John Gill Commentary 1 Samuel 17:6

"And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders." — 1 Samuel 17:6 (ASV)

And he had greaves of brass upon his legs
Which were a sort of boots, or leg harnesses, which covered the thighs and legs down to the heels; such as Iolaus ^F11 and the Grecians usually wore, as described by Homer; which are supposed to be double the weight of the helmet, reckoned at fifteen pounds, so that these must weigh thirty pounds of avoirdupois weight:

and a target of brass between his shoulders ;
the Targum is, "a spear or shield of brass, which came out of the helmet, and a weight of brass upon his shoulders." Jarchi says the same, and that it was in the form of a spear to defend the neck from the sword; it seems to be a corslet of brass, worn between the helmet and the coat of mail for the defence of the neck, supposed to weigh thirty pounds ^F12

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FOOTNOTES:

• F11: Hesiod. Scutum Herc. ver. 122.
• F12: Vid. Hostii Monomach. David & Goliath, c. 5.