Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 17:8

"And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me." — 1 Samuel 17:8 (ASV)

Am I not a Philistine? —The literal rendering here provides a much stronger reading: Am I not the Philistine?—the famous warrior whom you know all too well? The Targum of Jonathan adds here the proud boast of the giant warrior that it was he who had slain Hophni and Phinehas (the sons of Eli, the high priest) and had carried the Ark to the temple of Dagon. This Targum, although a comparatively late compilation, undoubtedly embodied many ancient national traditions.

And you servants of Saul. —Thus taunting the soldiers of Israel with the memory of their king's former glory. Will none of the famous servants of the warrior king dare to meet me?

Should we not consider it probable that the prophet's separation from the king had become public knowledge in Philistia, and that this present daring challenge stemmed from their awareness that the Spirit of the Lord—whom we know these enemies of the Hebrews regarded with such great dread—had departed from Saul and his armies?