Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 17:43

"And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods." — 1 Samuel 17:43 (ASV)

Am I a dog? —The Philistine warrior—as the shepherd boy, all unarmed, drew near—apparently rose, for he was seated, as was often the custom with these heavily-clad warriors of antiquity when not actually engaged in combat, and coming towards David, taunted him and his cause with the most contemptuous expressions. “Am I a dog,” he asked—and dogs are animals held in many parts of the East in great contempt—“that you come against me with sticks and staves?” The Septuagint missed the force of this plural “of contempt,” and altering the text, translates “with staff and with stones.”

By his gods. —This should be rendered by his God. No doubt the idolater here made use of the sacred Name, so dear to every believing Israelite, thus defying the Eternal of Hosts.