1 Samuel 17:38-54

David Slays Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:38-54

38 And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
39 And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.

40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.

42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.

43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
46 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord'S, and he will give you into our hands.

48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

50 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.

51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron.
53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.

15.

Why did David not wear Saul's armor? 1 Samuel 17:38-39

David did not wear Saul's armor because he had not proved it. Exactly what he meant by saying this is hard to tell, but it certainly would not fit David. Saul stood head and shoulders above anyone else in Israel. David was not fully grown at the time. The helmet of brass and the coat of mail would not be comfortable for David. In the second place, he had not proved that he knew how to use the sword. His weapons had been the weapons of rural use. In the third place, David had not proved himself worthy of wearing a soldier's armor. He was not unworthy, but it is normal for a soldier to earn his stripes and to deserve the privilege of carrying certain weapons. David was quite humble, and he may have meant that he had no right to wear the king's armor.

16.

With what was David equipped? 1 Samuel 17:40

David was equipped with a sling and a shepherd's bag, called a scrip. In addition, he selected five smooth stones out of the brook as he crossed it. The exact nature of the scrip is not known, but is was probably a pouch which may have been suspended from his girdle or from a strap slung over his shoulder. As David had grown up watching his father's sheep, he had become skilled in the use of a sling. Benjaminites are mentioned in Judges 20:16 as being able to sling a stone at a hair'S-breadth and not miss. Moreover they did this with their left hands. Such skill is difficult to obtain, but it is a deadly offensive and defensive weapon.

17.

What did Goliath and David say to each other? 1 Samuel 17:43-47

The giant looked upon David with disdain and asked if they had sent someone out after him as after a dog with clubs and sticks. Goliath said that he would feed the flesh of David to the birds of the air. David replied that the giant was coming out to meet him with a sword and spear and javelin, but that he came to meet the giant in the name of Jehovah of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom the giant had defied. David also said that Jehovah would deliver the giant into his hands and that he would give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines unto the birds of the heavens, and that all people would know that Jehovah depended not upon spears and swords, but that the battle would be won by His power.

18.

What was the result of the encounter? 1 Samuel 17:49-51

David was confident that the battle would be Jehovah'S. He declared that all the earth would know that not by sword and spear doth Jehovah save; for the battle is Jehovah'S, to dispose of according to his own sovereign will. When Goliath arose, therefore, and drew near, David ran towards him, took a stone out of his pocket, hurled it, and hit the Philistine in his face so that the stone entered his forehead and the giant fell upon his face to the ground. Goliath was so disdainful of David that he failed to close the visor of his helmet. David then cut off the head of the fallen giant with his own sword. Upon the downfall of their hero the Philistines were terrified and fled; whereupon the Israelites rose up with a cry to pursue the fleeing foe. They pursued them from the valley of the battle to the gates of Ekron, returned to plunder the camp of the enemy, and returned to their homes victorious. David took the head of Goliath and brought it to Jerusalem, and put his armor in his tent. From this place, Goliath's sword was taken to the Tabernacle at Nob. It was deposited here by David in honor of the Lord and the victory that was granted over Israel's enemies.

19.

How far did the Philistines flee? 1 Samuel 17:52

Shaaraim is from the Hebrew word meaning, two gates. There are two places by this name. One, a city near Azekah in Judah (Joshua 15:36), the other is a town in Simeon (1 Chronicles 4:31), and evidently to be identified with Sharuhen, which is between Gaza and Beersheba. Ekron is one of the Philistine cities where the Ark had been kept. Mention of the fact that the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim even to Gath and Ekron would indicate that the Philistines were driven back into their own territory. The mention of the Valley would indicate that there was another valley near Ekron. Reference could hardly be to the valley Elah where the battle was fought. This was no doubt a turning point in David's life and it was also a turning point in Israel's history. The Philistines are no longer found fighting up in the mountains of Judah and Ephraim. God's people were blessed with a decisive victory over their perennial enemies.

20.

Why did David take Goliath's head to Jerusalem? 1 Samuel 17:54

The Israelites tired from chasing the Philistines and spoiled their tents. The Philistines had left in such a complete rout that they had not taken their baggage and equipment with them. David himself took the sword of Goliath and put it in the tabernacle at Nob (1 Samuel 21:9), but he took the head of Goliath and brought it to Jerusalem. The rest of his armor was kept in David's tent for the time being. Jerusalem was not yet David's capital city. He was evidently not gibbeting Goliath's head on the wall of Jerusalem as the Philistines did the bodies of Saul and Jonathan on the wall of Beth-shan (1 Samuel 31:11). The Philistines also sent Saul's head around about in the cities of the Philistines to publish the victory among their people.

David evidently did not pass around Goliath's head to publish the victory, but he may have brought it to Jerusalem to warn the Jebusites, who held the city, not to cause trouble for Saul and the armies of Israel. David was also possibly bringing it to throw it in the valley of Hinnom, which later was used as a place of refuse. If this had been the long-standing practice of casting refuse into this valley, David may have disposed of Goliath's head in this manner to show his utter contempt for anyone who would defy the armies of the living God.