Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
1 Samuel 17:40-50
David Meets Goliath (1 Samuel 17:40).
As has been the pattern throughout the chapter the emphasis in this passage is again on the fact that the Philistine has defied YHWH, but here in a more personalised way. Note in fact the build up to this point (and note that each of these verses is central to a chiasmus):
“I defy the armies of Israel this day” (1 Samuel 17:10).
“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26).
“This uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of these, seeing as he has defied the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:36).
“I come to you in the name of YHWH of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel Whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45).
So here in this passage David is answering Goliath's challenge of 1 Samuel 17:10. He wants Goliath to know that he has come in the Name of YHWH, the God Whom he has defied, and he then goes on to stress that it is YHWH who will deliver ‘the Philistine' into his hand. The inter-play of words before battle has been a regular feature of such battles throughout history as each sought to gain an advantage over the other by words before the action began. The aim was to unsettle the opponent. We see a similar situation reflected on our television screens today when two boxers face up to each other at the weigh-in, and then in the centre of the ring, each seeking to gain a psychological victory over the other before battle commences.
Analysis.
a And he took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine (1 Samuel 17:40).
b And the Philistine came on and drew near to David; and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and with it all of a fair countenance (1 Samuel 17:41).
c And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods (1 Samuel 17:43).
d And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field” (1 Samuel 17:44).
e Then said David to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of YHWH of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, Whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45).
d “This day will YHWH deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you, and take your head from off you, and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth” (1 Samuel 17:46 a).
c “That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that YHWH saves not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah's, and he will give you into our hand” (1 Samuel 17:46).
b And it came about that when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took from there a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth (1 Samuel 17:48).
a So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him, but there was no sword in the hand of David (1 Samuel 17:50).
Note that in ‘a' David selects his stones and goes out with his staff and his sling in his hand, and in the parallel it is stressed that David defeated Goliath with a sling and a stone, and without a sword. In ‘b' the Philistine approaches David in order to do battle, and in the parallel David does battle with him and defeats him. In ‘c' the Philistine disdains David, and in the parallel David runs to meet him. In ‘d' the Philistine expresses his anger that David comes against him ‘with staves', and in the parallel David retaliates that YHWH does not save by sword and spear because the battle is His. In ‘e' the Philistine says that he will give David's body to the scavengers, both bird and beast, and in the parallel David retorts that he will similarly give the bodies of the whole Philistine army to the scavengers. Centrally in ‘e' David points out that the Philistine has a sword, a spear and a javelin, but that he has the Name of YHWH on his side, the YHWH Whom the Philistine has defied.
‘ And he took his staff in his hand, and chose himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.'
David already knew in his mind how he was going to fight this battle so he provided himself with the weapons that he was used to. He took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the brook that ran through the valley, and putting them in the shepherd's wallet which he had, he went forward with his sling in his hand. To him it was almost as though he was going forward to meet the next bear, even if it was a large one. He felt completely at home, for this was how he had been dressed when YHWH had delivered him before. So he felt fully armed. And it was dressed in that way that David went forward to meet the Philistine who was clothed in full armour and bristling with weapons and waiting impatiently in the valley for an opponent to come forward.
‘ And the Philistine came on and drew near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him.'
Seeing someone advancing from the ranks of Israel the Philistine also advanced and approached David, and before him went his shield bearer. We are intended to catch the contrast. The teenage shepherd boy with his staff and shepherd's attire, and the mighty warrior in full armour accompanied by his shield bearer. And both were bristling with confidence.
‘ And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he was full of disdain for him, for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and with it all of a fair countenance.'
We get the impression that as he advanced Goliath did not really at first appreciate what kind of opponent he was facing, and that it was only when he focused his attention that he became aware of the truth and discovered that his opponent was but a lad, reddish-haired and somewhat good looking, but not the warrior type at all, and that he had come out to meet him with a staff! He may, of course, have been short sighted, or it may simply be that he had been too arrogant to try to measure his opponent up. And it could well be that the bushes in the valley had prevented him from getting a full sight of him.
But we do not have to use much imagination to appreciate what he thought when he saw that his opponent had come out to meet him without armour, and was simply carrying a wooden staff, with something hanging from his other hand. And that he was a mere youth. He really must have thought that it was some kind of deliberate insult being practised by the Israelites. He probably recognised that it was hardly going to be a serious fight, and that even when he had ‘won', as he could hardly fail to do, the Israelites would have been able to claim that it was all a joke. He presumably felt that he was being deliberately humiliated, a situation that he was not used to.
