1 Samuel 17:10
in 1 Samuel 17Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
KJV
And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
7 notes on this verseI defy - אני חרפתי ani cheraphti, “I strip and make bare,” the armies of Israel; for none dared to fight him. From the Dhunoor Veda Shastra it appears that, among the Hindoos, it was common, before the commencement of an engagement, to challenge the enemy by throwing out some terms of abuse, similar to those used by Goliath. We find this also in Homer: his heroes scold each other heartily before they begin to fight. See on 1Sa 17:43 (note).
This site's exposition
I defy the ranks of Israel this day
on 1 Samuel 17:10-11
The word rendered defy means to reproach, and it becomes the chapter's refrain, taken up by David at verse 26 and answered at verse 45. Saul and all Israel are "dismayed and greatly afraid," and the tallest man in Israel will not go, since the Spirit of the LORD departed from him at 16:14. Henry notes that the Saul of chapter 11 would have answered this challenge before nightfall.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he stood and cried out against the ranks of Israel, etc. Pride is the enemy of old, so that until the incarnation and passion of the Lord Savior, he assumed he could not be overcome by any mortal. For it is not without reason …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day,....
The Chaldee paraphrase brings him in boasting that he was the man that had killed Hophni and Phinehas and taken the ark prisoner, but that the Philistines had never given him so much as the command of a regiment in recompence of his services, whereas Saul had been made king for his services: "Let him therefore take up the challenge." 4.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I defy the armies of Israel . . .; give me a man, that we may fight together--In cases of single combat, a warrior used to go out in front of his party, and advancing towards the opposite ranks, challenge someone to fight with him.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
a champion--Hebrew, a "man between two"; that is, a person who, on the part of his own people, undertook to determine the national quarrel by engaging in single combat with a chosen warrior in the hostile army.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֔י | hapelishti | the Philistine | H6430 → | 287 times |
| אֲנִ֗י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| חֵרַ֛פְתִּי | cherafti | I defy | H2778 → | 41 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַעַרְכ֥וֹת | maarkhot | [the] battle lines of | H4634 → | 19 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הַיּ֣וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| תְּנוּ־ | tenu- | give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִ֣י | li | to <the> me | ||
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְנִֽלָּחֲמָ֖ה | venilachamah | so let us fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| יָֽחַד׃ | yachad | together | H3162 → | 141 times |
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֔יthe Philistine
hapelishtiH6430 →287 times
אֲנִ֗יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
חֵרַ֛פְתִּיI defy
cheraftiH2778 →41 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַעַרְכ֥וֹת[the] battle lines of
maarkhotH4634 →19 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הַיּ֣וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
תְּנוּ־give
tenu-H5414 →2011 times
לִ֣יto <the> me
li
אִ֔ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וְנִֽלָּחֲמָ֖הso let us fight
venilachamahH3898 →177 times
יָֽחַד׃together
yachadH3162 →141 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 17:45But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 10:4
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
- 2 Chronicles 32:8
With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah…
- 2 Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Psalms 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4
Through
Nehemiah 2:19But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 6:6
that read: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem agrees—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and this is why you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to…
- Nehemiah 6:1–2
When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left—though to that time I had not yet installed the…
- Psalms 44:13–14
You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, a mockery and derision to those around us.
- Nehemiah 6:6
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.