1 Samuel 17:6
in 1 Samuel 17and he had armor of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders.
KJV
And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 17
Commentary
9 notes on this verseGreaves of brass upon his legs - This species of armor may be seen on many ancient monuments. It was a plate of brass (though perhaps sometimes formed of laminae or plates, like the mail) which covered the shin or fore part of the leg, from the knee down to the instep, and was buckled with straps behind the leg. From ancient monuments we find that it was commonly worn only on one leg.
This site's exposition
greaves of brass
on 1 Samuel 17:6-7
The armor is described piece by piece, brass at every point a stone might land, and a shield-bearer walks in front of the whole. A spear shaft like a weaver's beam and a spearhead of six hundred shekels of iron mark him as a one-man siege engine. The narrator spends more words on this equipment than on any suit of armor in Scripture, so that its uselessness in verse 50 lands with full weight.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Yet there stands Goliath, monstrous in his pride, swollen with his earthly power, confident that he can do everything by himself, with his head, hands and entire body clad in much bronze, having his own armor bearer behind him who, though he does not himself …
In my discourse I showed that Goliath was protected by the power of his weapons and the strength of a full set of armor, whereas David had none of that panoply. But he was fortified by his faith.Goliath had the external protection of his glittering breastplate and shield; David shone from within with the grace of the Spirit. This is why a boy prevailed over a man, this is why the one wearing no armor conquered the one fully armed, this is why the shepherd's hand crushed and destroyed the bronze weapons of war.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And he had bronze greaves on his legs, etc. Helmet, mail, shield, and greaves, are different types of arguments or reasoning methods, by which the devil rebelling against the Lord, or defending the foolishness of his own head, namely, all the wicked, or his miserable …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The coat is said to weigh 5000 shekels, and a shekel was half an ounce avoirdupois, a vast weight for a man to carry, all the other parts of his armour being proportionable. But some think it should be translated, not the weight of the coat, but the value of it, was 5000 shekels; so much it cost.
And he had greaves of brass upon his legs,....
2 more voices on this verse
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
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A target ... - Rather, “a javelin.” as in 1Sa 17:45, and placed between the shoulders, as the quiver was.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִצְחַ֥ת | umitzchat | and leg armor of | H4697 → | |
| נְחֹ֖שֶׁת | nechoshet | bronze | H5178 → | 140 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [was] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רַגְלָ֑יו | raglav | feet his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| וְכִיד֥וֹן | vekhidon | and a javelin of | H3591 → | |
| נְחֹ֖שֶׁת | nechoshet | bronze | H5178 → | 140 times |
| בֵּ֥ין | bein | [was] between | H996 → | 407 times |
| כְּתֵפָֽיו׃ | ketefav | shoulders his | H3802 → |
וּמִצְחַ֥תand leg armor of
umitzchatH4697 →
נְחֹ֖שֶׁתbronze
nechoshetH5178 →140 times
עַל־[was] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רַגְלָ֑יוfeet his
raglavH7272 →247 times
וְכִיד֥וֹןand a javelin of
vekhidonH3591 →
נְחֹ֖שֶׁתbronze
nechoshetH5178 →140 times
בֵּ֥ין[was] between
beinH996 →407 times
כְּתֵפָֽיו׃shoulders his
ketefavH3802 →
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
1 Kings 10:16King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 12:9–10
So King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 14:26–28
He seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made.
- 2 Chronicles 9:15–16
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield.
- 2 Chronicles 12:9–10
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS 11.4-5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Paulus Orosius, DEFENSE AGAINST THE PELAGIANS 2 and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).