1 Samuel 17:1-18
David Kills Goliath
1 ▼▼tc The content of 1 Sam 17-18, which includes the David and Goliath story, differs considerably in the LXX as compared to the MT, suggesting that this story circulated in ancient times in more than one form. The LXX for chs. 17-18 is much shorter than the MT, lacking almost half of the material (39 of a total of 88 verses). Many scholars (e.g., McCarter, Klein) think that the shorter text of the LXX is preferable to the MT, which in their view has been expanded by incorporation of later material. Other scholars (e.g., Wellhausen, Driver) conclude that the shorter Greek text (or the Hebrew text that underlies it) reflects an attempt to harmonize certain alleged inconsistencies that appear in the longer version of the story. Given the translation characteristics of the LXX elsewhere in this section, it does not seem likely that these differences are due to deliberate omission of these verses on the part of the translator. It seems more likely that the Greek translator has faithfully rendered here a Hebrew text that itself was much shorter than the MT in these chapters. Whether or not the shorter text represented by the LXX is to be preferred over the MT in 1 Sam 17-18 is a matter over which textual scholars are divided. For a helpful discussion of the major textual issues in this unit see D. Barthélemy, D. W. Gooding, J. Lust, and E. Tov, The Story of David and Goliath (OBO). Overall it seems preferable to stay with the MT, at least for the most part. However, the major textual differences between the LXX and the MT will be mentioned in the notes that accompany the translation so that the reader may be alert to the major problem passages.
The Philistines gathered their troops ▼▼tn Heb “camps.”
for battle. They assembled at Socoh in Judah. They camped in Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. 2Saul and the Israelite army ▼▼tn Heb “the men of Israel” (so KJV, NASB); NAB, NIV, NRSV “the Israelites.”
assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against ▼▼tn Heb “to meet.”
the Philistines. 3The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites ▼▼tn Heb “Israel.”
on another hill, with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion ▼ came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall. ▼▼tc Heb “his height was six cubits and a span.” The LXX, a Qumran manuscript of 1 Samuel, and Josephus read “four cubits and a span.” A cubit was approximately 17.5 inches, a span half that. So the Masoretic text places Goliath at about 9½ feet tall (cf. NIV84, CEV, NLT “over nine feet”; NCV “nine feet, four inches”; TEV “nearly 3 metres” while the other textual witnesses place him at about 6 feet, 7 inches (cf. NAB “six and a half feet”). Note, too, that the cubit was adjusted through history, also attested in Babylon (NIDOTTE 421-424 s.v. אַמָּה). If the cubits measuring Goliath were reckoned as the cubit of Moses, his height at 6 cubits and a span would be approximately 7 feet 9 inches tall. This is one of many places in Samuel where the LXX and Qumran evidence seems superior to the Masoretic text. It is possible that the scribe’s eye skipped briefly to the number 6 a few lines below in a similar environment of letters. The average Israelite male of the time was about 5 feet 3 inches, so a man 6 feet 7 inches would be a very impressive height. Saul, being head and shoulder above most Israelites, would have been nearly 6 feet tall. That is still shorter than Goliath, even at “four cubits and a span,” and makes a sharper contrast between David and Saul. There would have been a greater expectation that a 6 foot tall Saul would confront a 6 feet 7 inches Goliath, placing Saul in a bad light while still positioning David as a hero of faith, which is fitting to the context.
5He had a bronze helmet on his head and was wearing scale body armor. The weight of his bronze body armor was 5,000 shekels. ▼▼sn Although the exact weight of Goliath’s defensive body armor is difficult to estimate in terms of modern equivalency, it was obviously quite heavy. Driver, following Kennedy, suggests a modern equivalent of about 220 pounds (100 kg); see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 139. Klein, taking the shekel to be equal to .403 ounces, arrives at a somewhat smaller weight of about 126 pounds (57 kg); see R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 175. But by any estimate it is clear that Goliath presented himself as a formidable foe indeed.
6He had bronze shin guards ▼▼sn Or “greaves.” These were coverings (probably lined for comfort) that extended from about the knee to the ankle, affording protection for the shins of a warrior.
on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over his shoulders. 7The shaft ▼▼tn The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading “wood,” rather than the “arrow” (the reading of the Kethib).
of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed 600 shekels. ▼▼sn That is, about fifteen or sixteen pounds.
His shield bearer was walking before him. 8 Goliath ▼▼tn Heb “he”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
stood and called to Israel’s troops, ▼▼tn The Hebrew text adds “and said to them.”
“Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose ▼▼tc The translation follows the ancient versions in reading “choose,” (from the root בָּחַר, bakhar), rather than the MT. The verb in MT (בָּרָה, barah) elsewhere means “to eat food”; the sense of “to choose,” required here by the context, is not attested for this root. The MT apparently reflects an early scribal error.
for yourselves a man so he may come down ▼▼tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (either an imperfect or jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result here.
to me! 9If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, we will become your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down, you will become our servants and will serve us.” 10Then the Philistine said, “I defy Israel’s troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight ▼▼tn Following the imperative, the cohortative verbal form indicates purpose/result here.
each other!” 11When Saul and all the Israelites ▼▼tn Heb “all Israel.”
heard these words of the Philistine, they were upset and very afraid. 12 ▼ Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons, and in Saul’s days he was old and well advanced in years. ▼▼tc The translation follows the Lucianic recension of the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading “in years,” rather than MT “among men.”
13Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the ▼▼tn Heb “his.”
three sons who went to war were Eliab, his firstborn; Abinadab, the second oldest; and Shammah, the third oldest. 14Now David was the youngest. While the three oldest sons followed Saul, 15David was going back and forth ▼▼tn Heb “was going and returning.”
from Saul in order to care for his father’s sheep in Bethlehem. 16 Meanwhile for 40 days the Philistine approached every morning and evening and took his position. 17Jesse said to his son David, “Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these 10 loaves of bread; go quickly ▼▼tn Heb “run.”
to the camp to your brothers. 18Also take these 10 portions of cheese to their commanding officer. ▼▼tn Heb “officer of the thousand.”
Find out how your brothers are doing ▼▼tn Heb “and your brothers, observe with respect to welfare.”
and bring back their pledge that they received the goods. ▼▼tn Heb “and their pledge take.” This probably refers to some type of confirmation that the goods arrived safely. See R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 177. Cf. NIV “bring back some assurance”; NCV “some proof to show me they are all right”; NLT “bring me back a letter from them.”
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