1 Samuel 17:12-27

David Hears of Goliath's Challenge. 1 Samuel 17:12-27

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.

13 And the three eldest son of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.

15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Beth-lehem.
16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;

18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.

19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.

26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it he done to the man that killeth him.

4.

Where was David at the time and what was he doing? 1 Samuel 17:14-15

David had been dismissed by Saul at the time; and having returned home, he was feeding his father's sheep once more. At this point, the household of Jesse is again described so far as is necessary to the present purpose. Jesse himself is too old to go to the war (1 Samuel 17:12), and David is regarded as too young. Three of the sons are in the ranks, but what has become of the other four is not told. Since David was too young at this time, we presume that he was not yet twenty years old; for Israel's men of war were to be men who were twenty years old and older (Numbers 1:3).

5.

How did it happen that he was at the battle? 1 Samuel 17:17-18

His father sent him to see how his brethren fared and to take them some food. The presents sent by Jesse in the hands of David when he first went to Saul's court suggest how simple were the customs of Israel and in the court of Saul at that time. When he went to the camp, David again carried provisions and gifts. The parched corn was ears of wheat or barley plucked just before they were ripe and roasted for provision for travelers or soldiers. The army evidently had no regular commissary. To this provision were added ten of the round flat loaves of the fellahin. David was also to take ten cheeses to the captain of the thousand, to ask his brothers of their welfare, and to take their pledge. What this means is uncertain, but no corruption of the text is apparent. Possibly some token had been agreed upon which they were to send instead of a letter.

6.

What was the trench? 1 Samuel 17:20

The place of the wagons was back from the field of battle. This would be the center of the location of the material for battle. Supplies of various natures would be kept here. Any group of people demands certain provision when they stay for awhile in one place. Saul had hid himself in the baggage when he was first introduced to the people for a public anointing (1 Samuel 10:22). The trench mentioned is no doubt a rampart which was thrown up to protect the baggage so that the enemy could not break through and destroy the victals. The American Standard Version translates this word trench with place of the wagons. They did not fight battles in the same manner as those fought in World War I, when the foot soldiers were compelled to dig trenches and face the enemy across a no-man's land. Neither was it the kind of trench which would be dug in World War II, as so many of the armies directed their men in the field to dig slit trenches to protect themselves in times of bombings and strafings.

7.

How was the battle put in array? 1 Samuel 17:21

The battle was pitched as described in the first part of the chapter. One army was on the hill to the west of the valley of Elah; the other army was on a hill to the east of the same valley. A brook ran through the midst, but there was an open place where Goliath could come to make his challenge. Probably the men did march towards each other and stand in lines drawn in array, but none dared attack the other because of the challenge that was left unanswered and the impregnable position occupied by the enemy. This stalemate continued for forty days (1 Samuel 17:16).

8.

Where was Gath? 1 Samuel 17:23

Gath is a Philistine town with the name meaning wine press. The importance of this city is seen in the fact that it makes so many different appearances in the Scripture narrative. David's ultimate conquest of Philistia resulted in his taking control of their leading city of the Philistine pentapolis, and people from the city were prominent even in David's army. One of David's chief military men was Ittai the Gittite (2 Samuel 15:19). David also had with him a great number of men among the Cherethites and Pelethites, known as the Gittites. It is expressly stated that these men came from Gath (2 Samuel 15:18). Goliath was a Philistine champion from a very important Philistine town.

9.

What rewards were promised to one who would slay Goliath? 1 Samuel 17:25

The men of the army understood that the man who killed Goliath would be enriched with great riches. Saul must have promised that he would give the man his daughter in marriage. As an additional enticement he promised to make his father's house free in Israel. A man's house which was freed would have to pay no taxes. His sons would be freed from military service, and his daughters would not be taken as confectionaries and maids.

10.

What was David's reaction to Goliath's challenge? 1 Samuel 17:26-27

When David heard the words of Goliath's challenge, he made more minute inquiries from the bystanders about the whole matter and dropped some words which gave rise to the supposition that he wanted to go and fight with the Philistine himself. David was making clear that Goliath had to fight not with men, but with Godand this with a living God, and not with an idol. In other words, David was not afraid; and when he continued speaking to different groups after this manner, he was finally brought into the presence of Saul.