The Meaning of 1 Samuel 17:40 Explained

1 Samuel 17:40

KJV: And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

YLT: And he taketh his staff in his hand, and chooseth for him five smooth stones from the brook, and putteth them in the shepherds' habiliments that he hath, even in the scrip, and his sling is in his hand, and he draweth nigh unto the Philistine.

Darby: And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag that he had, into the pocket; and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.

ASV: And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his wallet; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he took  his staff  in his hand,  and chose  him five  smooth  stones  out of the brook,  and put  them in a shepherd's  bag  which he had, even in a scrip;  and his sling  [was] in his hand:  and he drew near  to the Philistine. 

What does 1 Samuel 17:40 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 17:31-40 - David Trusts His Former Deliverer
David was conducted into Saul's presence-his soul aglow with heroic faith-avowing that he was willing to go alone to fight the Philistine. Saul, however, had no thought of power save that which comes from long practice, 1 Samuel 17:33, or from helmets and coats of mail, 1 Samuel 17:38-39; so he endeavored to dissuade the stripling. It was no small temptation to David to take a lower ground and retreat from his offer. Let us never listen to flesh and blood! They always say to us, after the manner of Peter at Caesarea Philippi, when our Lord spoke of His crucifixion and death, "This shall not be unto thee; spare thyself." See Matthew 16:22.
The point of David's narrative of his encounter with the lion and the bear was entirely lost on Saul. The king regarded these exploits as solely the result of superior agility and sinewy strength. He did not fathom David's meaning when the lad ascribed his success to the direct interposition of Jehovah, 1 Samuel 17:37. Already the underlying note of Psalms 27:1-14 may have been haunting the young psalmist's soul. Saul had no idea that faith opens new sources of power, touches new stops in the great organ, and accomplishes alliance with the Almighty. See Psalms 20:7-8. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 17

1  The armies of the Israelites and Philistines being ready to battle
4  Goliath challenges a combat
12  David, sent by his father to visit his brothers, takes the challenge
28  Eliab chides him
30  He is brought to Saul
32  shows the reason of his confidence
38  and slays the giant
55  Saul takes notice of David

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 17:40 mean?

And he took his staff in his hand and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them in a bag of shepherd which he had and in a pouch and his sling was in his hand and he drew near to the Philistine
וַיִּקַּ֨ח מַקְל֜וֹ בְּיָד֗וֹ וַיִּבְחַר־ ל֣וֹ חֲמִשָּׁ֣ה חַלֻּקֵֽי־ אֲבָנִ֣ים ׀ מִן־ הַנַּ֡חַל וַיָּ֣שֶׂם אֹ֠תָם בִּכְלִ֨י הָרֹעִ֧ים אֲשֶׁר־ ל֛וֹ וּבַיַּלְק֖וּט וְקַלְּע֣וֹ בְיָד֑וֹ וַיִּגַּ֖שׁ אֶל־ הַפְּלִשְׁתִּֽי

וַיִּקַּ֨ח  And  he  took 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
מַקְל֜וֹ  his  staff 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מַקֵּל  
Sense: rod, staff.
בְּיָד֗וֹ  in  his  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
וַיִּבְחַר־  and  he  chose 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּחוּר 
Sense: to choose, elect, decide for.
ל֣וֹ  for  himself 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
חֲמִשָּׁ֣ה  five 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: חָמֵשׁ  
Sense: five.
חַלֻּקֵֽי־  smooth 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חַלֻּק  
Sense: smooth.
אֲבָנִ֣ים ׀  stones 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: אֶבֶן  
Sense: stone (large or small).
הַנַּ֡חַל  the  brook 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נַחַל 
Sense: torrent, valley, wadi, torrent-valley.
וַיָּ֣שֶׂם  and  put 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
בִּכְלִ֨י  in  a  bag 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כְּלִי  
Sense: article, vessel, implement, utensil.
הָרֹעִ֧ים  of  shepherd 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
ל֛וֹ  he  had 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
וּבַיַּלְק֖וּט  and  in  a  pouch 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַלְקוּט  
Sense: wallet, purse, pouch, bag, receptacle.
וְקַלְּע֣וֹ  and  his  sling  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קֶלַע 
Sense: sling, slingstones.
בְיָד֑וֹ  in  his  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
וַיִּגַּ֖שׁ  and  he  drew  near 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָגַשׁ  
Sense: to draw near, approach.
הַפְּלִשְׁתִּֽי  the  Philistine 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: פְּלִשְׁתִּי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan.