Глава 17

Victory of David over Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:1. The Philistines gathered their troops for war and gathered at Succoth, which is in Judea, and encamped between Succoth and Azek in Ephes-Dammim. It is possible to assume that, when attacking the Jews, the Philistines were counting on the supposed inability of the sick Saul (1 Samuel 16:14–21) to provide them with skillful resistance. But this time the Philistines were mistaken in their expectations. Succoth and Azek are cities southwest of Jerusalem. 1 Samuel 17:3. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on one side, and the Israelites on the mountain on the other side, and between them there was a valley. The troops were in such a position that the attacking side inevitably risked complete defeat. And since no one is his own enemy, both sides stood inactive, but in a tense wait-and-see position. It is unknown how long they would have stood like this if the Philistines had not come up with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bsolving the matter with a military duel of two heroes - from one and the other camp. The giant from the city of Gath, Goliath, became a hero on the Philistine side. 1 Samuel 17:4. And a single combatant named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the camp of the Philistines; He is six cubits and a span tall. Elbow is the length of the arm from the elbow joint to the end of the middle finger. A span is three palms wide. Palm - the width of four fingers. 1 Samuel 17:5. A copper helmet is on his head; and he was clothed in scale armor, and the weight of his armor was five thousand shekels of brass; A shekel as a measure of weight was equal to 3 spools, 34.40 shares (corresponds to approximately 15 g - Ed.). 1 Samuel 17:8. And he stood and shouted to the regiments of Israel, saying to them: Why did you go out to fight? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a person from yourself and let him come to me; “Am I not a Philistine, and you are the servants of Saul,” i.e. what comparison can there be between me, a powerful, free Philistine, and you, pathetic slaves of the sick maniac Saul? 1 Samuel 17:11. And Saul and all the Israelites heard these words of the Philistine, and they were very afraid and horrified. “They were very frightened and horrified,” not hoping to find an opponent equivalent to Goliath on their side. 1 Samuel 17:12. Now David was the son of an Ephrathite from Bethlehem Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. This man reached old age in the days of Saul and was the eldest among men. "Eight sons", see 1 Samuel 16:6–13. 1 Samuel 17:15. and David returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep in Bethlehem. The need for David's game temporarily ceased: the war absorbed Saul's attention and feelings and thereby protected him from acute outbursts of melancholy. 1 Samuel 17:18. and take these ten cheeses to the captain and check on the health of the brothers and find out about their needs. To the commander of a thousand - in the form of a welcome gift. 1 Samuel 17:23. And so, when he was talking with them, a single combatant named Goliath, a Philistine from Gath, stepped out from the ranks of the Philistines and spoke those words, and David heard them. “Those words”: see 1 Samuel 17:8–10 v. 1 Samuel 17:25. And the Israelites said: Do you see this man speaking? He comes out to revile Israel. If someone had killed him, the king would have given him great wealth, and would have given him his daughter in marriage, and would have made his father’s house free in Israel. “Free in Israel”, i.e. free from government duties. 1 Samuel 17:28. And Eliab, David's elder brother, heard what he was saying to the people, and Eliab was angry with David and said: Why did you come here and to whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your bad heart, you have come to see the battle. Obviously, Jesse's firstborn Eliab could not forgive his younger brother for the preference that was shown to this brother by the prophet of God Samuel (1 Samuel 16:1). 1 Samuel 17:33. And Saul said to David, “You cannot go up against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are still a youth, but he has been a warrior from his youth.” “For you are still a youth.” “David was then a youth of 15 or 16 years old, since he died 75 years old and reigned 40; why, when Saul was killed, he had 30 years. And before this it was said that Saul, after a two-year reign, lost divine grace and therefore spent the rest of the time being at enmity with David” (Blessed Theodoret, commentary on 1 Samuel Question 41). 1 Samuel 17:36. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear, and the same thing will happen to this uncircumcised Philistine as to them, because in this way the army of the living God is defied. [Shall I go and smite him in order to remove the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised one?] 1 Samuel 17:37. And David said, The Lord, which delivered me from the lion and the bear, will deliver me also from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and may the Lord be with you. 1 Samuel 17:42. And the Philistine looked and, seeing David, looked at him with contempt, for he was young, fair-haired and handsome in face. “Young, blond and handsome in face,” i.e. without the outward signs of a battle-hardened, stern warrior. 1 Samuel 17:52. And the men of Israel and Judah rose up and shouted, and drove the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the Philistines fell slain along the road of Shaarim to Gath and to Ekron. Ekron is a Philistine city, west of Gibeon. 1 Samuel 17:54. And David took the head of the Philistine and carried it to Jerusalem, and put his weapons in his tent. To the question of “how David, not yet living in Jerusalem, brought the head of a foreigner into it,” Blessed. Theodoret replies: “It is true that Jerusalem was still inhabited by the Jebusites (2 Sam. 5:6-8), but David, wanting to frighten the undefeated foreigners of his fatherland, pointed out to them the head of the great warrior he had slain,” who boldly rebelled against the chosen people of God and placed all hope in his own strength (Blessed Theodorit, commentary on 1 Sam. Question 42). 1 Samuel 17:55. When Saul saw David coming out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army: Abner, whose son is this young man? Abner said: May your soul live, O king; I don't know. “Whose son is this young man?” Occupying a modest place among the crowd of other court musicians, David may have been personally unknown to Saul. Listening to David's music, Saul did not pay any attention to the player; and even if he saw him, the painful seizures during which the musician was invited could prevent him from remembering the face of the player. And only now, when the humble harp player had become the hero of the day, the glory of Israel, an instrument of Divine help to the oppressed, Saul paid due attention to David and, not recognizing him by sight, asked: “Whose son is this young man?” 1 Samuel 17:57. When David was returning after defeating the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him to Saul, and the Philistine’s head was in his hand. What is reported in 1 Samuel 17:54 obviously refers to the time after this presentation of the conqueror David to Saul. 1 Samuel 17:58. And Saul asked him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, The son of thy servant Jesse is of Bethlehem. You might be interested in: