the bear mentioned here, must have taken place at two different times; perhaps the verse should be read thus: _I went out after him_, (the lion.) _and smote_ _him_, c. _And when he_ (the bear) _rose up against me, I caught him_ _by the beard and slew him_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 37. _GO, AND THE LORD BE WITH THEE._] Saul saw that these were reasonable grounds of confidence, and therefore wished him success.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 38. _SAUL ARMED DAVID_] He knew that although the battle was the Lord's, yet prudent means should be used to secure success.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 39. _I CANNOT GO WITH THESE_] In ancient times it required considerable _exercise_ and _training_ to make a man expert in the use of such heavy armour; armour which in the present day scarcely a man is to be found who is able to carry; and so it must have been _then_, until that _practice_ whi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:40. _HE TOOK HIS STAFF_] What we would call his _crook_. _FIVE SMOOTH STONES_] 1. Had they been _rough_ or _angular_, they would not have passed easily through the air, and their asperities would, in the course of their passage, have given them a _false_ _direction_. 2. Had they... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:41. _THE MAN THAT BARE THE SHIELD_] See on 1 Samuel 17:7.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 42. _HE DISDAINED HIM_] He held him in contempt; he saw that he was young, and from his _ruddy complexion_ supposed him to be _effeminate_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 43. _AM I A DOG, THAT THOU COMEST TO ME WITH STAVES?_] It is very likely that Goliath did not perceive the _sling_, which David might have kept coiled up within his hand. _CURSED DAVID BY HIS GODS._] Prayed his gods to curse him. This long parley between David and Goliath is quite in the styl... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 44. _COME TO ME, AND I WILL GIVE THY FLESH_] He intended, as soon as he could lay hold on him, to pull him to pieces.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:45. _THOU COMEST TO ME WITH A SWORD_] _I come to thee with_ _the name_ (בשם beshem) _of Jehovah of hosts; the God of the_ _armies of Israel_. What Goliath expected from his _arms_, David expected from the ineffable _name_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 46. _THIS DAY WILL THE LORD DELIVER THEE INTO MINE HAND_] This was a direct and circumstantial prophecy of what did take place.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 47. _FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S_] It is the Lord's war: you are fighting _against_ him and his religion, as the champion of your party; I am fighting _for_ God, as the champion of his cause.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 48. _THE PHILISTINE AROSE_] This was an end of the parley; the Philistine came forward to meet David, and David on his part ran forward to meet the Philistine.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:49. _SMOTE THE PHILISTINE IN HIS FOREHEAD_] Except his _face_, Goliath was everywhere covered over with strong armour. Either he had no _beaver_ to his helmet, or it was lifted up so as to expose his forehead; but it does not appear that the ancient helmets had any covering for the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:51. _WHEN THE PHILISTINES SAW THEIR CHAMPION WAS DEAD, THEY_ _FLED._] They were panic-struck; and not being willing to fulfil the condition which was stipulated by Goliath, they precipitately left the field. The Israelites took a proper advantage of these circumstances, and totally... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:52. _DAVID TOOK THE HEAD OF THE PHILISTINE_] It has been already remarked that this, with the following verses, and the five first verses of the eighteenth chapter, are omitted by the Septuagint. See the observations at the end. 1 Samuel 17:58.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Samuel 17:58. _WHOSE SON_ ART _THOU_, THOU _YOUNG MAN?_] That Saul should not know David with whom he had treated a little before, and even armed him for the combat, and that he should not know who his father was, though he had sent to his father for permission to David to reside constantly... [ Continue Reading ]