1 Samuel 17:46 - meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Samuel 17:46
This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
LORD
יְהוָ֨הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
deliver
יְסַגֶּרְךָ֩ye.sa.ger.Kha
H5462
to shut up · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
hand
בְּיָדִ֜יbe.ya.Di
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix
smite
וְהִכִּיתִ֗ךָve.hi.ki.Ti.kha
H5221
to strike (lightly or severely · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
take
וַהֲסִרֹתִ֤יva.ha.si.ro.Ti
H5493
to turn off (literal or figurative) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
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
Isaiah 52:10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
Joshua 4:24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.
2 Kings 19:19 Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the L…
1 Kings 8:43 Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know…
Deuteronomy 28:26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.
Daniel 6:26-27 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast…
Exodus 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the ear…
Daniel 2:47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, s…
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…
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 17:46
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand - This was a direct and circumstantial prophecy of what did take place.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:46
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hands,.... Of which he was assured by divine inspiration, by the impulse of the Spirit of God upon him; or otherwise he could not have expressed himself with such certainty, and have given the particulars of what he should do, as in the following clauses:
and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and yet he had no weapon in his hand to do it with, 1 Samuel 17:50, but it was revealed to him that he should do it, and he believed it; though the Philistine no doubt looked upon all this as romantic:
and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; not on…
The Church Fathers
And the Lord will deliver you into my hands, etc. And by the power of my divinity, he says, you will be overcome, you who, beholding the vileness of my flesh, are proud and exalt yourself, and I will remove you, who are the head of all evils, from the unjustly attached mortal members; and I will give your falling members and those of your followers, that is, men separated from you and humbled by my power or grace, who, deceived by your godless cults, had stuck with you: I will, I say, give them to be instructed by my own, and joined to my own ministers, who are partly heavenly beings of angelic nature and partly mortal in earthly flesh, so that with the Gospel preached throughout the entire world, every man may know that there is one true God who is now known in Judea, and in Israel his name is great (Psalm 75). Then by the universal praise of the catholic, that is, universal, from the ends of the earth those who cry out to God will say: Lord our God, how admirable is your name in all the earth (Psalm 8)! Nor should anyone find it absurd that we have said the depths of the flesh, the birds of the air, and the beasts of the earth signify the teachers who eagerly capture and draw in through faith the souls that were formerly carnal. For even the Lord himself is most openly called the lion from the tribe of Judah, and the Church is typically called a lioness: not only on account of its strength, but also to signify the diligent pursuit of holy rapaciousness. For the patriarch Jacob says of the Lord, "Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up" (Gen. 49). And the Lord himself says of the Church to Job: "Will you take the prey for the lioness, and fill the soul of her young ones?" (Job 39). But the Savior is also symbolized by the four living creatures. Just as he wanted to indicate the humility of incarnation and offering through the man and the ox, so through the lion and the eagle he wanted to indicate the power and sublimity of his resurrection and ascension into heaven. He also speaks to blessed Job about the Church, saying: "Does the eagle mount up at your command and make its nest on high?" (Job 39). So that you would not think it typifies only the height of nesting or flying, or even the sharp vision of gazing at the sun, but also the unity of devouring, he added at the end: "And where the carcass is, there immediately it is…
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…
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
War · God in — God in
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).
head
רֹֽאשְׁךָ֙ro.she.Kha
H7218
the head (as most easily shaken) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
give
וְנָ֨תַתִּ֜יve.Na.ta.Ti
H5414
to give · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
carcases
פֶּ֣גֶרPe.ger
H6297
a carcase (as limp) · noun, common masculine singular construct
host
מַחֲנֵ֤הma.cha.Neh
H4264
an encampment (of travellers or troops) · noun, common feminine singular construct
Philistines
פְלִשְׁתִּים֙fe.lish.Tim
H6430
a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
day
הַיּ֣וֹםhai.Yom
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
fowls
לְע֥וֹףle.'of
H5775
a bird (as covered with feathers · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
air
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםha.sha.Ma.yim
H8064
the sky (as aloft · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
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…
the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: See study note on 1:3. Despite the Philistines’ apparent military advantage, David knew that Israel had the supreme advantage in the one true God.
Rashi on 1 Samuel 17:44
And to the cattle of the field. It is not customary for cattle to eat human flesh. Dovid said [to himself], 'This one's mind is already deranged; He is mine.' Dovid [seeing this] said, 'and I will offer the carcasses of the Philistine camp …and to the beasts of the earth.'
