Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
Said David to the Philistine. When two champions met, they generally made each of them a speech, and sometimes recited some verses, filled with allusions and epithets of the most opprobrious kind, and hurling contempt and defiance at one another (as in Homer's 'Iliad,' 1:, 4; also 23:, 21). This kind of abusive dialogue is common among the Arab combatants still. David's speech, however, presents a striking contrast to the usual strain of those invectives. It was full of pious trust; and to God he ascribed all the glory of the triumph he anticipated.