1 Samuel 17:42

And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Philistine	הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֛י ha.pe.lish.Ti	H6430	a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
about	וַיַּבֵּ֧ט vai.ya.Bet	H5027	to scan · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
saw	וַיִּרְאֶ֥ה vai.yir.'Eh	H7200	to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
David	דָּוִ֖ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
disdained	וַיִּבְזֵ֑הוּ vai.yiv.Ze.hu	H959	to disesteem · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
youth	נַ֔עַר Na.'ar	H5288	(concretely) a boy (as active) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
ruddy	וְאַדְמֹנִ֖י ve.'ad.mo.Ni	H132	reddish (of the hair or the complexion) · conjunction + adjective, masculine singular absolute
fair	יְפֵ֥ה ye.Peh	H3303	beautiful (literally or figuratively) · adjective, masculine singular construct
countenance	מַרְאֶֽה mar.'Eh	H4758	a view (the act of seeing) · noun, common 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 Samuel 16:12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, a…
1 Samuel 17:33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war fro…
Psalms 123:3-4 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
2 Corinthians 11:27-29 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
1 Kings 20:18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.
2 Kings 18:23-24 Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy…
Nehemiah 4:2-4 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacri…

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…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:42

the Philistine said . . . said David to the Philistine--When the two champions met, they generally made each of them a speech, and sometimes recited some verses, filled with allusions and epithets of the most opprobrious kind, hurling contempt and defiance at one another. This kind of abusive dialogue is common among the Arab combatants still. David's speech, however, presents a striking contrast to the usual strain of these invectives. It was full of pious trust, and to God he ascribed all the glory of the triumph he anticipated.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:42

He disdained him - He held him in contempt; he saw that he was young, and from his ruddy complexion supposed him to be effeminate.

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:42

And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him,.... He looked about for his antagonist, to take a view of him, what sort of a man he was, expecting to see one much like himself; but observing a puny young man, he despised him in his heart, and perhaps looked upon it as an affront to him to send such a man to fight with him: for he was but a youth; his age was one reason why he despised him, being, as before observed, about twenty years of age, and not come to his full strength, a stripling, as he is called, 1 Samuel 17:56, another reason follows: and ruddy, and of a fair countenance; looked effeminate, had not the appearance of a soldier, of a weather beaten veteran,…

The Church Fathers

And when the Philistine had looked and saw David, etc. And when the devil had very shrewdly looked and saw the Son of God in the world doing and teaching things contrary to him, as if proceeding against him, since he found him humble, he, knowing nothing but pride, despised him. For he was full of new virtue and grace, reddened with the blood of passions, and beautiful in the action of great deeds.
— Bede, Commentary on Samuel

And it is also the custom of brave warriors when they see feeble men coming against them to fight to despise them, and to have them in contempt, and to laugh at their advance, even as it is written concerning that blasphemous giant whose boast lay in the strength of his body, who, "when he saw David despised him." And if all the contempt which he had in him for David arose from his confidence in his flesh, why shouldst not thou, by the power of the spirit which is in thee, despise and hold in contempt the lust of the belly? For whom doth it usually conquer except infants and young children? For immediately the lust of the belly afflicteth them with its need they begin to cry and to importune their parents, and to ask them for what they want, and they do this because they have not yet attained unto the age in which the power of patient endurance is born of the soul.
— Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 11 -- On Abstinence

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

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…
Solomon — Peaceful, (Heb. Shelomoh), David’s second son by Bathsheba, i.e., the first after their legal marriage (2 Sam. 12). He was probably born about B.C. 1035 (1 Chr. 22:5; 29:1). He succeeded his father…
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…
Championship · .Goliath and David — .Goliath and David
Philistines · David: Slew Goliath the champion of — David: Slew Goliath the champion of
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).

1 Samuel 17:42

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:40-47

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:42

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:42

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:42

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 17:42

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:40-47

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:42

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:42

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:42

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 17:1-54

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 17:42

Rashi on 1 Samuel 17:40