Texts in Conversation
In 1 Samuel 17, David compares Goliath to wild animals he has defeated. The Greek Septuagint adds a question about removing Israel’s disgrace, expanding his motivation beyond personal bravery, and emphasizing the event in the context of national history.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1 Samuel 17:36
Hebrew Bible
35 I would go out after it, strike it down, and rescue the sheep from its mouth. If it rose up against me, I would grab it by its beard*, strike it, and kill it. 36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 David went on to say, “The Lord who delivered me from the lion and the bear will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Then Saul said to David, “Go! The Lord will be with you.”
Date: 600–501 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX 1 Samuel 17:36
Septuagint
35 then I went forth after him, and struck him, and drew the prey out of his mouth: and as he rose up against me, then I caught hold of his throat, and struck him, and killed him. 36 Your servant struck both the bear and the lion, and the uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them: shall I not go and strike him, and remove this day a reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised one, who has defied the army of the living God? 37 The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this uncircumcised Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord shall be with you.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In our analysis of the Masoretic text, we proposed that it was not plausible that the speeches of the characters were the actual words said by these people. This is confirmed by the variations in direct speech between the MT and the Septuagint. There are subtle variations in verses 8, 32, 35–37, 43 and 45–46. Some of these variations can be attributed to the process of translation or transmission. In LXX verse 8, Εβραῖοι can be reconstructed as a translation of בריםﬠ (‘Hebrews’), which could have been corrupted from בדיםﬠ (‘servants’), as is found in the MT, or vice versa. Translation of technical military equipment could explain the interchange of LXX ‘shield’ and MT ‘sword’ in verse 45, and this reflects a similar interchange of these words in verse 6. Others are additions or omissions, such as the extra material in LXX verse 36 (‘Shall I not go and smite him and take away today a reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised one . . .’) and verse 43 (‘and stones’) ..."
Rachelle Gilmour, Representing the Past: A Literary Analysis of Narrative Historiography in the Book of Samuel, VTSup 143 (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 275.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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