1 Samuel 17:23

1Sa 17:23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard [them].

Ver. 23. The Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name.] Which signifieth Captivity; a terrible name, {a} such as was that of Bellarmine ( Bellum, arma, minae), the Pope’s late great champion.

“ Cur Bellarminum te, Bellarmine, vocamus?

Nempe Malerminus rectius esse potes. ”{ b}

{a} Apud Plautum militis nomen est Therapontigonoplata-gidorias.

{b} Owen, Epigram.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 17:23-24. Behold there came up the champion — Although the armies stood ready to engage, yet the vanity of Goliath made him once more desirous that the matter might be determined by single combat, and to challenge the whole host of Israel to produce a man to fight with him. And all the men of Israel fled from him — That is, none of the Israelites dared to come to an equal distance from their camp as Goliath did from that of the Philistines; and probably some that had advanced farther than the rest, retired back when they saw him approaching. Nay, it seems wherever he advanced they fled from him. But surely one Philistine could never have thus dismayed and put ten thousand Israelites to flight, unless their Rock, being forsaken by them, had justly sold them, and shut them up, Deu 32:30.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, valley.

As are above rehearsed, verses 8 and 9.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(23) The Philistine of Gath.—There is a difficulty connected with the Philistine giant’s name, for we read in 2Sa_21:19 how that Goliath of Gath, the giant, “the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam,” was slain by Elhanan, the son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, after David had been made king. It is possible that Goliath was a general designation of these monstrous descendants of the ancient Anakim in Gath; but Ewald suggests that the name Goliath really only belongs to the giant slain by Elhanan, some years after the exploit of the youthful son of Jesse, and that it was transferred in error to the “champion” whom David slew (who is, moreover, generally called simply “the Philistine”) when his proper name had been lost.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And as he talked with them,.... About their health, and the errand he came upon, and the message of his father to them, and how it was with him, who sent them his best wishes:

behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name: of whom see Sa1 17:4; he came out of the valley, and drew near to the mountain the Israelites were descending:

out of the armies of the Philistines: from the plains where they were encamped, as Kimchi, though they seem to have been encamped on a mountain as the Israelites were; or from the ranks of the Philistines; according to the marginal reading, he came out of one of the battalions that were set in array:

and spake according to the same words; which he had spoken time after time forty days successively, namely, what is expressed Sa1 17:8,

and David heard them; and observed them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

CHAPTER XVII.

Up, or proceeding into the vale. (Menochius) --- Camp. Hebrew, "ranks, or armies."

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Vers. 23, 24. The champion, the Philistine of Oath, Goliath by name. The Hebrew is, "The champion (see on ver. 4), Goliath the Philistine his name, of Gath," probably the very words of the original record. Out of the armies, or ranks. This is a very probable correction of the Kri, made by restoring a letter which has apparently dropped out. The word in the written text might mean "the open space between the two armies;" but it occurs nowhere else, and this space was chiefly occupied by the ravine. The men of Israel fled from him. Ie. they drew back in haste from the edge of the ravine, which Goliath could no more have crossed, encased in armour weighing two and a half hundred-weight, than a knight could have done in the middle ages. In ver. 40 we read that it was out of this ravine that David selected his pebbles, and, being encumbered with no armour, it was easy for him to climb up the other side and attack his heavily armed opponent.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

From Philistines camp. [The text] is written מִמַּעֲרוֹת; our Rabbis expounded [from the word מַעֲרוֹת] that one hundred men had relations with his [Golyas'] mother Orpoh, after she left Rus and her mother-in-law Naomi.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.