Daily Tanach Sunday Shmuel 1 Chapter 17 Part 2-Dovid and Goliath

1.     The taunts of Goliath:

• The Philistine man would come forward in the morning and evening and taunt the Jewish people [in order to prevent them from saying Shema[1]]. He did so for 40 days.

2.     Dovid is sent to his brothers with food:

• Yishaiy told his son Dovid: Take for your brothers an Eipha of roasted wheat, and ten loaves of bread, and go run to the camp of your brothers. Bring these ten cheeses to the generals of the thousands [of which his brothers were included in[2], or Yehonoson the son of Shaul[3]]. Greet your brothers in peace and bring back their wellbeing [and a bill of divorce for them to give to their wives[4]].
• The area of battle: Shaul, and the entire Jewish people who were with him, were in the valley fighting against the Philistines.

3.     Dovid goes to meet his brothers at the battlefield:

• And Dovid woke up in the morning and left the sheep with a guard and he carried the items [that his father told him to bring[5]] and traveled as [his father] Yishai had instructed him.
• The circle of armies: He arrived at the circle of soldiers, as during war the soldiers would make a circle of protection, and those who would leave it would become a fatality of the war [as if they left the circle to go towards the battlefield they would be killed by the enemy, and if they left to go back and leave the battlefield they would be killed by their comrades[6]]. The Jewish people and the Philistines prepared their legions of armies across from each other.
• Dovid arrives: Dovid removed the vessels that were on him and left them with the guard of the weapons and ran towards the circle of soldiers. When he arrived there, he asked as to the wellbeing of his brothers.

4.     A bounty is offered for whoever kills Goliath:

• Goliath taunts the Jewish people: While Dovid was speaking with them, the brave man from amongst them arrived and Goliath the Philistine was his name from the city of Gat, from the caves of the Philistines [i.e. the man who had resulted from the intercourse of 100 men with his mother[7]] and he spoke these words and Dovid heard.
• The Jews flee from Goliath: When the Jewish people saw this man, they all became filled with tremendous fear and ran away from him.
• A bounty is offered: A certain Jewish man pronounced: Have you seen this man come up against us to blaspheme the Jewish people, whoever manages to kill him the King will give him much wealth and grant him his daughter in marriage and the house of his father will become free [from all the government edicts[8]] amongst the Jewish people.  

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[1] Rashi 17:15

[2] See Rashi and Metzudos Dovid 17:18; Ralbag ibid

[3] See Rashi 17:18

[4] Rashi 17:18

[5] Metzudos Dovid 17:20

[6] Rashi 17:20

[7] Rashi 17:23; Sotah 42b

[8] Rashi 17:25