Bible Strands
1 Samuel 17:25
Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he will give him his daughter in marriage and exempt his father’s house from taxation in Israel.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Israelite soldiers address one another after witnessing Goliath’s advance and fleeing in terror (1 Samuel 17:24). They are recounting the standing royal decree that promises wealth, royal marriage, and tax exemption to whoever defeats the Philistine champion.
The words — אִ֣ישׁ ('ish) = man, which in this verse pairs with יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yis.ra.'El) to denote the collective Israelite speakers rather than a specific warrior. הָאִ֤ישׁ (ha.'Ish) = the man, which the text explicitly identifies as the Philistine champion who repeatedly comes out to defy Israel.
The thread — The promise of a royal daughter in marriage to a victorious warrior echoes Caleb’s earlier offer to the man who captures Kiriath-sepher (Joshua 15:16). The motif of reward for overcoming an enemy resurfaces in the New Testament promises to the overcomer (Revelation 2:7; 3:12).
Why it lands — The text records a human calculation of risk and reward, contrasting the soldiers’ fear with the tangible incentives offered by the crown. A reader must recognize that the decree establishes a concrete standard of valor, which David subsequently invokes to question the king’s own commitment to honor it (1 Samuel 17:26).
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.
Cross-references
- Joshua 15:16 And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.”
- Revelation 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.
- Revelation 3:12 The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.
- 1 Samuel 18:17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I need not raise my hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
- Ezra 7:24 And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.
- Matthew 17:26 “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him.
- Revelation 2:17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.
- Revelation 3:5 Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.
- Revelation 3:21 To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.