1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel 17 (Listen)

David and Goliath

17:1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six¹ cubits² and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels³ of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. And his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

12 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.⁴ 13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 David was the youngest. The three eldest followed Saul, 15 but David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem. 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

17 And Jesse said to David his son, “Take for your brothers an ephah⁵ of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. 18 Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them.”

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 early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry. 21 And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. 22 And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers. 23 As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.

24 All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.” 26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes 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 in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”

28 Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” 29 And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?” 30 And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.

31 When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”

38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 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. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” 45 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 the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds 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 that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath⁶ and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

55 As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” 57 And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.”

(ESV)

1 Samuel 17 Commentary

In 1 Samuel 17, the Philistines gathered for battle at Socoh in Judah, facing Israel across a valley (1 Samuel 17:1-3). Goliath, a giant warrior from Gath, challenged Israel to send a champion to fight him, terrifying Saul and his army (1 Samuel 17:4-11).

David, the youngest son of Jesse, was tending sheep but visited his brothers at the battlefield, where he heard Goliath’s challenge (1 Samuel 17:12-23). Learning of the reward for defeating Goliath, David asked about it, but his oldest brother scorned him (1 Samuel 17:24-30).

David told Saul he would fight Goliath, recalling how he had killed lions and bears while protecting his flock. He declared that God, who had delivered him before, would deliver him again (1 Samuel 17:31-37). Saul offered his armor, but David refused and instead took his sling and five smooth stones (1 Samuel 17:38-40).

Goliath mocked David, but David proclaimed that he came in the name of the Lord and that God would give him victory to show His power (1 Samuel 17:41-47). As Goliath approached, David slung a stone, striking him in the forehead. Goliath fell, and David used the Philistine’s own sword to cut off his head (1 Samuel 17:48-51).

Seeing their champion dead, the Philistines fled, and Israel pursued them, plundering their camp (1 Samuel 17:52-53). David took Goliath’s head to Jerusalem and kept his weapons (1 Samuel 17:54). Saul, not recognizing David’s lineage, asked about his father, and David answered that he was the son of Jesse (1 Samuel 17:55-58).

Human Courage & Effort

How many times in pop culture has the story of David v. Goliath been used to portray the underdog overcoming the favorite through courage and effort? David was indeed skilled with the sling. In fact, in the ancient Mediterranean world, slingers were considered highly effective and often superior to archers in terms of range and impact.

Ancient slings could launch projectiles up to 1,300 feet (400 meters), which was often farther than most bows of the time. A skilled slinger could hurl a stone at speeds of 100 mph (160 km/h) or more, delivering devastating force. The kinetic energy of a lead sling bullet could match or exceed that of an early musket ball, making it lethal even against armored opponents. Some sling bullets were designed with inscriptions or whistling holes to intimidate enemies.

Slingers could carry more ammunition (stones or lead bullets) than archers could arrows. Slings were cheaper and easier to produce than bows, and unlike bows, slings weren’t affected by moisture, making them more reliable in wet conditions.

However, with all that said, this story isn’t about the skill of the slinger. This story is about the power of Yahweh.

The Giant

Goliath, a nine-foot-tall Philistine warrior, was encamped at Socoh. This was about 14 miles west of Bethlehem. His armor weighed 120 pounds, and his spearhead alone was 15 pounds. The idea of fighting 1-on-1 to the death instead of the two armies fighting each other was not typical in ancient Near Eastern warfare, but it made complete sense for the Philistines. Goliath was an animal. Not only was he huge, but his mammoth frame glistened with fully armored metal. This was another rarity as most soldiers wore regular clothing.

“This passage presents the longest description of military attire in the Old Testament. Goliath’s physical stature, armor, weaponry, and shield bearer must have made him appear invincible. However, the reader has just been warned against paying undue attention to outward appearances. The detailed description of Goliath’s external advantages here suggests that chap. 17 was intended in part to serve as an object lesson in the theology of the previous chapter (cf. 16:7).”

The New American Commentary

According to Michael S. Heiser, Goliath was connected to the Anakim, a race of giants mentioned in the Old Testament. He notes that after Joshua’s conquest, remnants of the Anakim settled in Philistine cities like Gath, Goliath’s hometown. This association implies that Goliath and his brothers were descendants of these giants, highlighting the continuation of giant clans into David’s era.

The conquest of Canaan was not just about land acquisition but also about the eradication of the Nephilim-descended giant clans (Anakim, Rephaim, Zamzummim, etc.). These groups attempted to corrupt the bloodlines of humanity in Genesis 6:4, where the “sons of God” and human women produced the Nephilim. David, as Yahweh’s chosen king, was completing the task that Joshua had begun. He was removing the last of the giant clans who were seen as a threat to God’s people.

In other words, this battle was not primarily about flesh and blood. It was cosmic warfare.

The Shepherd

In 1 Samuel 16, David was summoned to play his harp for King Saul to calm his spirit. Here in 1 Samuel 17, it seems that enough time has passed that David is no longer serving in Saul’s presence. This is reiterated at the end of the narrative when Saul does not recognize David and asks about his lineage. We do not know how much time has passed, however, it is not out of the question to think that David had matured to the point of being unrecognizable to Saul.

Being a shepherd, David had a lot of time to practice his slinging. There is no doubt he honed his skills over many years, defending his flock from the threats that lurked in the shadows. But fighting Goliath was next level. To the world (which focused on outward appearance) it was foolishness. Do not miss the fact that upon leaving his flock, David placed another shepherd over his sheep (1 Samuel 17:20). David, like Jesus, was a good shepherd.

• David Loved The Lord: David took Goliath’s insults as a personal attack against Yahweh.
• David’s Faith Was Contagious: David’s confidence in God convinced Saul, who agreed to let him fight and prayed for God’s help.
• David’s Trust Was Spiritual, Not Material: David believed Goliath’s stature and weaponry were no match for God.
• David’s Desire Was For God To Be Glorified: David saw himself as carrying out divine justice but that God’s power would be made known to all.
• David Knew Victory Was In The Lord: David declared that victory would not come through weapons, but because the battle belonged to God.

We cannot miss these points in the narrative. The overarching theme is not that David is confident in his own abilities. He was certainly skilled as a slinger, however, the text makes it crystal clear that David’s confidence was in the Lord. The victory belonged to the Lord. The glory would go to the Lord. God’s power is made perfect in human weakness (2 Cor 12:9), and it is through God’s intervention that deliverance and glory come.

This was the attitude that separated David from men like Saul. David’s rejection of human armor and reliance on the Lord’s strength is a profound message for all believers. It reminds us that no matter how powerful or advanced the enemy may seem, it is God who grants victory. In spiritual battles, our reliance should not be on our own wisdom, strategies, or strength, but on God’s power and guidance. Goliath blasphemed God, and David, by faith, was God’s righteous hand of judgment (Lev 24:16). The battle belongs to the Lord.