1 Samuel 17 · Verse 40

1 Samuel 17:40

And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

1 Samuel 17:40, King James Version

1 Samuel 17:40 in other translations

BSB	And David took his staff in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. And with his sling in hand, he approached the Philistine.
WEB	He took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag which he had. His sling was in his hand; and he came near to the Philistine.
ASV	And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
YLT	And he taketh his staff in his hand, and chooseth for him five smooth stones from the brook, and putteth them in the shepherds' habiliments that he hath, even in the scrip, and his sling is in his hand, and he draweth nigh unto the Philistine.
DARBY	And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag that he had, into the pocket; and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
BBE	Then he took his stick in his hand, and got five smooth stones from the bed of the stream and put them in a bag such as is used by sheep-keepers; and in his hand was a leather band used for sending stones: and so he went in the direction of the Philistine.
Webster	And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the Philistine.

What does 1 Samuel 17:40 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

40. brook--wady. bag--or scrip for containing his daily food. sling--The sling consisted of a double rope with a thong, probably of leather, to receive the stone. The slinger held a second stone in his left hand. David chose five stones, as a reserve, in case the first should fail. Shepherds in the East carry a sling and stones still, for the purpose of driving away, or killing, the enemies that prowl about the flock.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 40 He took his staff - What we would call his crook. Five smooth stones - 1. Had they been rough or angular, they would not have passed easily through the air, and their asperities would, in the course of their passage, have given them a false direction. 2. Had they not been smooth, they could not have been readily despatched from the sling. A shepherd's bag - That in which he generally carried his provisions while keeping the sheep in the open country. And his sling - The sling, both among the Greeks and Hebrews, has been a powerful offensive weapon. See what has been said on Jdg 20:16 (note). It is composed of two strings and a leathern strap; the strap is in the middle, and is the place where the stone or bullet lies. The string on the right end of the strap is firmly fastened to the hand; that on the left is held between the thumb and middle joint of the fore finger. It is then whirled two or three times round the head; and when discharged, the finger and thumb let go their hold of the left end string. The velocity and force of the sling are in proportion to the distance of the strap, where the bullet lies, from the shoulder joint. Hence the ancient Baleares, or inhabitants of Majorca and Minorca, are said to have had three slings of different lengths, the longest they used when the enemy was at the greatest distance; the middle one, on their nearer approach; and the shortest, when they came into the ordinary fighting distance in the field. The shortest is the most certain, though not the most powerful. The Balearians are said to have had one of their slings constantly bound about their head, to have used the second as a girdle, and to have carried the third always in their hand. See Diod. Sic. lib. v., c. 18, p. 286, edit. Bipont. In the use of the sling it requires much practice to hit the mark; but when once this dexterity is acquired, the sling is nearly as fatal as the musket or bow; see on 1Sam 17:49 (note). David was evidently an expert marksman; and his sling gave him greatly the advantage over Goliath; an advantage of which the giant does not seem to have been aware. He could hit him within any speaking distance, if he missed once, he had as many chances as he had stones; and after all, being unencumbered with armor, young, and athletic, he could have saved his life by flight. Against him the Philistine could do but little, except in close fight; it is true he appears to have had a javelin or missile spear, (see on 1Sam 17:6 (note)), but David took care to prevent the use of all such weapons, by giving him the first blow.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 17:40-47

The security and presumption of fools destroy them. Nothing can excel the humility, faith, and piety which appear in David's words. He expressed his assured expectation of success; he gloried in his mean appearance and arms, that the victory might be ascribed to the Lord alone.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

1 Samuel 17:40 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּקַּ֨חvai.yi.Kachand he tookH3947

מַקְל֜וֹmak.Lostick hisH4731

בְּיָד֗וֹbe.ya.Doin hand hisH3027

וַיִּבְחַר\־vai.yiv.char-and he choseH977

ל֣וֹlofor <the> himself

חֲמִשָּׁ֣הcha.mi.ShahfiveH2568

חַלֻּקֵֽי\־cha.lu.kei-smooth [ones] ofH2512

אֲבָנִ֣ים\׀'a.va.NimstonesH68

מִן\־min-fromH4480

הַנַּ֡חַלha.Na.chalthe wadiH5158

וַיָּ֣שֶׂםvai.Ya.semand he putH7760

אֹ֠תָם'O.tom<obj.> themH853

בִּכְלִ֨יbikh.Liin [the] bag ofH3627

הָרֹעִ֧יםha.ro.'Im<the> shepherdsH7462

אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whichH834

ל֛וֹlo[belonged] to <the> him

וּבַיַּלְק֖וּטu.vai.yal.Kutand in the pouchH3219

וְקַלְּע֣וֹve.ka.le.'Oand sling hisH7050

בְיָד֑וֹve.ya.Do[was] in hand hisH3027

וַיִּגַּ֖שׁvai.yi.Gashand he drew nearH5066

אֶל\־'el-toH413

הַפְּלִשְׁתִּֽי\׃ha.pe.lish.Tithe PhilistineH6430

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 17:40

1 Corinthians 1:27-29
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
Judges 15:15-16
And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.
Judges 20:16
Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.
Matthew 10:10
Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
Judges 7:16-20
And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. …
Judges 3:31
And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

staff.
Jud 3:31; 7:16-20; 15:15,16; 20:16; 1Co 1:27-29
brook. or, valley. bag. Heb. vessel.
Mt 10:10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

1 Samuel 17:39
And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
1 Samuel 17:40
And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
1 Samuel 17:41
And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.

Read all of 1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel 17:40 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Tomó su cayado en su mano, y escogióse cinco piedras lisas del arroyo, y púsolas en el saco pastoril y en el zurrón que traía, y con su honda en su mano vase hacia el Filisteo.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	et il prit son bâton en sa main, et se choisit du torrent cinq pierres lisses, et les mit dans le sac de berger qu’il avait, dans la poche; et il avait sa fronde à la main. Et il s’approcha du Philistin.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und er nahm seinen Stab in seine Hand und wählte sich fünf glatte Steine aus dem Bache und tat sie in das Hirtengerät, das er hatte, in die Tasche, und seine Schleuder hatte er in seiner Hand; und er trat an den Philister heran.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	et tulit baculum suum, quem semper habebat in manibus: et elegit sibi quinque limpidissimos lapides de torrente, et misit eos in peram pastoralem quam habebat secum, et fundam manu tulit: et processit adversum Philisthæum.