^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.

Read in Logos

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.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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. 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. 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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim. Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines.

The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites were standing on another hill with a ravine between them.

NLTNew Living Translation

The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah. So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

The Philistines gathered their camps for battle and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah. They camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes Dammim. Then Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and they formed ranks for the battle to meet the Philistines. The Philistines were standing on the hill on one side and the army of Israel was standing on the hill on the other side with the valley between them.

KJV 1900King James Version

Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.

Public Domain