John Gill Commentary 1 Samuel 17

Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle ,
&c.] Josephus ^F19 says this was not long after the things related in the preceding chapter were transacted; and very probably they had heard of the melancholy and distraction of Saul, and thought it a proper opportunity of avenging themselves on Israel for their last slaughter of them, and for that purpose gathered together their dispersed troops:

and were gathered together at Shochoh ,
which belongeth to Judah; a city of the tribe of Judah, (Joshua 15:35) , which shows that, notwithstanding their last defeat, they had great footing in the land of Israel, or however had penetrated far into it in this march of theirs:

and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah ;
which were both in the same tribe, and near one another, of which (See Gill on Joshua 10:10), (See Gill on Joshua 15:35).

in Ephesdammim ;
which, by an apocope of the first letter, is called Pasdammim, (1 Chronicles 11:13) which the Jews ^F20 say had this name because there blood ceased.

FOOTNOTES:

• F19: Antiqu. l. 6. c. 9. sect. 1.
• F20: Midrash Ruth, fol. 48. 2. Kimchi in loc.

And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together
He being cured, at least being better of his disorder, through the music of David, and alarmed and aroused by the invasion of the Philistines, which might serve to dissipate any remains of it, or prevent its return, got together his forces:

and pitched by the valley of Elah ;
which Jerom ^F21 says Aquila and Theodotion interpret "the valley of the oak"; but the Vulgate Latin version, the valley of Terebinth; which, according to our countryman Sandys ^F23 , was four miles from Ramaosophim, where Samuel dwelt; for he says, ``after four miles riding, we descended into the valley of Terebinth, famous, though little, for the slaughter of Goliath;''

and in the Targum this valley is called the valley of Butma, which in the Arabic language signifies a "terebinth", or turpentine tree; though some translate it "the oak"; and, according to some modern travellers {x}, to this day it bears a name similar to that; for they say it is ``now called the vale of Bitumen, very famous all over those parts for David's victory over Goliath:''

and set the battle in array against the Philistines ;
prepared to give them battle.

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: Deloc. Heb. fol. 91. F.
• F23: Travels, p. 157. ed. 5.
• F24: Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 1. p. 305.

And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and
Israel stood on a mountain on the other side ,
&e.] Before the Israelites are said to encamp in or by the valley; but here they are said to take the higher ground, and face the Philistines, who were on a mountain or hill on the other side over against them, which Kimchi reconciles thus; the whole or the grand army lay encamped in the valley, and, they that were set in array, or the first ranks, the first battalion, ascended the mountain to meet the Philistines.

Vatablus takes it to be the same mountain, that on one part of it the Philistines formed their first battalion, and the rest of the army was in the valley; and on the other part of the mountain the Israelites pitched their camp:

and there was a valley between them ;
the same as in the preceding verse.

And there went out a champion out of the camp of the
Philistines
Or a "middle person", or a man "between two" ^F25 ; meaning either one that went and stood between the two armies of Israel and the Philistines, as the Jewish writers generally interpret it: or a "dueller" ^F26 , as others, with which our version agrees; one that proposed to fight a duel, and have the war decided by two persons, of which he would be one:

named Goliath of Gath ;
which was one of the places where the Anakims or giants were driven, and left, in the times of Joshua, and from whom this man descended, (Joshua 11:22)

whose height was six cubits and a span ;
and taking a cubit after the calculation of Bishop Cumberland ^F1 to be twenty one inches, and more, and a span to be half a cubit, the height of this man was eleven feet four inches, and somewhat more;

which need not seem incredible, since the coffin of Orestea, the son of Agamemnon, is said ^F2 to be seven cubits long; and Eleazar, a Jew, who because of his size was called the giant, and was presented by Artabanus, king of the Parthians, to Tiberius Caesar, is said by Josephus ^F3 to be seven cubits high; and one Gabbara of Arabia, in the times of Claudius Caesar, measured nine feet nine inches, as Pliny ^F4 relates, and who elsewhere ^F5 speaks of a people in Ethiopia, called Syrbotae, who were eight cubits high; the Septuagint version makes Goliath to be only four cubits and a span high, and so Josephus ^F6 ; that is, about eight feet.

FOOTNOTES:

• F25: (Mynybh vya) "vir intermedius", Montanus; "inter duo", Vatablus; "vir medietatum", Noldius, p. 194. No. 283.
• F26: "Quidam duellator", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
• F1: Of Scripture Weights and Measures, c. 2. p. 57.
• F2: Herodot. Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 68. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 16.
• F3: Antiqu. l. 18. c. 5. sect. 5.
• F4: Nat. Hist. ib.
• F5: Ibid. l. 6. 30.
• F6: Antiqu. l. 6. c. 9. sect. 1.

And he has 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 ^F7 ; 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 ^F8 , 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 ^F9 ; and so in the age of the Grecian heroes ^F10 .

FOOTNOTES:

• F7: Vid. Lydium "de re militari": l. 3. c. 5. p. 63.
• F8: "----Rutilum thoraca indutus anis Horrebat squamis----" Virgil. Aeneid. l. 11.
• F9: Hist. l. 1. c. 22.
• F10: Pausan. Messenica, l. 3. p. 163. So Homer frequently describes the Grecians with a coat of mail of brass.