Texts in Conversation
The story of David and Goliath includes a detail not found in the Greek Septuagint translation, where Goliath approaches with a shield bearer. This may reflect an addition made to the Masoretic text to emphasize the contrast between the two figures.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1 Samuel 17:41
Hebrew Bible
40 He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine. 41 The Philistine, with his shield bearer walking in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy.
Date: 600–501 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX 1 Samuel 17:41
Septuagint
40 And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's scrip which he had for his store, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine. 41 42 And Goliath saw David, and despised him; for he was a lad, and ruddy, with a fair face. 43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I as a dog, that you come against me with a staff and stones? and David said, No, but worse than a dog. And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Overall, the description of David going unarmoured into battle with only a staff, a sling and five stones is not significantly changed between the two versions. One difference occurs in verse 41 of the Masoretic text, which is absent in the LXX, ‘Then the Philistine came and approached David, with the shield bearer in front of him’. Auld and Ho suggest that the addition of the shield bearer in the Masoretic text forms an additional contrast between the well-equipped Goliath and the scantily equipped David. On the other hand, as Quinn-Miscall points out, the shield bearer may also be considered a weakness for Goliath because a shield is precisely the piece of armour Goliath could have employed to protect himself from David’s stone. However, as his armour bearer was carrying the shield, he remained unprotected. Both effects of this detail are relevant because together they illustrate the message of the chapter—whilst Goliath was outwardly impressive, he was ultimately ineffective ..."
Rachelle Gilmour, Representing the Past: A Literary Analysis of Narrative Historiography in the Book of Samuel, VTSup 143 (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 279–280.
* 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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