1 Samuel 17:40 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 17:40
And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
staff
מַקְל֜וֹmak.Lo
H4731
a shoot · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
hand
בְּיָד֗וֹbe.ya.Do
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
chose
וַיִּבְחַרvai.yiv.char-
H977
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
five
חֲמִשָּׁ֣הcha.mi.Shah
H2568
five · noun, common both genders singular absolute
smooth
חַלֻּקֵֽיcha.lu.kei-
H2512
smooth · adjective, masculine plural construct
stones
אֲבָנִ֣ים'a.va.Nim
H68
a stone · noun, common feminine plural absolute
brook
הַנַּ֡חַלha.Na.chal
H5158
a stream · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
put
וַיָּ֣שֶׂםvai.Ya.sem
H7760
to put (used in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
shepherd’s
הָרֹעִ֧יםha.ro.'Im
H7462
to tend a flock · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
bag
בִּכְלִ֨יbikh.Li
H3627
something prepared · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
scrip
וּבַיַּלְק֖וּטu.vai.yal.Kut
H3219
a travelling pouch (as if for gleanings) · conjunction + preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sling
וְקַלְּע֣וֹve.ka.le.'O
H7050
a sling · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
hand
בְיָד֑וֹve.ya.Do
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
near
וַיִּגַּ֖שׁvai.yi.Gash
H5066
to be or come (causatively · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Philistine
הַפְּלִשְׁתִּֽיha.pe.lish.Ti
H6430
a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
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
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the t…
Judges 15:15-16 And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith.
Judges 20:16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.
Matthew 10:10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
Judges 3:31 And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.
Judges 7:16-20 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within t…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:40-47
We are now coming near this famous combat, and have in these verses the preparations and remonstrances made on both sides.
I. The preparations made on both sides for the encounter. The Philistine was already fixed, as he had been daily for the last forty days. Well might he go with his armour, for he had sufficiently proved it. Only we are told (Sa1 17:41) that he came on and drew near, a signal, it is likely, being given that his challenge was accepted, and, as if he distrusted his helmet and coat of mail, a man went before him, carrying his shield, for his own hands were full with his sword and spear, Sa1 17:45. But what arms and ammunition is David furnished with? Truly none but what he b…
brook--wady.
bag--or scrip for containing his daily food.
sling--The sling consisted of a double rope with a thong, probably of leather, to receive the stone. The slinger held a second stone in his left hand. David chose five stones, as a reserve, in case the first should fail. Shepherds in the East carry a sling and stones still, for the purpose of driving away, or killing, the enemies that prowl about the flock.
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:40
He took his staff - What we would call his crook.
Five smooth stones -
1. Had they been rough or angular, they would not have passed easily through the air, and their asperities would, in the course of their passage, have given them a false direction.
2. Had they not been smooth, they could not have been readily despatched from the sling.
A shepherd's bag - That in which he generally carried his provisions while keeping the sheep in the open country.
And his sling - The sling, both among the Greeks and Hebrews, has been a powerful offensive weapon. See what has been said on Jdg 20:16 (note). It is composed of two strings and a leathern strap; the strap is in the middle, and is the place whe…
And he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, etc. Having shown the rejection of the preceding commandment, because of its weakness and unprofitableness, the Lord rather taught Himself to choose the very law, which is written in five books, to be observed spiritually, extracting it from the turbid minds of those who, having a veil over their hearts, could not look attentively at the face of Moses, and lifting it into the free air of evangelical light. Therefore, He also was careful to commit the spiritual law's sublime intellect to the hearts of the spiritual pastors, whom He had with Him as companions. To this, He added the aid of the allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses, as if woven into a threefold cord. Thus armed with such fitting weapons, He set forth to conquer the prince of this world as a victor.
And he placed them and took his staff, etc. The Lord arranged the sacraments of the law, which He deemed good to adopt for a short time to prove their goodness in its time, and He exercised His power of judgment, which He always used to rule everything, even freely concerning the arrangement of the law. He set aside Saul's armor when He said: For the Son of Man is the Lord even of the Sabbath (Matt. XII). He took his staff, always held in his hands when he was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes and Pharisees. He put on Saul's armor, coming to the singular battle, when, as His passion's struggle approached, He said to His disciples: With desire I have desired, etc. (Luke XXII). He set them aside when he added: For I say unto you, I will not eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God, etc. (Ibid.). In the same manner, He foretold that the Paschal cup, legally observed, should no longer be observed carnally. He took his staff, which he always had in his hands, when, with the mystery of His cross beneficial for the salvation of the world (for the figure of the staff can not improperly be applied to Him, who always had time and manner in His power), He taught His disciples: Taking bread, He gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying: This is my body, etc.
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…
Bag — (1.) A pocket of a cone-like shape in which Naaman bound two pieces of silver for Gehazi (2 Kings 5:23). The same Hebrew word occurs elsewhere only in Isa. 3:22, where it is rendered “crisping-pins,”…
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…
Scrip — A small bag or wallet usually fastened to the girdle (1 Sam. 17:40); “a shepherd’s bag.” In the New Testament it is the rendering of Gr. pera, which was a bag carried by travellers and shepherds,…
Shepherd — A word naturally of frequent occurence in Scripture. Sometimes the word “pastor” is used instead (Jer. 2:8; 3:15; 10:21; 12:10; 17:16). This word is used figuratively to represent the relation of…
Sling — With a sling and a stone David smote the Philistine giant (1 Sam. 17:40, 49). There were 700 Benjamites who were so skilled in its use that with the left hand they “could sling stones at a hair…
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…
And he took his staff in his hand,.... His shepherd's staff, which he used in keeping his father's sheep, and chose rather to appear in the habit of a shepherd than of a soldier:
and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook; which ran in the valley, which became smooth by lying in the water running over them; and which being smooth were fitter for his purpose, being the more easily cast out of the sling; though De Dieu is of opinion that these were parts or pieces of stones, cleft ones, which were rough and rugged, and which would more easily and firmly be fixed in the forehead of the Philistine:
and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; in which he had been wont…
A war between the Philistines and the Israelites furnished David with the opportunity of displaying before Saul and all Israel, and greatly to the terror of the enemies of his people, that heroic power which was firmly based upon his bold and pious trust in the omnipotence of the faithful covenant God (Sa1 17:1-3). A powerful giant, named Goliath, came forward from the ranks of the Philistines, and scornfully challenged the Israelites to produce a man who would decide the war by a single combat with him (Sa1 17:4-11). David, who had returned home for a time from the court of Saul, and had just been sent into the camp by his father with provisions for his elder brothers who were serving in th…
A stream flowed through the valley of Elah (17:2). • A sling was a leather pouch attached to two leather thongs. When the sling containing a stone was whirled rapidly, one of the thongs could be released, sending the stone toward its target. David probably became deadly accurate with a sling as a shepherd, but the sling was used by warriors as well (Judg 20:16).
Rashi on 1 Samuel 17:40
Smooth stones. Thin and smooth stones.
And in his pouch. [Targum Yonoson renders] 'and in his pack.'
Brooks · Often ran over pebbles — Often ran over pebbles
Championship · .Goliath and David — .Goliath and David
Philistines · David: Slew Goliath the champion of — David: Slew Goliath the champion of
Shepherds · Usually carried a scrip or bag — Usually carried a scrip or bag
Sling · David kills Goliath with a — David kills Goliath with a
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).
