^17:1¹ The Philistines gathered their troops² for battle. They assembled at Socoh in Judah. They camped in Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. ^17:2Saul and the Israelite army³ assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against⁴ the Philistines. ^17:3The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites⁵ on another hill, with the valley between them.

^17:4Then a champion⁶ came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall.⁷^17:5He had a bronze helmet on his head and was wearing scale body armor. The weight of his bronze body armor was five thousand shekels.⁸^17:6He had bronze shin guards⁹ on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over his shoulders. ^17:7The shaft¹⁰ of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed six hundred shekels.¹¹ His shield bearer was walking before him.

^17:8Goliath¹² stood and called to Israel’s troops,¹³ “Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose¹⁴ for yourselves a man so he may come down¹⁵ to me! ^17:9If 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.” ^17:10Then the Philistine said, “I defy Israel’s troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight¹⁶ each other!”

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Footnotes

1 The content of 1 Sam 17–18, which includes the David and Goliath story, differs considerably in the as compared to the , suggesting that this story circulated in ancient times in more than one form. The for chs. 17–18 is much shorter than the , 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 is preferable to the , 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 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 in these chapters. Whether or not the shorter text represented by the is to be preferred over the 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 (). Overall it seems preferable to stay with the , at least for the most part. However, the major textual differences between the and the will be mentioned in the notes that accompany the translation so that the reader may be alert to the major problem passages.
2 Heb “camps.”
3 Heb “the men of Israel” (so , ); , , “the Israelites.”
4 Heb “to meet.”
5 Heb “Israel.”
6 Heb “the man of the space between the two [armies].” See v. 23.
7 Heb “his height was six cubits and a span” (cf. , , ). A cubit was approximately eighteen inches, a span nine inches. So, according to the Hebrew tradition, Goliath was about nine feet, nine inches tall (cf. , , “over nine feet”; “nine feet, four inches”; “nearly 3 metres”). However, some Greek witnesses, Josephus, and a manuscript of 1 Samuel from Qumran read “four cubits and a span” here, that is, about six feet, nine inches (cf. “six and a half feet”). This seems more reasonable; it is likely that Goliath’s height was exaggerated as the story was retold. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (), ,.
8 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, . 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 (), . But by any estimate it is clear that Goliath presented himself as a formidable foe indeed.
9 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.
10 The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew in reading “wood,” rather than the “arrow” (the reading of the Kethib).
11 That is, about fifteen or sixteen pounds.
12 Heb “he”; the referent (Goliath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 The Hebrew text adds “and said to them.”
14 The translation follows the ancient versions in reading “choose,” (from the root בחר, bkhr), rather than the . The verb in (ברה, brh) elsewhere means “to eat food”; the sense of “to choose,” required here by the context, is not attested for this root. The apparently reflects an early scribal error.
15 Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (either an imperfect or jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result here.
16 Following the imperative, the cohortative verbal form indicates purpose/result here.