In fact in the event David's clothing probably did him a great service, for had he been dressed in armour Goliath might well have been more wary, and even have taken into account the sling. But when all he saw was a shepherd boy with a staff, he was totally disarmed, and thus he and his shield bearer were careless. In his view the whole situation was clearly intended to make him look ridiculous. It was obvious to all that it was simply intended to be an insult to the Philistines.
‘ And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.'
His words reveal his fury. The describing of people whom you despised as ‘dogs' (predatory wild scavengers who roamed around cities looking for scraps) was a well known insult. It indicated the total contempt that you had for someone. Thus he saw himself as being treated with the utmost contempt. And to have come against him with only a staff simply added to the insult. (The words are revealing. The most dangerous weapon was discounted. For who had ever heard of anyone engaging in close combat with a sling? Goliath was not used to fancy weapons). He was so angry that he cursed David by his gods.
‘ And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field.” '
Then he snarled, ‘Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the field.' In other words he is saying, ‘you have treated me like a scavenger. So I will cut you up and feed you bit by bit to the scavengers.' He had no sympathy for David. The insult he had suffered was too great for there to be any sympathy left in his heart.
‘ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of YHWH of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” '
But David was not perturbed, for he knew that he had YHWH on his side, and he called on Goliath to recognise the odds that he was up against. The Philistine may have a sword, and a spear, and a javelin. But what were they against the Name of YHWH of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom Goliath had defied? ‘The name' to an Israelite represented all that YHWH was. To come in His Name was to come in all His authority and power. To defy the Name was thus to defy YHWH and to David there was nothing that was worse than defying YHWH. And he knew that history was full of stories of how YHWH had bested Israel's enemies who had defied YHWH.
“ This day will YHWH deliver you into my hand, and I will smite you, and take your head from off you, and I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the heavens, and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that YHWH does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is YHWH's, and he will give you into our hand.”
Then he responded to the Philistine in the way that the Philistine had spoken to him. He informed the Philistine that that very day YHWH would deliver him into his hand, and that as a result he would smite him and take off his head. It was the custom at that time for the victor to cut off the head of a defeated foe (compare 1 Samuel 31:9). And after he had done that, he informed him, not just Goliath's body, but the bodies of the whole Philistine army would be fed to the vultures and the scavengers among the wild beasts so that all the earth might know that there was a God in Israel worthy of the name, and that all the Israelites who were gathered there (the assembly of Israel) would know that YHWH did not save with sword and spear (compare 1 Samuel 13:22). He did not need them. And as the battle was His and His alone He would give the enemy into their hand without them.
We have only to think to recognise the insult that such words must have conveyed, coming as they did from a precocious youth and being addressed to the Philistine champion. His eyes must have been starting out of his head with fury.
‘ And it came about that, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, David accelerated, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.'
Filled with great anger the Philistine advanced on David, and as he got closer David hurried to meet him, thereby advancing to meet the army of the Philistines who would be watching eagerly to see the defeat by Goliath of this arrogant foe. He was taking on the whole Philistine army and was unafraid.
‘ And David put his hand in his bag, and took from there a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.'
Then David put his hand in his shepherd's bag and did what he had done a thousand times before, did indeed what he had constantly practised as he watched the sheep. He took out a large stone and fitted it into his sling, and then slung it and hit the Philistine right in the forehead. And the Philistine fell on his face to the earth.
The sling was in fact a formidable weapon, for it could despatch a three inch diameter stone at a speed of 100-150 miles per hour. The only problem lay in ensuring that it hit its target where it could be effective, which was not easy when a man was covered in armour. It required pin point accuracy. Nor would it have pierced a shield. But Goliath had probably been lulled into a false sense of security by the ridiculous appearance of a boy with a staff as his main weapon. He felt in no danger at all.
‘ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him, but there was no sword in the hand of David.'
And that was how David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, smiting him and slaying him. But there was no sword in the hand of David, and so in order to fulfil his promise to cut off Goliath's head he had to use a borrowed one. This fact that ‘there was no sword in the hand of David' reminds us of 1 Samuel 13:22. It emphasises that YHWH did not need swords.