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1 Samuel 17:4
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2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines.
3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named aGoliath, from bGath, whose height was six cubits and a span.  
5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was1 armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.  
6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders.
7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him.
8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the aservants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.  
9 If he is able to fight with 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 aserve us.”  
10 And the Philistine said, a“I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.”  
11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
12 Now David was athe son of that bEphrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had ceight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul.  
13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The anames of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.  
14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul.
15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul ato feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.  
16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.
17 Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp.
18 And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and asee how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.”  
19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle.
21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army.
22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.
23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke aaccording to the same words. So David heard them.  
24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.
25 So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, awill give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”  
26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away athe reproach from Israel? For who is this buncircumcised Philistine, that he should cdefy the armies of dthe living God?”  
27 And the people answered him in this manner, saying, a“So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”  
28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s aanger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”  
29 And David said, “What have I done now? aIs there not a cause?”  
30 Then he turned from him toward another and asaid the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.  
31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him.
32 Then David said to Saul, a“Let no man’s heart fail because of him; byour servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”  
33 And Saul said to David, a“You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”  
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a alion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,  
35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.
36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”
37 Moreover David said, a“The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, b“Go, and the Lord be with you!”  
38 So Saul clothed David with his1 armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail.  
39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he adisdained him; for he was only a youth, bruddy and good-looking.  
43 So the Philistine asaid to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.  
44 And the Philistine asaid to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”  
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. aBut I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have bdefied.  
46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give athe carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, bthat all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.  
47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord adoes not save with sword and spear; for bthe battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”  
48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and aran toward the army to meet the Philistine.  
49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a asling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.  
51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his asword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, bthey fled.  
52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of1 the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to aShaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron.  
53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents.
54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to aAbner, the commander of the army, “Abner, bwhose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.”  
56 So the king said, “Inquire whose son this young man is.”
Book Notes:
Barnes' Book Notes



Introduction to Samuel

The double name of these Books, the first and second book of samuel , as they are called in the printed Hebrew Bible, and the first and second book of kings, as they are called in the Vulgate, well marks the two principal features which characterize them. They contain the record of the life and ministry of samuel, the great prophet and judge of Israel, and they also contain the record of the rise of the kingdom of Israel. If again the Books of Samuel are taken as forming one history with the Books of Kings (the present line of division between II Samuel and I Kings being an arbitrary one), then the division into four Books of Kings is a natural one. But if these books are looked upon rather as an isolated history, then the name of Samuel is properly affixed to them, not only because he stands out as the great figure of that age, but because his administration of the affairs of Israel was the connecting link, the transitional passage, from the rule of the judges to the reign of the kings, distinct from each, but binding the two together.

The important place to be filled by Samuel in the ensuing history is seen at once in the opening chapters of the book which bears his name. Further, the fact that Samuel' s birth of her that had been barren is represented in Hannah' s song as typical of the triumphs of the Church and of the Kingdom of Christ, is another indication of the very distinguished place assigned to Samuel in the economy of the Old Testament, borne out by the mention of him in such passages as Psalms 99:6; Jeremiah 15:1; Acts 3:24. Though however, Samuel' s personal greatness is thus apparent, it is no less clearly marked that his place is one not of absolute but of relative importance. When we view the history as a whole, the eye does not rest upon Samuel, and stop there, but is led on to the throne and person of David as typical of the Kingdom and Person of Christ. An incidental mark of this subordination may be seen in the fact that the Books of Samuel are really a continuation of the Book of Ruth; a Book which derived its significance from its containing a history of David' s ancestors and genealogy. Clearly, therefore, in the mind of the sacred historian, the personal history of Samuel was only a link to connect DAVID with the Patriarchs, just as the subsequent history connects David himself with our Lord JESUS CHRIST.

But a still more remarkable and conclusive proof of the same subordination may be found in the circumstance, that it is only the closing years of Saul' s reign of which any account whatever is given in this Book. For after having related a few facts connected with the beginning of Saul' s reign, the historian passes over some 20 or 30 years Acts 13:21 to relate an occurrence in the last quarter of Saul' s reign, God' s rejection of Saul from the kingdom, and His choice of "a man after His own heart" to be king in Saul' s room I Samuel 13:13-14.

