1 Samuel 17:49

1 Samuel 17:49

And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

a. ASV: And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.

b. YLT: And David putteth forth his hand unto the vessel, and taketh thence a stone, and slingeth, and smiteth the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone sinketh into his forehead, and he falleth on his face to the earth.

c. Amplified Bible Classic:  David put his hand into his bag and took out a stone and slung it, and it struck the Philistine, sinking into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.

d. Septuagint: And David stretched out his hand to his scrip, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone penetrated through the helmet into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the ground.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: David stretched his hand into the sack. He took a stone from there and slung it, and struck the philistine in the forehead. The stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell upon his face upon the ground.

1. “And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it…”

a. [And] David David [Strong: 1732 Dâvid, daw-veed'; rarely (fully); דָּוִיד Dâvîyd; from the same as H1730; loving; David, the youngest son of Jesse:—David.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H1732 in the following manner: David (1,076x).]

b. put [Strong: 7971 shâlach, shaw-lakh'; a primitive root; to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications):—× any wise, appoint, bring (on the way), cast (away, out), conduct, × earnestly, forsake, give (up), grow long, lay, leave, let depart (down, go, loose), push away, put (away, forth, in, out), reach forth, send (away, forth, out), set, shoot (forth, out), sow, spread, stretch forth (out).] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H7971 in the following manner: send (566x), go (73x), (send, put, ...) forth (54x), send away (48x), lay (14x), send out (12x), put (10x), put away (7x), cast out (7x), stretch out (5x), cast (5x), set (5x), put out (4x), depart (4x), soweth (3x), loose (3x), miscellaneous (22x).]

c. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

d. [his] hand [Strong: 3027 yâd, yawd; a primitive word; a hand (the open one [indicating power, means, direction, etc.], in distinction from 3709, the closed one); used (as noun, adverb, etc.) in a great variety of applications, both literally and figuratively, both proximate and remote [as follows]:—( be) able, × about, armholes, at, axletree, because of, beside, border, × bounty, broad, (broken-) handed, × by, charge, coast, consecrate, creditor, custody, debt, dominion, × enough, fellowship, force, × from, hand(-staves, -y work), × he, himself, × in, labour, large, ledge, (left-) handed, means, × mine, ministry, near, × of, × order, ordinance, × our, parts, pain, power, ×presumptuously, service, side, sore, state, stay, draw with strength, stroke, swear, terror, × thee, × by them, × themselves, × thine own, × thou, through, × throwing, thumb, times, × to, × under, × us, × wait on, (way-) side, where, wide, × with (him, me, you), work, yield, × yourselves.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H3027 in the following manner: hand (1,359x), by (44x), consecrate (with H4390) (14x), him (14x), power (12x), them (11x), places (8x), tenons (6x), thee (6x), coast (6x), side (5x), miscellaneous (130x).]

e. in [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

f. [his] bag [Strong: 3627 kᵉlîy, kel-ee'; from H3615; something prepared, i.e. any apparatus (as an implement, utensil, dress, vessel or weapon):—armour(-bearer), artillery, bag, carriage, furnish, furniture, instrument, jewel, that is made of, × one from another, that which pertaineth, pot, psaltery, sack, stuff, thing, tool, vessel, ware, weapon, whatsoever.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H3627 in the following manner: vessel (166x), instrument (39x), weapon (21x), jewel (21x), armour bearer (with H5375) (18x), stuff (14x), thing (11x), armour (10x), furniture (7x), carriage (3x), bag (2x), miscellaneous (13x).]

g. took [Strong: 3947 lâqach, law-kakh'; a primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of applications):—accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get, infold, × many, mingle, place, receive(-ing), reserve, seize, send for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H3947 in the following manner: take (747x), receive (61x), take away (51x), fetch (31x), bring (25x), get (6x), take out (6x), carry away (5x), married (4x), buy (3x), miscellaneous (26x).]

h. [Strong: 8033 sham shawm a primitive particle (rather from the relative pronoun, 834); there (transferring to time) then; often thither, or thence:--in it, + thence, there (-in, + of, + out), + thither, + whither.]

i. [a] stone [Strong: 68 ʼeben, eh'-ben; from the root of H1129 through the meaning to build; a stone:— carbuncle, mason, plummet, (chalk-, hail-, head-, sling-) stone(-ny), (divers) weight(-s).] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H68 in the following manner: stone(s) (247x), weight(s) (7x), divers weights (with H68) (3x), hailstones (3x), stony (2x), carbuncle (with H688) (1x), hailstones (with H1259) (1x), hailstones (with H417) (1x), headstone (1x), masons (with H7023) (1x), plummet (1x), slingstones (1x).]

j. [and] slung it [Strong: 7049 qâlaʻ, kaw-lah'; a primitive root; to sling; also to carve (as if a circular motion, or into light forms):—carve, sling (out).] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H7049 in the following manner: sling (4x), carve (3x).]

