1 Samuel 17:11
in 1 Samuel 17On hearing the words of the Philistine, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
KJV
When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA 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.
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.
This site's exposition
Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed
Matthew Henry asks where Jonathan was, the son who had crossed to a Philistine outpost with only his armor-bearer in chapter 14. This chapter never names him. He appears again at 18:1, knit in soul to David.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
We found before, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul ( ch. xi. 6 ), none could be more daring nor forward to answer the challenge of Nahash the Ammonite, but now that the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him even the big looks and big words of a single Philistine make him change colour. But where was Jonathan all this while?
Afraid - This may seem strange, considering the glorious promises, and their late experience of divine assistance. And where was Jonathan, who in the last war had so bravely engaged an whole army of the Philistines?
When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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
Saul and all Israel - were dismayed - They saw no man able to accept the challenge.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Ephrathite. Beis Lechem is located in the land of Ephros. 5 See Bereishis:19.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע | vaiyishma' | and he heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| שָׁאוּל֙ | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֥י | divrei | [the] words of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֖י | hapelishti | the Philistine | H6430 → | 287 times |
| הָאֵ֑לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וַיֵּחַ֥תּוּ | vaiyechatu | and they were dismayed | H2865 → | |
| וַיִּֽרְא֖וּ | vaiyiru | and they were afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ פ | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
וַיִּשְׁמַ֤עand he heard
vaiyishma'H8085 →1159 times
שָׁאוּל֙Saul
shaulH7586 →402 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דִּבְרֵ֥י[the] words of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
הַפְּלִשְׁתִּ֖יthe Philistine
hapelishtiH6430 →287 times
הָאֵ֑לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
וַיֵּחַ֥תּוּand they were dismayed
vaiyechatuH2865 →
וַיִּֽרְא֖וּand they were afraid
vaiyiruH3372 →315 times
מְאֹֽד׃ פexceedingly
meodH3966 →300 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
Joshua 1:9Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
it leads to
- Psalms 27:1–2
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 28:15
Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what…
- Jeremiah 1:7–8
But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.
- Joshua 1:6–7
Be strong and courageous, for you shall give these people the inheritance of the land that I swore to their fathers I would give them.
- Deuteronomy 20:1
When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you out…
- Psalms 27:1–2
Through
Proverbs 28:1The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:7
The LORD will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.
- Deuteronomy 28:7
Through
Psalms 27:1The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:6
So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
- Psalms 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
- Hebrews 13:6
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.