Bible Strands
1 Samuel 17:51
David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword and pulled it from its sheath and killed him, and he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records David’s actions immediately after striking the Philistine champion with a stone, marking the shift from the initial confrontation to the final execution of the enemy leader.
The words — וַ/יָּ֣רָץ (va/i.Ya.rotz) means "and he ran," and חַ֠רְבּ/וֹ (char.b/o) translates to "his sword," emphasizing the physical sequence of David closing the distance and seizing the opponent’s weapon.
The thread — The text notes David taking the Philistine’s sword, which the narrative later places in the priest’s care at 1 Samuel 21:9, while the broader pattern of victory through unconventional means aligns with the description in Hebrews 11:34.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to observe that the champion’s death directly triggered the enemy’s rout and that the narrative attributes the outcome to the completed strike rather than the weapon used.
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
Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 21:9 The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want, you may take it. For there is no other but this one here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
- Hebrews 11:34 quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
- 2 Samuel 23:21 He also struck down an Egyptian, a huge man. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club, snatched the spear from his hand, and killed the Egyptian with his own spear.
- Esther 7:10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.
- Psalms 7:15 He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.
- Hebrews 2:14 Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,