2. “...and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.”

a. [and] smote [Strong: 5221 nâkâh, naw-kaw'; a primitive root; to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively):—beat, cast forth, clap, give (wounds), × go forward, × indeed, kill, make (slaughter), murderer, punish, slaughter, slay(-er, -ing), smite(-r, -ing), strike, be stricken, (give) stripes, × surely, wound.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H5221 in the following manner: smite (348x), slay (92x), kill (20x), beat (9x), slaughter (5x), stricken (3x), given (3x), wounded (3x), strike (2x), stripes (2x), miscellaneous (13x).]

b. [the] Philistine [Strong: 6430 Pᵉlishtîy, pel-ish-tee'; patrial from H6429; a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth:—Philistine.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H6430 in the following manner: Philistine (287x), Philistim (1x).]

c. in [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

d. [his] forehead [Strong: 4696 mêtsach, may'-tsakh; from an unused root meaning to be clear, i.e. conspicuous; the forehead (as open and prominent):—brow, forehead, impudent.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H4696 in the following manner: forehead (11x), impudent (1x), brow (1x).]

e. [that the] stone [Strong: 68 ʼeben, eh'-ben; from the root of H1129 through the meaning to build; a stone:— carbuncle, mason, plummet, (chalk-, hail-, head-, sling-) stone(-ny), (divers) weight(-s).] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H68 in the following manner: stone(s) (247x), weight(s) (7x), divers weights (with H68) (3x), hailstones (3x), stony (2x), carbuncle (with H688) (1x), hailstones (with H1259) (1x), hailstones (with H417) (1x), headstone (1x), masons (with H7023) (1x), plummet (1x), slingstones (1x).]

f. sunk [Strong: 2883 ṭâbaʻ, taw-bah'; a primitive root; to sink:—drown, fasten, settle, sink.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H2883 in the following manner: sink (7x), drown (1x), settle (1x), fasten (1x).]

g. [into his] forehead [Strong: 4696 mêtsach, may'-tsakh; from an unused root meaning to be clear, i.e. conspicuous; the forehead (as open and prominent):—brow, forehead, impudent.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H4696 in the following manner: forehead (11x), impudent (1x), brow (1x).]

h. [and he] fell [Strong: 5307 nâphal, naw-fal'; a primitive root; to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative):—be accepted, cast (down, self, (lots), out), cease, die, divide (by lot), (let) fail, (cause to, let, make, ready to) fall (away, down, -en, -ing), fell(-ing), fugitive, have (inheritance), inferior, be judged (by mistake for 6419), lay (along), (cause to) lie down, light (down), be (× hast) lost, lying, overthrow, overwhelm, perish, present(-ed, -ing), (make to) rot, slay, smite out, ×surely, throw down.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H5307 in the following manner: fall (318x), fall down (25x), cast (18x), cast down (9x), fall away (5x), divide (5x), overthrow (5x), present (5x), lay (3x), rot (3x), accepted (2x), lie down (2x), inferior (2x), lighted (2x), lost (2x), miscellaneous (22x).]

i. upon [Strong: 5921 `al al properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following); above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications (as follow):--above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, X as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, X both and, by (reason of), X had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-)on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, X with.]

j. [his] face [Strong: 6440 pânîym, paw-neem'; plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה pâneh; from H6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):— accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, × as (long as), at, battle, because (of), beseech, countenance, edge, employ, endure, enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, × him(-self), honourable, impudent, in, it, look(-eth) (-s), × me, meet, × more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), × on, open, out of, over against, the partial, person, please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason of, regard, right forth, serve, × shewbread, sight, state, straight, street, × thee, × them(-selves), through ( -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), upon, upside ( down), with(-in, -stand), × ye, × you.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H6440 in the following manner: before (1,137x), face (390x), presence (76x), because (67x), sight (40x), countenance (30x), from (27x), person (21x), upon (20x), of (20x), ...me (18x), against (17x), ...him (16x), open (13x), for (13x), toward (9x), miscellaneous (195x).]

k. [to the] earth [Strong: 776 ʼerets, eh'-rets; from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land):—× common, country, earth, field, ground, land, × natins, way, + wilderness, world.] [BLB: The KJV translates Strong's H776 in the following manner: land (1,543x), earth (712x), country (140x), ground (98x), world (4x), way (3x), common (1x), field (1x), nations (1x), wilderness (with H4057) (1x).]

1). The slingshots used in David’s day were deadly in their accuracy.

a). Judges 20:15, 16  And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

20:16 Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.

2). Secular sources provide even more interesting information about slingshots used in warfare.

a). Ancient Slingshot Was as Deadly as a .44 Magnum:  The Roman slingers would have exacted a heavy toll. Recent experiments conducted in Germany showed that a 50-gram Roman bullet hurled by a trained slinger has only slightly less stopping power than a .44 magnum cartridge fired from a handgun. Other tests revealed that a trained slinger could hit a target smaller than a human being from 130 yards away. “That’s exactly the distance from the front rampart of the south [Roman] camp to the front rampart of the hill fort,” Reid noted.

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/05/ancient-slingshot-lethal-44-magnum-scotland/

3). In my research I discovered most of the Philistine military helmets found in archeology showed an area across the whole forehead immediately above the eyebrows that was vulnerable to injury. Add to that the empowerment of the Holy Spirit upon David and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptural record, it is easy for us to view David’s slaying of Goliath as fact.