1 Samuel 17:5

1Sa 17:5 And [he had] an helmet of brass upon his head, and he [was] armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat [was] five thousand shekels of brass.

Ver. 5. And he had an helmet of brass (or steel) upon his head.] Which yet could not save his head. No armour is of proof against the Almighty. If he set himself against a man, no other helps can relieve him. Brass and steel cannot fence one against fire and water. "Now God is a consuming fire," and his "breath a stream of brimstone." {Isa 30:33}

And he was armed with a coat of mail.] Lorica squamata, like fish scales, one lying over another, to ward off deadly darts, or other weapons of war, leviathan like.

Five thousand shekels of brass.] That is, One hundred and fifty-six pounds, and more, besides all the weight of his other arms; which yet he could well wield and make use of in fight.

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 17:5-7. He was armed with a coat of mail — Made of plates of brass laid over one another like the scales of a fish. Five thousand shekels of brass — The common shekel contained a fourth part of an ounce; and so five thousand shekels made one thousand two hundred and fifty ounces, or seventy-eight pounds; which weight was not unsuitable to a man of such vast strength as his height speaks him to have been. Greaves — Boots. The staff of his spear like a weaver’s beam — On which the weavers fasten their web. It was like this for thickness. And though the whole weight of Goliath’s armour may seem prodigious, yet it is not so much by far as one Athanatus did manage, of whom Pliny relates that he saw him come into the theatre with arms weighing twelve thousand ounces. A shield —

Probably for state; for he that was clad in brass little needed a shield.

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

17:5-7 Although Goliath was a fully armored warrior of terrifying size, he did not have God—a far mightier warrior—on his side (17:45-47).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, coat of plate.

That is, 156 pounds 4 ounces after half an ounce the shekel: and 600 shekels weight amounteth to 18 pounds 3 quarters.

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

helmet of brass--The Philistine helmet had the appearance of a row of feathers set in a tiara, or metal band, to which were attached scales of the same material, for the defense of the neck and the sides of the face [OSBORN].

a coat of mail--a kind of corslet, quilted with leather or plates of metal, reaching only to the chest, and supported by shoulder straps, leaving the shoulders and arms at full liberty.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 5. He was armed with a coat of mail] The words in the original, שרון קשקשים shiryon kaskassim, mean a coat of mail formed of plates of brass overlapping each other, like the scales of a fish, or tiles of a house. This is the true notion of the original terms.

With thin plates of brass or iron, overlapping each other, were the ancient coats of mail formed in different countries; many formed in this way may be now seen in the tower of London.

The weight - five thousand shekels] Following Bishop Cumberland's tables, and rating the shekel at two hundred and nineteen grains, and the Roman ounce at four hundred and thirty-eight grains, we find that Goliath's coat of mail, weighing five thousand shekels, was exactly one hundred and fifty-six pounds four ounces avoirdupois. A vast weight for a coat of mail, but not all out of proportion to the man.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(5) A coat of mail.—More accurately, breastplate of scales. This armour has been sometimes understood as “chain armour,” but it is more probable that the Philistine armour was made of metal scales, like those of a fish, whose defensive coat was, no doubt, imitated at a very early date by this warlike race, who dwelt on the sea-shore, and whose life and worship were so closely connected with the great sea. This coat of mail, or corselet, was flexible, and covered the back and sides of the wearer. The weight of the different pieces of the giant’s panoply largely exceeds the weight of mediæval suits of armour.

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

5. a coat of mail] “A corselet of scales,” made of overlapping plates of metal, and protecting the body almost down to the knees. Armour of this kind is represented in the Assyrian sculptures. See Layard’s Nineveh II. 335. Cp. Virg. Aen. XI. 487, “Turnus … thoraca indutus aenis Horrebat squamis.”

five thousand shekels] Estimated at about 157 pounds avoirdupois.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he had an helmet of brass upon his head,.... This was a piece of armour, which covered the head in the day of battle; these were usually made of the skins of beasts, of leather, and which were covered with plates of iron, or brass; and sometimes made of all iron, or of brass (g); as this seems to have been:

and he was armed with a coat of mail; which reached from the neck to the middle, and consisted of various plates of brass laid on one another, like the scales of fishes (h), so close together that no dart or arrow could pierce between:

and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass: which made one hundred and fifty six pounds and a quarter of zygostatic or avoirdupois weight; and therefore he must be a very strong man indeed to carry such a weight. So the armour of the ancient Romans were all of brass, as this man's; their helmets, shields, greaves, coats of mail, all of brass, as Livy says (i); and so in the age of the Grecian heroes (j).

(g) Vid. Lydium "de re militari": l. 3. c. 5. p. 63. (h) "----Rutilum thoraca indutus anis Horrebat squamis----" Virgil. Aeneid. l. 11. (i) Hist. l. 1. c. 22. (j) Pausan. Messenica, l. 3. p. 163. So Homer frequently describes the Grecians with a coat of mail of brass.

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

Coat of mail - Or “breastplate of scales.” A kind of metal shirt, protecting the back as well as the breast, and made of scales like those of a fish; as was the corselet of Rameses III, now in the British Museum. The terms, helmet, coat, and clothed (armed the King James Version) are the same as those used in Isa 59:17.

Five thousand shekels - Probably about 157 pounds avoirdupois (see Exo 38:12). It is very probable that Goliath’s brass coat may have been long preserved as a trophy, as we know his sword was, and so the weight of it ascertained.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Scales, like those of fishes. Septuagint insinuate, that it was armed with things resembling fish-hooks; Greek: alisidoton, hamata. --- Brass, which was used for the armour of the ancients. Plutarch (in Demetrio) speaks of a coat of mail weighing forty pounds: the usual weight was twenty pounds. (Lipsius) --- The strength of the giant must have borne proportion with his size. (Calmet)

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).

The common shekel contained only a fourth part of an ounce; and so 5000 shekels made 1250 ounces, which make exactly 78 pounds; which weight is not unsuitable to a man of such vast greatness and strength, as his height speaks him to be.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. A helmet of brass — A defensive armour for the head.

A coat of mail — Literally, a coat of scales. A defensive armour for the body, consisting of plates of brass overlapping each other like the scales on a fish, or shingles on a roof. The Hebrew word is rendered habergeon in 2Ch_26:14, and Neh_4:16.

Weight… five thousand shekels — Reckoning the shekel at half an ounce avoirdupois, the weight of the scale armour would be about one hundred and fifty pounds.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Coat of mail - Made of brass plates laid over one another, like the scales of a fish. The weight, &c. - The common shekel contained a fourth part of an ounce; and so five thousand shekels made one thousand two hundred and fifty ounces, or seventy- eight pounds: which weight is not unsuitable to a man of such vast strength as his height speaks him to be.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Scaled armor. Like fish scales, made of iron, spread over the coat (another version: the holes of the coat), a scale [covering] each hole.

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.