1 Samuel 17:21
in 1 Samuel 17And Israel and the Philistines arrayed in formation against each other.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.
KJV
For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper
on 1 Samuel 17:20-22
David leaves the flock with a keeper, a detail that answers Eliab's sneer at verse 28. He arrives as the army is "shouting the battle cry." Henry reads the diligence as the lesson, since the man faithful with a few sheep is the one in the right place.
This site's exposition
arrayed in formation against each other
John Gill pictures the lines in full order, rank facing rank and wing facing wing. Forty days of challenge had come to this. Matthew Henry notes that Jesse knew nothing of the timing when he sent his son.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For Israel and all the Philistines had put the battle in array,.... Both sides prepared for it, and drew up in line of battle: army against army; rank against rank, battalion against battalion, the right wing of the one against the left of the other, &c.
Both sides were now preparing to fight. Jesse little thought of sending his son to the army just at that critical juncture, but the wise God orders the time and all the circumstances of actions and affairs so as to serve his designs of securing the interests of Israel and advancing the men after his own heart. How brisk and lively David was,
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתַּעֲרֹ֤ךְ | vataarokh | and it deployed | H6186 → | 74 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֔ים | ufelishtim | and [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| מַעֲרָכָ֖ה | maarakhah | battle line | H4634 → | 19 times |
| לִקְרַ֥את | likrat | to meet | H7122 → | 139 times |
| מַעֲרָכָֽה׃ | maarakhah | battle line | H4634 → | 19 times |
וַתַּעֲרֹ֤ךְand it deployed
vataarokhH6186 →74 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֔יםand [the] Philistines
ufelishtimH6430 →287 times
מַעֲרָכָ֖הbattle line
maarakhahH4634 →19 times
לִקְרַ֥אתto meet
likratH7122 →139 times
מַעֲרָכָֽה׃battle line
maarakhahH4634 →19 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.