1 Samuel 17:8

And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
stood	וַֽיַּעֲמֹ֗ד vai.ya.'a.Mod	H5975	to stand · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
cried	וַיִּקְרָא֙ vai.yik.Ra'	H7121	to call out to (i.e. properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
armies	מַעַרְכֹ֣ת ma.'ar.Khot	H4634	an arrangement · noun, common feminine plural construct
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
said	וַיֹּ֣אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
out	תֵצְא֖וּ te.tze.'U	H3318	to go (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural
battle	מִלְחָמָ֑ה mil.cha.Mah	H4421	a battle (i.e. the engagement) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
array	לַעֲרֹ֣ךְ la.'a.Rokh	H6186	to set in a row · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
Philistine	הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֗י ha.pe.lish.Ti	H6430	a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
servants	עֲבָדִ֣ים 'a.va.Dim	H5650	a servant · noun, common masculine plural absolute
Saul	לְשָׁא֔וּל le.sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
choose	בְּרוּ be.ru-	H1262	to select · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
man	אִ֖ישׁ 'ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
down	וְיֵרֵ֥ד ve.ye.Red	H3381	to descend (literally · conjunction + verb, qal, 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 8:17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
1 Samuel 17:26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproa…
2 Samuel 11:11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in th…
1 Chronicles 21:3 And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s serv…

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…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:8

I defy the armies of Israel . . .; give me a man, that we may fight together--In cases of single combat, a warrior used to go out in front of his party, and advancing towards the opposite ranks, challenge someone to fight with him. If his formidable appearance, or great reputation for physical strength and heroism, deterred any from accepting the challenge, he used to parade himself within hearing of the enemy's lines, specify in a loud, boastful, bravado style, defying them, and pouring out torrents of abuse and insolence to provoke their resentment.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:8

I a Philistine - The Targum adds much to this speech. This is the substance: "I am Goliath the Philistine of Gath, who killed the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas the priests; and led into captivity the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and placed it in the temple of Dagon my god; and it remained in the cities of the Philistines seven months. Also, in all our battles I have gone at the head of the army, and we conquered and cut down men, and laid them as low as the dust of the earth; and to this day the Philistines have not granted me the honor of being chief of a thousand men. And ye, men of Israel, what noble exploit has Saul, the son of Kish, of Gibeah, done, that ye should have made hi…

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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 · Defied Israel by their champion — Defied Israel by their champion

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 17:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:1-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:8

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:8

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 17:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 17:1-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:8

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 17:8

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Samuel 17:8

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 17:1-54

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 17:5-7

Rashi on 1 Samuel 17:8