1 Samuel 17:39

And David girded his sword upon his armour, 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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
David	דָּוִ֣ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
girded	וַיַּחְגֹּ֣ר vai.yach.Gor	H2296	to gird on (as a belt · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
sword	חַ֠רְבּוֹ char.bo	H2719	drought · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
armour	לְמַדָּ֜יו le.ma.Dav	H4055	properly · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
assayed	וַיֹּ֣אֶל vai.Yo.'el	H2974	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
go	יָלַךְ yâlak	H3212	to walk (literally or figuratively)
proved	נִסָּה֒ ni.Sah	H5254	to test · verb, piel perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
David	דָּוִ֜ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּ֨אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Saul	שָׁא֗וּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
cannot	אוּכַ֛ל 'u.Khal	H3201	to be able · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
go	יָלַךְ yâlak	H3212	to walk (literally or figuratively)
proved	נִסִּ֑יתִי ni.Si.ti	H5254	to test · verb, piel perfect, 1st person common singular
David	דָּוִ֖ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
put	וַיְסִרֵ֥ם vay.si.Rem	H5493	to turn off (literal or figurative) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Hosea 1:7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by…
Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spir…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:31-39

David is at length presented to Saul for his champion (Sa1 17:31) and he bravely undertakes to fight the Philistine (Sa1 17:32): Let no man's heart fail because of him. It would have reflected too much upon the valour of his prince if he had said, Let not thy heart fail; therefore he speaks generally: Let no man's heart fail. A little shepherd, come but this morning from keeping sheep, has more courage than all the mighty men of Israel, and encourages them. Thus does God often send good words to his Israel, and do great things for them, by the weak and foolish things of the world. David only desires a commission from Saul to go and fight with the Philistine, but says nothing to him of the re…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:38

Saul armed David with his armour--The ancient Hebrews were particularly attentive to the personal safety of their warriors, and hence Saul equipped the youthful champion with his own defensive accoutrements, which would be of the best style. It is probable that Saul's coat of mail, or corslet, was a loose shirt, otherwise it could not have fitted both a stripling and a man of the colossal stature of the king.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:39

I cannot go with these - In ancient times it required considerable exercise and training to make a man expert in the use of such heavy armor; armor which in the present day scarcely a man is to be found who is able to carry; and so it must have been then, until that practice which arises from frequent use had made the proprietor perfect. I have not proved them says David: I am wholly unaccustomed to such armor and it would be an encumbrance to me.

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:39

And David girded his, sword upon his armour,.... Which Saul also perhaps furnished him with: and he assayed to go; made an attempt, and had a mind to go thus accoutred; he at first showed an inclination to go in such an habit, but afterwards would not: for he had not proved it; as warriors were wont to do; so Achilles did (i); he never made trial of such armour before, he had not been used to it, and knew not how to behave in it, or walk with it on him; it was an encumbrance to him: Abarbinel renders it, "but he had not proved it"; he would have gone with it but for that reason; the Targum is,"because there was no miracle in them;''because if he had made use of this, there would have been…

The Church Fathers

David then girded himself with Saul's sword, etc. The sword of Saul is the law, which was given through Moses: the garment of David, the work of grace and truth, which was made through Jesus Christ. Therefore, David, girded with the sword of Saul over his own garment, began to test whether he could proceed if armed. For he said he was not accustomed. Observing for a time the carnal commandment of the law, while the spiritual gift of grace was not yet manifested to the peoples, the Savior began to gradually show that his body, which is the Church, burdened with the ceremonies of the law, could not suffice for the spiritual combat, especially among those who, called from the Gentiles to the faith, had no custom at all of enduring the more severe decrees of the law. Finally, the apostle Peter, contesting and criticizing those who wanted to burden the members of David advancing towards the struggle against the giant with Saul's arms, said: "Now therefore why do you tempt God, by imposing a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus we shall be saved, just as they will."
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Armour — Is employed in the English Bible to denote military equipment, both offensive and defensive. (1.) The offensive weapons were different at different periods of history. The “rod of iron” (Ps. 2:9) is…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Elah, The Valley Of — (valley of the terebinth), the valley in which David killed Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:2,19) It lay somewhere near Socoh of Judah and Azekah, and was nearer Ekron than any other Philistine town. 1Sam. 17.
Elhanan — Whom God has graciously bestowed. (1.) A warrior of the time of David famed for his exploits. In the Authorized Version (2 Sam. 21:19) it is recorded that “Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a…
Philistines — (Gen. 10:14, R.V.; but in A.V., “Philistim”), a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the…
War — The Israelites had to take possession of the Promised Land by conquest. They had to engage in a long and bloody war before the Canaanitish tribes were finally subdued. Except in the case of Jericho…
Arms, Military · Before using: Tried and proved — Before using: Tried and proved
Championship · .Goliath and David — .Goliath and David
Sword, The · Suspended from the girdle — Suspended from the girdle

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Samuel 17:39

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:31-39

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:38

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:39

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:39

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 17:39

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:31-39

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:38

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:39

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:39

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 17:1-54

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 17:32

Rashi on 1 Samuel 17:39