1 Samuel 17 · Verse 5

1 Samuel 17:5

And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
1 Samuel 17:5, King James Version

1 Samuel 17:5 in other translations

BSBand he had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a bronze coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels,
WEBHe had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he wore a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.
ASVAnd he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
YLTand a helmet of brass is on his head, and with a scaled coat of mail he is clothed, and the weight of the coat of mail is five thousand shekels of brass,
DARBYAnd he had a helmet of bronze upon his head, and he was clothed with a corselet of scales; and the weight of the corselet was five thousand shekels of bronze.
BBEAnd he had a head-dress of brass on his head, and he was dressed in a coat of metal, the weight of which was five thousand shekels of brass.
WebsterAnd he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

What does 1 Samuel 17:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 17:4-11

4-11. 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.

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 17:4-11 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 5 He was armed with a coat of mail - The words in the original, שרון קשקשים shiryon kaskassim, mean a coat of mail formed of plates of brass overlapping each other, like the scales of a fish, or tiles of a house. This is the true notion of the original terms. With thin plates of brass or iron, overlapping each other, were the ancient coats of mail formed in different countries; many formed in this way may be now seen in the tower of London. The weight - five thousand shekels - Following Bishop Cumberland's tables, and rating the shekel at two hundred and nineteen grains, and the Roman ounce at four hundred and thirty-eight grains, we find that Goliath's coat of mail, weighing five thousand shekels, was exactly one hundred and fifty-six pounds four ounces avoirdupois. A vast weight for a coat of mail, but not all out of proportion to the man.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 17:1-11

and goes to meet him. (40-47) He kills Goliath. (48-58) Verses 1-11 Men so entirely depend upon God in all things, that when he withdraws his help, the most valiant and resolute cannot find their hearts or hands, as daily experience shows.

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 17:1-11 →

1 Samuel 17:5 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.

וְכ֤וֹבַעve.Khoa'and a helmet ofH3553
נְחֹ֙שֶׁת֙ne.Cho.shetbronzeH5178
עַל\־'al-[was] onH5921
רֹאשׁ֔וֹro.Shohead hisH7218
וְשִׁרְי֥וֹןve.shir.Yonand body armor ofH8302
קַשְׂקַשִּׂ֖יםkas.ka.SimscalesH7193
ה֣וּאhu'heH1931
לָב֑וּשׁla.Vush[was] clothedH3847
וּמִשְׁקַל֙u.mish.Kaland [the] weight ofH4948
הַשִּׁרְי֔וֹןha.shir.Yonthe body armorH8302
חֲמֵשֶׁת\־cha.me.shet-[was] fiveH2568
אֲלָפִ֥ים'a.la.Fimthousand<s>H505
שְׁקָלִ֖יםshe.ka.LimshekelsH8255
נְחֹֽשֶֽׁת\׃ne.Cho.ShetbronzeH5178

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
armed. Heb. clothed.
38

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

Context

  • 1 Samuel 17:4

    And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

  • 1 Samuel 17:5

    And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.

  • 1 Samuel 17:6

    And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.

Read all of 1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel 17:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y traía un almete de acero en su cabeza, é iba vestido con corazas de planchas: y era el peso de la coraza cinco mil siclos de metal:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il avait un casque d’airain sur sa tête, et était revêtu d’une cotte de mailles à écailles; et le poids de la cotte de mailles était de 5 000 sicles d’airain;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und er hatte einen ehernen Helm auf seinem Haupte, und er war mit einem Schuppenpanzer bekleidet, und das Gewicht des Panzers war 5000 Sekel Erz.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et cassis ærea super caput ejus, et lorica squamata induebatur. Porro pondus loricæ ejus, quinque millia siclorum æris erat: