The Philistine Giants

15 The Philistines again waged war against Israel. David went down with his soldiers, and they fought the Philistines, but David became exhausted. 16 Then Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giant,[a] whose bronze spear weighed about eight pounds[b] and who wore new armor, intended to kill David. 17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle. You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”(A)

18 After this,(B) there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giant.

19 Once again there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed[c] Goliath of Gath. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam.(C)

20 At Gath there was still another battle. A huge man was there with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He, too, was descended from the giant. 21 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan, son of David’s brother Shimei, killed him.

22 These four were descended from the giant in Gath and were killed by David and his soldiers.

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Footnotes

  1. 21:16 Or Raphah, also in vv. 18,20,22
  2. 21:16 Lit 300 (shekels)
  3. 21:19 1Ch 20:5 adds the brother of

War with the Philistines

15 There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. 16 And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants (A)of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels[a] of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, (B)“You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench (C)the lamp of Israel.”

18 (D)After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then (E)Sibbecai (F)the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants (G)of the giants. 19 And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and (H)Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, (I)the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.[b] 20 And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended (J)from the giants. 21 And when (K)he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David's brother, struck him down. 22 These four were descended (L)from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 21:16 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
  2. 2 Samuel 21:19 Contrast 1 Chronicles 20:5, which may preserve the original reading