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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
17:1-54 David and Goliath: Battle at the Valley of Elah. The story of David and Goliath, one of the best-known in the Bible, tells how David trusted God and God delivered David and his people. It is the means by which young David, already chosen and anointed privately and taken up by Saul as a court musician, comes onto the public stage. David's victory leads to Saul's jealousy, which drives the plot of the rest of the book. David shows himself better qualified than Saul to serve as the king of Israel, who should be the "champion" (v. 4) of God's people in battle and in the life of faith.
17:1-2 The Valley of Elah runs westward from Bethlehem, from the hill country of Judah, toward Gath and Ekron (see v. 52; and map). It is immediately south of and parallel to the Sorek Valley (see note on 6:12). Control of this valley would give the Philistines entry into the hill country of Judah. Socoh is about
17:4-11 A champion in biblical, ancient Near Eastern, and Homeric literature is a man who steps out to fight between the two battle lines. Here Goliath offers to fight, on behalf of his side, against any champion that Israel will put forward; the victor's side then, would partake of his victory (vv. 8-10). Goliath's armament was the best that the highly skilled Philistines could obtain, either by manufacture or by trade. The shield (Hb. tsinnah) was a large standing shield that covered the whole body. Most of his armament was bronze, except his spear's head of iron--this was just the beginning of the Iron Age. It weighed
17:11 It was Saul's job to accept the challenge on behalf of Israel; instead he was greatly afraid (cf. 15:24) along with everyone else.
17:12 An Ephrathite refers to a man from the Judean Ephrathah, around Bethlehem (cf. Ruth 1:2; 4:11; Mic. 5:2).
17:18 their thousand. The Hebrew term ’elep usually means "thousand," but in the present context it probably refers to a military unit of undetermined size. See note on 1 Chron. 12:23-37.
17:25-26 Have you seen? "You" is plural; the question is not directed toward David. What shall be done? By faith, David grasps Goliath's challenge as directed toward the armies of the living God, hence toward the unseen God himself. To David, this battle is fundamentally spiritual in nature (see vv. 45-47; cf. Eph. 6:12). His father's house refers to a person's extended family, smaller than a tribe or clan, with
17:28 Eliab the eldest brother (see v. 12; 20:29) is annoyed with the conduct of his youngest brother at this crucial time. David seemed to him to be just a show-off.
17:34 a lion, or a bear. Both lions and bears were common in the Palestine of the Israelite period.
17:36 for he has defied the armies of the living God. See note on vv. 25-26. David is confident that God will defend his own honor and defeat Goliath.
17:37-39 The Lord . . . will deliver me. Because of his faith in God, David shows more willingness to do battle on behalf of God's people, and to defend God's honor, than the seasoned warrior Saul.
17:43 sticks. Goliath sees David's staff (v. 40) but not the true weapon, the sling. Slings were known as weapons in Egypt from at least the , and slingers are pictured on the reliefs at Nineveh. See also Judg. 20:16. Goliath's gods are probably Dagon (1 Sam. 5:2) and Ashtaroth (31:10).
17:44, 46 In Israel, being deprived of burial and exposed to birds and beasts was considered worse than death itself (see 31:8-13; 2 Samuel 21; Ps. 79:2-3; Jer. 7:33; 8:1-2).
17:52 men of Israel and Judah. There were divisions between Judah and the rest of Israel from the earliest time of the Davidic monarchy (see 11:8; 15:4; 2 Sam. 19:41-43). "Gai" (ESV footnote) seems to refer to the valley that leads to Gath. For Ekron, see 1 Sam. 5:10.
17:54 Jerusalem refers to a suburb in the area around Jerusalem, not the Jebusite walled city that David captured later (see 2 Sam. 5:6-9).
