Atlas Biblica

    1 Samuel · 58 verses

    1 Samuel 17

    Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

    The chapter

    What happens here

    Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

    David says swords are beside the point, then borrows the giant’s for the decapitation.

    The giant takes the fieldvv. 1–16

    The Philistines arrange themselves at Socoh, opposite Saul and Israel in the Valley of Elah, with a valley between the armies and Goliath striding out from Gath. He arrives in bronze from head to toe, with a spear shaft like a weaver’s beam and a shield bearer in front of him—an entire military display condensed into one very large man. For forty days he makes the same proposal morning and evening: send someone down, and let the loser become the winner’s servant. Saul and Israel are dismayed and greatly afraid.

    David arrives with provisions and an opinionvv. 17–40

    David is sent from Bethlehem with grain, bread, and cheese for his brothers and their commander. He reaches the camp just as the army is forming up, hears Goliath’s familiar challenge, and asks what will happen to the man who removes this disgrace. Eliab mistakes the question for vanity, but David simply turns elsewhere and asks again. Soon Saul hears of him, and David offers to fight. Saul points out that he is a boy facing a lifelong warrior; David replies with lions, bears, and a confidence that does not fit comfortably inside Saul’s armor. The armor comes off, and David goes down with a staff, a sling, and five smooth stones, though the account only spends one.

    The sword enters the story after allvv. 41–58

    Goliath sees a ruddy boy, objects to the sticks, and promises an unusually elaborate fate involving birds and beasts. David answers that Goliath has sword, spear, and javelin, while David comes in the name of the LORD of Hosts. He declares that the LORD saves not by sword or spear—and then runs straight at the champion. One stone drops Goliath. David has no sword in his hand when he kills him, but promptly takes Goliath’s sword, cuts off his head, and sends the Philistines running. Israel pursues them to Gath and Ekron, then plunders the camp. David brings the head to Jerusalem and the weapons to his tent. Saul, who has watched the whole encounter, asks Abner whose son David is; Abner does not know, and David is brought in still holding the head. The answer is Jesse of Bethlehem, which the narrative had already supplied.

    The text

    Read it

    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. 1 Sam 17:1Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.

    2. 1 Sam 17:2Saul and the men of Israel assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, arraying themselves for battle against the Philistines.

    3. 1 Sam 17:3The Philistines stood on one hill and the Israelites stood on another, with the valley between them.

    4. 1 Sam 17:4Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,

    5. 1 Sam 17:5and he had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a bronze coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels,

    6. 1 Sam 17:6and he had armor of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.

    7. 1 Sam 17:7The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. In addition, his shield bearer went before him.

    8. 1 Sam 17:8And Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and array yourselves for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me.

    9. 1 Sam 17:9If he is able to fight me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and work for us.”

    10. 1 Sam 17:10Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!”

    11. 1 Sam 17:11On hearing the words of the Philistine, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid.

    12. 1 Sam 17:12Now David was the son of a man named Jesse, an Ephrathite from Bethlehem of Judah who had eight sons. And in the days of Saul, Jesse was old and well along in years.

    13. 1 Sam 17:13The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle: The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.

    14. 1 Sam 17:14And David was the youngest. The three oldest had followed Saul,

    15. 1 Sam 17:15but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep in Bethlehem.

    16. 1 Sam 17:16For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening to take his stand.

    17. 1 Sam 17:17One day Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp.

    18. 1 Sam 17:18Take also these ten portions of cheese to the commander of their unit. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring back an assurance from them.

    19. 1 Sam 17:19They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”

    20. 1 Sam 17:20So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp as the army was marching out to its position and shouting the battle cry.

    21. 1 Sam 17:21And Israel and the Philistines arrayed in formation against each other.

    22. 1 Sam 17:22Then David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing.

    23. 1 Sam 17:23And as he was speaking with them, suddenly the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, came forward from the ranks of the Philistines and shouted his usual words, which David also heard.

    24. 1 Sam 17:24When all the men of Israel saw Goliath, they fled from him in great fear.

    25. 1 Sam 17:25Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he will give him his daughter in marriage and exempt his father’s house from taxation in Israel.”

    26. 1 Sam 17:26David asked the men who were standing with him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

    27. 1 Sam 17:27The people told him about the offer, saying, “That is what will be done for the man who kills him.”

    28. 1 Sam 17:28Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and wickedness of heart—you have come down to see the battle!”

    29. 1 Sam 17:29“What have I done now?” said David. “Was it not just a question?”

    30. 1 Sam 17:30Then he turned from him toward another and asked about the offer, and those people answered him just as the first ones had answered.

    31. 1 Sam 17:31Now David’s words were overheard and reported to Saul, who sent for him.

    32. 1 Sam 17:32And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him!”

    33. 1 Sam 17:33But Saul replied, “You cannot go out against this Philistine to fight him. You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

    34. 1 Sam 17:34David replied, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,

    35. 1 Sam 17:35I went after it, struck it down, and delivered the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it.

    36. 1 Sam 17:36Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”

    37. 1 Sam 17:37David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.”

    38. 1 Sam 17:38Then Saul clothed David in his own tunic, put a bronze helmet on his head, and dressed him in armor.

    39. 1 Sam 17:39David strapped his sword over the tunic and tried to walk, but he was not accustomed to them. “I cannot walk in these,” David said to Saul. “I am not accustomed to them.” So David took them off.

    40. 1 Sam 17:40And David took his staff in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. And with his sling in hand, he approached the Philistine.

    41. 1 Sam 17:41Now the Philistine came closer and closer to David, with his shield-bearer before him.

    42. 1 Sam 17:42When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.

    43. 1 Sam 17:43“Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

    44. 1 Sam 17:44“Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

    45. 1 Sam 17:45But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

    46. 1 Sam 17:46This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

    47. 1 Sam 17:47And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”

    48. 1 Sam 17:48As the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.

    49. 1 Sam 17:49Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

    50. 1 Sam 17:50Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

    51. 1 Sam 17:51David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword and pulled it from its sheath and killed him, and he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.

    52. 1 Sam 17:52Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. And the bodies of the Philistines were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.

    53. 1 Sam 17:53When the Israelites returned from their pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps.

    54. 1 Sam 17:54David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.

    55. 1 Sam 17:55As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,” Abner replied, “I do not know.”

    56. 1 Sam 17:56“Find out whose son this young man is!” said the king.

    57. 1 Sam 17:57So when David returned from killing the Philistine, still holding his head in his hand, Abner took him and brought him before Saul.

    58. 1 Sam 17:58“Whose son are you, young man?” asked Saul. “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David replied.

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 325 passages were voted onto 50 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 452 Corinthians 10:4The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
    • 452 Chronicles 32:8With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
    • 452 Corinthians 3:5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
    • 45Philippians 4:13I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
    • 47Psalms 44:6–7For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me.
    • 45Psalms 18:2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
    • 372 Timothy 4:17–18But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.
    • 45Psalms 124:8–1Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
    • 452 Samuel 22:33–35God is my strong fortress, and He makes my way clear.
    • 46Isaiah 52:10The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
    • 47Zechariah 4:6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
    • 37Psalms 138:7–8If I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve me from the anger of my foes; You extend Your hand, and Your right hand saves me.
    • 451 Samuel 17:36Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
    • 45Isaiah 37:23Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!
    • 46Joshua 4:24He did this so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God.”
    • 47Hosea 1:7Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.”

    Onward

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    Next chapter1 Samuel 1830 verses.Named herePhilistiaEverything the graph connects to this name.Book1 SamuelAll 31 chapters.Every bookThe Bible66 books, 1,189 chapters.