The contents of the Books of Samuel consist mainly of three portions,

(1) the history of Samuel' s life and judgeship from 1 Sam. 1-12: inclusive;

(2) the history of Saul' s reign from 1 Sam. 13:1-15:35;

(3) the history of David from I Samuel 16:1 to the end of the second Book; this latter portion not being completed until I Kings 2:11.

The sources from which the narrative is derived, were probably:

(1) the Book of Jasher II Samuel 1:18;

(2) David' s Psalms 2 Sam. 22; 23;

(3) the Chronicles of king David I Chronicles 27:24;

(4) the Book of Samuel the Seer;

(5) the Book of Nathan the Prophet;

(6) the Book of Gad the Seer I Chronicles 29:29; II Chronicles 9:29;

(7) the national collection of genealogies.

Those sections which give full details of the sayings and doings of Samuel, are conjectured to be extracted from "the Book of Samuel the seer" (e. g. i - xii). Those sections which contain narratives in which Nathan bears a part 2 Sam. 7; 11; 12; I Kings 1; 2 may be referred to the "Book of Nathan the seer." Such passages as 2 Sam. 21; II Samuel 22:5; 24; etc., are pretty certainly from the Book of Gad the Seer. We seem to see extracts from the Chronicles of the kingdom in such passages as I Samuel 13:1; I Samuel 11:1-11, I Samuel 11:15; I Samuel 14:47-52; II Samuel 2:8-11; II Samuel 3:1-5; II Samuel 5:4-16; 8; II Samuel 20:23-26; II Samuel 21:15-22; 23:8-39; while the song of Hannah I Samuel 2:1-10, the elegy on the death of Abner II Samuel 3:33-34, and the two Psalms 2 Sam. 22; II Samuel 23:1-7, may as well as the elegy on Saul and Jonathan, be taken from the Book of Jasher.

It is difficult to decide when the final arrangement of the Books of Samuel, in their present shape, was made. The series of historical books from Judges to the end of II Kings is formed on one plan, so that each book is a part of a connected whole. This would point to the time of Jeremiah the prophet, as that when the whole historical series from judges to kings inclusive was woven into one work. In his use of the work of contemporary writers, the final compiler left out large portions of the materials before him.

The chief quotations and resemblances from the Books of Samuel in the New Testament are found in the writings of Luke and Paul. The title THE CHRIST ("the anointed" ), given to the Lord Jesus Matthew 1:16; Matthew 2:4; Matthew 16:16; Luke 2:26; John 1:20, John 1:41; John 20:31; Acts 2:30, is first found in I Samuel 2:10; and the other designation of the Saviour as the SON OF DAVID Matthew 9:27; Matthew 15:22; Matthew 21:9, Matthew 21:15; Matthew 22:42, is derived from II Samuel 7:12-16. In these books are passages which occur in duplicate elsewhere, chiefly in the Books of Chronicles and Psalms; and a careful comparison of these duplicate passages throws great light upon the manner in which the sacred historians used existing materials, incorporating them word for word, or slightly altering them for the sake of explanation, as seemed most expedient to them. It illustrates also the errors and fluctuations of scribes in transcribing manuscripts, especially in regard to proper names.

For these duplicate passages, and also on the chief quotations from other books in the Old Testament, consult the marginal references. The style of the Books of Samuel is clear, simple, and forcible, and the Hebrew remarkably pure and free from Chaldaisms. The chief difficulties are the geographical statements of 1 Sam. 9; 10; the very difficult poem in II Samuel 23:1-7; and the account of the mighty men which follows it, 2 Sam. 23:8-39. There are also some manifest corruptions of the text; but contradictions or disagreements of any kind in the statements of the Books of Samuel, as compared with each other, or with the Books of Chronicles, do not exist.

The time included in the history of these books cannot be exactly defined, from the lack of any systematic chronology in them. But it may be estimated roughly at about 130 years, made up of the following subdivisions, the precise length of the first of which is a matter of conjecture:

Years
The life of Samuel up to Saul's election
to be king (I Samuel 8:1,5)		 50
Saul's reign (Acts 13:21) 40
David's reign (II Samuel 5:4) 40
___________
Total 130

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