Bible Synapse
Was David already a man of war before he fought Goliath?
Hard question · Israel’s history: Joshua to Esther · raised by 1 of the lists sceptics circulate
See the passages joined in the interactive mapThe passages
A young courtier recommends David to Saul as a skilled player, “a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters”.
Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth–lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him.
Saul to David: “thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth”.
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
David answers that while keeping his father’s sheep he had killed a lion and a bear that took lambs from the flock.
And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
The objection
When David is first brought to Saul, a courtier describes him as “a mighty valiant man, and a man of war”. Yet when David volunteers to fight Goliath, Saul tells him he is only a youth, while Goliath has been a man of war from his youth. Critics ask whether David was a seasoned warrior or an untried boy.
The answer
The two descriptions are not measuring the same thing. The courtier in 1 Samuel 16:18 was recommending a young man for the king’s service and listing his qualities: a skilled player, brave, able to fight, wise in speech, handsome, and blessed by the Lord. ‘A mighty valiant man, and a man of war’ (Hebrew gibbor chayil ve’ish milchamah) describes his courage and his ability with weapons. David’s own words show where these had been seen: he had gone after a lion and a bear that attacked his father’s flock and killed them (17:34–36). Keil and Delitzsch note that the courtier’s words need not mean David had already fought in Israel’s wars; such feats were enough to show the warrior he would become.
Saul’s words in 17:33 compare David with Goliath. Beside a champion who had been a trained soldier ‘from his youth’, David was “but a youth” (na‘ar), untried in war and unused to armour, as the scene with Saul’s armour shows: “I cannot walk in these,” he said, “I am not accustomed to them” (17:39, BSB). A young man can be brave and capable and still be inexperienced next to a veteran. Saul himself was persuaded by David’s account of the lion and the bear and let him go (17:37).
Other answers Christians give
An earlier skirmish
The Pulpit Commentary suggests that the courtier may have served with David in driving off some Philistine raid, which would explain the title ‘man of war’ more fully. The text does not mention such an event.
From the classic commentators
The description of David is "a mighty man" and "a man of war" does not presuppose that David had already fought bravely in war, but may be perfectly explained from what David himself afterwards affirmed respecting his conflicts with lions and bearsKeil & Delitzsch, Commentary on 1 Samuel 16
Sources
- Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on 1 Samuel 16, at Bible Hub
- John Gill, Exposition of the Bible: 1 Samuel 16 (1746–1763), at Bible Hub
- The Pulpit Commentary: 1 Samuel 16, at Bible Hub