a shinpiece of armor (as prominent) · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct
brass
נְחֹ֖שֶׁתne.Cho.shet
H5178
copper · noun, common feminine singular absolute
legs
רַגְלָ֑יוrag.Lav
H7272
a foot (as used in walking) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
target
וְכִיד֥וֹןve.khi.Don
H3591
properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
brass
נְחֹ֖שֶׁתne.Cho.shet
H5178
copper · noun, common feminine singular absolute
shoulders
כְּתֵפָֽיוke.te.Fav
H3802
the shoulder (proper · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine 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
1 Samuel 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of th…
1 Kings 10:16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.
2 Chronicles 9:15 And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:1-11
It was not long ago that the Philistines were soundly beaten, and put to the worse, before Israel, and they would have been totally routed if Saul's rashness had not prevented; but here we have them making head again. Observe,
I. How they defied Israel with their armies, Sa1 17:1. They made a descent upon the Israelites' country, and possessed themselves, as it should seem, of some part of it, for they encamped in a place which belonged to Judah. Israel's ground would never have been footing for Philistine-armies if Israel had been faithful to their God. The Philistines (it is probable) had heard that Samuel had fallen out with Saul and forsaken him, and no longer assisted and advised him, a…
greaves of brass--boots, terminating at the ankle, made in one plate of metal, but round to the shape of the leg, and often lined with felt or sponge. They were useful in guarding the legs, not only against the spikes of the enemy, but in making way among thorns and briers.
a target of brass--a circular frame, carried at the back, suspended by a long belt which crossed the breast from the shoulders to the loins.
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:6
Greaves of brass upon his legs - This species of armor may be seen on many ancient monuments. It was a plate of brass (though perhaps sometimes formed of laminae or plates, like the mail) which covered the shin or fore part of the leg, from the knee down to the instep, and was buckled with straps behind the leg. From ancient monuments we find that it was commonly worn only on one leg. Vegetius, de Re Militari, says, Pedites Scutati etiam ferreas ocreas in dextris cruribus copebantur accipere. "The foot soldiers, called Scutati, from their particular species of shield, were obliged to use iron greaves on their right legs." One of these may be seen in the monument of the gladiator Buto, in Mon…
And he had bronze greaves on his legs, etc. Helmet, mail, shield, and greaves, are different types of arguments or reasoning methods, by which the devil rebelling against the Lord, or defending the foolishness of his own head, namely, all the wicked, or his miserable body, attempts to defend. For he covers the head of sin, when, even condemned, he does not fear to say and be believed to be God. He also covers the body when the heart of the wicked inclines to the evil word, to excuse excuses in sins. He covers, when he hedges all sides of the human mind against the darts of the truth. All these types of defenses are declared to be made of bronze, a metal more resonant than others; because whether by wicked deeds, or perverse doctrine, he is accustomed to defending not by the recognized reason of invincible truth, but by the fabulous sweetness of secular eloquence. And it is well said that the weight of his mail is five thousand shekels of bronze; because through the sweetness of deceptive speech, he does not protect all the senses of his soldiers from the enemy's incursion as he promises; but on the contrary, he closes all their senses, the five most notable, from receiving the word of truth, by which they would be saved. But he arms his right hand with a spear, when he even attempts to disturb or attack the faith of the Church through some men of sharper intellect. For with helmet, mail, or shield, and other such things, we protect ourselves from wounds: but with a spear or sword we are accustomed to strike the adversary. Hence, it is not inappropriate that those weapons which are defenses for the fighters, when carried by the Philistine, signify those persons or speeches by which the wicked cover their crimes; but those by which the adversary is accustomed to be wounded, signify those speeches or men, by which even the virtue of the good is wounded and disturbed. Concerning which it is rightly added:
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…
Arms, Armor — The subject naturally divides itself into— I. Offensive weapons: Arms. II. Defensive weapons: Armor. I. Offensive weapons.—
Brass — Which is an alloy of copper and zinc, was not known till the thirteenth century. What is designated by this word in Scripture is properly copper (Deut. 8:9). It was used for fetters (Judg. 16:21; 2…
Buckler — (1.) A portable shield (2 Sam. 22:31; 1 Chr. 5:18). (2.) A shield surrounding the person; the targe or round form; used once figuratively (Ps. 91:4). (3.) A large shield protecting the whole body…
Copper — Derived from the Greek kupros (the island of Cyprus), called “Cyprian brass,” occurs only in the Authorized Version in Ezra 8:27. Elsewhere the Hebrew word (nehosheth) is improperly rendered “brass,”…
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…
Greaves — Only in 1 Sam. 17:6, a piece of defensive armour (q.v.) reaching from the foot to the knee; from French greve, “the shin.” They were the Roman cothurni.
Metals — The Hebrews, in common with other ancient nations, were acquainted with nearly all the metals known to modern metallurgy, whether as the products of their own soil or the results of intercourse with…
And he had greaves of brass upon his legs,.... Which were a sort of boots, or leg harnesses, which covered the thighs and legs down to the heels; such as Iolaus (k) and the Grecians usually wore, as described by Homer; which are supposed to be double the weight of the helmet, reckoned at fifteen pounds, so that these must weigh thirty pounds of avoirdupois weight:
and a target of brass between his shoulders; the Targum is,"a spear or shield of brass, which came out of the helmet, and a weight of brass upon his shoulders.''Jarchi says the same, and that it was in the form of a spear to defend the neck from the sword; it seems to be a corslet of brass, worn between the helmet and the coat of…
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…
Although Goliath was a fully armored warrior of terrifying size, he did not have God—a far mightier warrior—on his side (17:45-47).
Rashi on 1 Samuel 17:6
Copper shields. A sort of iron handle, extending from the helmet, opposite the nose, called nasal in O.F., and it reached his feet.
A copper guard. Targum Yonoson renders, וּמְסַחֲפָא דִּנְחָשָׁא נָפֵיק מִן קוֹלְסָא וּמְטַל בֵּין כַּתְפוֹהִי, meaning, 'a sort of copper javelin, protruding from the helmet, and extending between his shoulders,' to protect his neck from [injury by] the sword.4Others translate ‘a copper javelin slung between his shoulders’ because he held other weapons in his hands.
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…
Target — (1 Sam. 17:6, A.V., after the LXX. and Vulg.), a kind of small shield. The margin has “gorget,” a piece of armour for the throat. The Revised Version more correctly renders the Hebrew word (kidon) by…
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 · Made of iron, steel, or brass — Made of iron, steel, or brass
Brass · .Armor — .Armor
Brass, Or Copper · Made into: Greaves for the legs — Made into: Greaves for the legs
Greaves · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Javelin · Used by Goliath (R. V.) — Used by Goliath (R. V.)
Philistines · Men of great strength and stature amongst — Men of great strength and stature amongst
Target · .Of brass (bronze) — .Of brass (bronze)
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).
