1 Samuel 17:5-7
International Standard Version
5 wore a bronze helmet on his head, and wore bronze scale armor that weighed about 5,000 shekels.[a] 6 He had bronze armor on his legs[b] and carried a bronze javelin slung[c] between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam and the iron point of his spear weighed 600 shekels.[d] A man carrying his shield walked in front of him.
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- 1 Samuel 17:5 I.e. about 125 pounds at 0.4 shekels per ounce
- 1 Samuel 17:6 Or bronze greaves; i.e. leg armor worn below the knees
- 1 Samuel 17:6 The Heb. lacks slung
- 1 Samuel 17:7 I.e. about 15 pounds at 0.4 shekels per ounce
1 Samuel 17:5-7
New English Translation
5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and was wearing scale body armor. The weight of his bronze body armor was 5,000 shekels.[a] 6 He had bronze shin guards[b] on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over his shoulders. 7 The shaft[c] of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed 600 shekels.[d] His shield bearer was walking before him.
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- 1 Samuel 17:5 sn Although the exact weight of Goliath’s defensive body armor is difficult to estimate in terms of modern equivalency, it was obviously quite heavy. Driver, following Kennedy, suggests a modern equivalent of about 220 pounds (100 kg); see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 139. Klein, taking the shekel to be equal to .403 ounces, arrives at a somewhat smaller weight of about 126 pounds (57 kg); see R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 175. But by any estimate it is clear that Goliath presented himself as a formidable foe indeed.
- 1 Samuel 17:6 sn Or “greaves.” These were coverings (probably lined for comfort) that extended from about the knee to the ankle, affording protection for the shins of a warrior.
- 1 Samuel 17:7 tn The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading “wood,” rather than the “arrow” (the reading of the Kethib).
- 1 Samuel 17:7 sn That is, about fifteen or sixteen pounds.
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