Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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.
8. am not I a Philistine ] Rather, the Philistine; the representative of the nation. The Targum puts a long speech into Goliath’s month. “l am Goliath the Philistine of Gath, who slew the two sons of Eli the priest, Hophni and Phinehas, and carried away captive the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Dagon my error [i.e. idol ], and it was there in the cities of the Philistines seven months. Moreover in all the wan of the Philistines I go forth at the head of the army, and we have been victorious in war, and have cast down the slain as the dust of the earth, and hitherto the Philistines have not honoured me, to make me captain of a thousand over them. But as for you children of Israel, what valiant deed has Saul the son of Kish of Gibeah wrought for you, that ye have made him king over you? If he be a valiant man, let him come down and do battle with me; but if he be a coward, choose you, &c.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 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 honour 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 him king over you? If he be a hero, let him come down himself and fight with me; but if he be a weak or cowardly man, then choose you out a man that he may come down to me.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That the battle may be decided by us two alone. Such offers were frequent in those times. And possibly he thought the valiant Jonathan, who had assaulted a whole army, would never have refused this challenge. But God so ordered the matter, that none should accept it, because he would reserve this honour for David, as a step to his kingdom.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8-11. I defy the armies of Israel .. .; give me a man, that we may fight togetherIn cases ofsingle combat, a warrior used to go out in front of his party, andadvancing towards the opposite ranks, challenge someone to fight withhim. If his formidable appearance, or great reputation for physicalstrength and heroism, deterred any from accepting the challenge, heused to parade himself within hearing of the enemy’s lines, specifyin a loud, boastful, bravado style, defying them, and pouring outtorrents of abuse and insolence to provoke their resentment.
1Sa17:12-58. DAVIDACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE,AND SLAYS HIM.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel,…. He stood in the valley between the two armies, and cried with a loud voice that he might be heard; and as he was of such a monstrous stature, no doubt his voice was very strong and sonorous; and as the battalions of Israel designed by armies were posted on the mountain or hill, his voice would ascend, and be the more easily heard:
and said unto them, why are ye come out to set your battle in array? either as wondering at their boldness, to set themselves in battle array against the Philistines; or rather suggesting that it was needless, since the dispute between them might be issued by a single combat:
am not I a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? a common Philistine, according to Jarchi; not a captain of a hundred, or of a thousand; and yet would fight anyone of them, their general officers, or be they who they would; or rather, as Abarbinel, he was a prince among the Philistines, and king of Gath; and though he was, and it was usual with great persons to engage with their equals, yet he did not insist on that; but would engage with any man, though of an inferior rank, even with any of Saul’s servants; and by calling the Israelites the servants of Saul, he might have some respect to Saul’s arbitrary government over them; and since they must be servants and slaves, it was as well to be servants to the Philistines as to him:
choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me; according to Jarchi and the Targumist, the challenge first respects Saul their king; that if he was a man of fortitude and courage, let him come and engage with him; if not, choose another, and send him down into the valley to fight with him. These same writers represent him as blustering and bragging that he killed the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, took the ark captive, and carried it into the temple of Dagon; that he had been used to go out with the armies of the Philistines, and had obtained victories, and slain many, and yet had never been made captain of a thousand among them; all which is improbable, and some of it notoriously false; for in every battle after the taking of the ark the Philistines had been beaten.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(8) Am not I a Philistine?The literal rendering here gives a far more forcible reading: Am not I the Philistine? the famous warrior whom you know too well? The Targum of Jonathan adds here the proud boast of the giant warrior that it was he who had slain Hophni and Phinehas (the sons of Eli, the high priest), and had carried the Ark to the temple of Dagon. This Targum, although comparatively a late compilation, doubtless embodied many ancient national traditions.
And ye servants to Saul.Thus taunting the soldiers of Israel with the memory of the former glory of their king. Will none of the famous servants of the warrior king dare to meet me?
Must we not deem it probable that the fact of the separation of the prophet from the king had been made public in Philistia, and that the present daring challenge was owing to their knowledge that the Spirit of the Lordwhom we know these enemies of the Hebrews dreaded with so awful a dreadhad departed from Saul and his armies?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Am not I a Philistine In the Hebrew, Philistine is made emphatic by the article, but the word servants is without it. Thus: Am not I THE Philistine, etc. Am not I the great warrior of the Philistine army? Why then trouble the army with battle? I am empowered to decide alone the fortunes of the day.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 17:8. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel Antiquity furnishes us with many examples of single combats like this proposed by Goliath. Thus Paris and Menelaus in Homer, and the Horatii and Curiatii in Livy, are said to fight at the head of the army, upon condition that the party of the vanquished should receive laws from the conqueror. And would to God that on many occasions princes would singly determine those quarrels, which, without interesting the public good, give room for such horrible effusions of innocent blood! But it does not seem very likely to have been with a view to spare human blood, that Goliath proposed this duel with such an Israelite as should be chosen. It was entirely bravado and insolence in the Philistine: who, because he was monstrous, thought himself invincible. See Buddaeus Jurisprud. Hist. Specim. sect. 21.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
(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. (9) If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. (10) And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. (11) When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
See how guilt breeds fear: else wherefore did Saul and all Israel tremble? There was a time, when at the threats of the Ammonites, Saul hastened to the deliverance of the people, though only then coming from the herd of the field, and obtained a glorious victory. And now, though a king at the head of an army, he trembles. What made the difference? It is easily answered. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, in the former instance, and inspired him with courage. But now, the Spirit of the Lord is departed from him, and all his confidence is fled. Oh! how sweet is it, Reader, to be under his blessed influence, whose strength is made perfect in the weakness of his people. What cannot a soul accomplish, when God leads that soul on? See 1Sa 11:6 , compared with 1Sa 16:14 ; Zec 4:6-7 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 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.
Ver. 8. Am not I a Philistine? ] Palesthinas ille; that famous Philistine, on whom all my nation leaneth and layeth their weight; who also have done for them so many exploits?
And ye servants to Saul?
Choose you a man for you.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
man. Hebrew. ‘ish. App-14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
servants to Saul: 1Sa 17:26, 1Sa 8:17, 2Sa 11:11, 1Ch 21:3
Reciprocal: 1Sa 4:2 – put Psa 87:4 – this man Psa 119:96 – I have seen Isa 36:13 – cried
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 17:8-11. Let him come down to me That the battle may be decided by us two alone. They were greatly afraid This may seem strange, considering the glorious promises of God, and their late experience of divine assistance. And where was Jonathan, who, in the last war, had so bravely engaged a whole army of the Philistines? Doubtless he did not feel himself so stirred up of God as he did at that time. As the best, so the bravest of men, are no more than what God makes them. Jonathan must sit still now, because this honour is reserved for David.