# 1 Samuel 17.2

<!-- type: passage | created: 2026-11-02 | updated: 2026-11-02 -->

**Book:** [1 Samuel](/codex/1-samuel/) · NASB95

## Immediate context (±2 verses)

**ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/))
> 1. Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongeth to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.
>
> **2. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the vale of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.**
>
> 3. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 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 17:1-4, ASV)

**WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/))
> 1. Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle; and they were gathered together at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.
>
> **2. Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.**
>
> 3. The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 4. A champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span went out. (1 Samuel 17:1-4, WEB)

**KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/))
> 1. Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. <sup>Ephesdammim: or, the coast of Dammim, called Pasdammim</sup>
>
> **2. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. <sup>set: Heb. ranged the battle</sup>**
>
> 3. And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 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 17:1-4, KJV)

**YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/))
> 1. And the Philistines gather their camps to battle, and are gathered to Shochoh, which [is] to Judah, and encamp between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-Dammim;
>
> **2. and Saul and the men of Israel have been gathered, and encamp by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array to meet the Philistines.**
>
> 3. And the Philistines are standing on the mountain on this side, and the Israelites are standing on the mountain on that side, and the valley [is] between them. 4. And there goeth out a man of the duellists from the camps of the Philistines, Goliath [is] his name, from Gath; his height [is] six cubits and a span, (1 Samuel 17:1-4, YLT)

## Setting

- **Speaker:** _TBD_
- **Audience:** _TBD_
- **Location:** _TBD_
- **Time period:** _TBD_

## Theological reading

_Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added._

## Key words

_Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word._

- None of the words in this verse has its own lexicon entry yet.


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## Quoted in

**Arguments and defeaters:**

- [King David Never Existed Objection Defeater](/codex/king-david-never-existed-objection-defeater/)

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## Notes

_Your annotations._

## Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

- **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.