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Thursday, July 31st, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

New Century Version

1 Samuel 17:2

Saul and the Israelites gathered in the Valley of Elah and camped there and took their positions to fight the Philistines.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Elah;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible Stories for Children;   Children;   Home;   Pleasant Sunday Afternoons;   Religion;   Saul, King of Israel;   Stories for Children;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Armies;   Valleys;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Elah;   Goliath;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Palestine;   Philistia, philistines;   War;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Prayer;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Adullam;   Elah;   Teil Tree;   Valley;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Elah, Valley of;   Vale;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Elah;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - David;   Giant;   Oak;   Samuel, Books of;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Elah, Valley of;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Goliath;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Elah;   Goliath;   Smith Bible Dictionary - E'lah, the Valley of;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Elah, Vale of;   Oak;   Philistines;   Plain;   Terebinth;   Vale;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Elah, the Valley of;   Oak and Terebinth;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Saul and the men of Israel gathered and camped in the Valley of Elah; then they lined up in battle formation to face the Philistines.
Hebrew Names Version
Sha'ul and the men of Yisra'el were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Pelishtim.
King James Version
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
Lexham English Bible
Then Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and they formed ranks for the battle to meet the Philistines.
English Standard Version
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.
New English Translation
Saul and the Israelite army assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against the Philistines.
Amplified Bible
Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together and they camped in the Valley of Elah, and assembled in battle formation to meet the Philistines.
New American Standard Bible
Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, and they drew up in battle formation to confront the Philistines.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Saul, and the men of Israel assembled, and pitched in the valley of Elah, and put themselues in battell araie to meete the Philistims.
Legacy Standard Bible
But Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah and arranged themselves for battle to meet the Philistines.
Contemporary English Version
King Saul and the Israelite army set up camp on a hill overlooking Elah Valley, and they got ready to fight the Philistine army that was on a hill on the other side of the valley.
Complete Jewish Bible
Sha'ul and the men of Isra'el assembled, set up camp in the Elah Valley and drew up their battle line opposite the P'lishtim.
Darby Translation
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of terebinths, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
Easy-to-Read Version
Saul and the Israelite soldiers also gathered together. Their camp was in the Valley of Elah. Saul's soldiers were lined up and ready to fight the Philistines.
George Lamsa Translation
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Terebinth, and they set the army in array to fight against the Philistines.
Good News Translation
Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in Elah Valley, where they got ready to fight the Philistines.
Literal Translation
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and camped in the valley of Elah. And they set the battle in order to meet the Philistines.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Saul & the me of Israel came together, & pitched in the Oke valley, & prepared them selues to the battayll agaynst the Philistynes.
American Standard Version
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the vale of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
Bible in Basic English
And Saul and the men of Israel came together and took up their position in the valley of Elah, and put their forces in order against the Philistines.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Saul & the men of Israel came together, and pytched in the valley of Elah, and put them selues in battaile aray, to meete the Philistines.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched in the vale of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
King James Version (1611)
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battell in aray against the Philistines.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Saul and the men of Israel gather together, and they encamp in the valley, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
English Revised Version
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched in the vale of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
Berean Standard Bible
Saul and the men of Israel assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, arraying themselves for battle against the Philistines.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli Saul and the men of Israel weren gaderid, and camen in to the valey of Terebynte, and dressiden scheltrun to fiyte ayens Filisteis.
Young's Literal Translation
and Saul and the men of Israel have been gathered, and encamp by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array to meet the Philistines.
Update Bible Version
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and encamped by the valley of Elah, and [they] set the battle in array against the Philistines.
World English Bible
Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
New King James Version
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines.
New Living Translation
Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah.
New Life Bible
Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and set up their tents in the valley of Elah. They came up dressed for battle to fight against the Philistines.
New Revised Standard
Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and, Saul and the men of Israel, gathered themselves together, and encamped in the vale of Elah, and set the army in array against the Philistines.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Saul and the children of Israel being gathered together, came to the valley of Terebinth, and they set the army in array to fight against the Philistines.
Revised Standard Version
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array to encounter the Philistines.

Contextual Overview

1 The Philistines gathered their armies for war. They met at Socoh in Judah and camped at Ephes Dammim between Socoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites gathered in the Valley of Elah and camped there and took their positions to fight the Philistines. 3 The Philistines controlled one hill while the Israelites controlled another. The valley was between them. 4 The Philistines had a champion fighter from Gath named Goliath. He was about nine feet, four inches tall. He came out of the Philistine camp 5 with a bronze helmet on his head and a coat of bronze armor that weighed about one hundred twenty-five pounds. 6 He wore bronze protectors on his legs, and he had a bronze spear on his back. 7 The wooden part of his larger spear was like a weaver's rod, and its blade weighed about fifteen pounds. The officer who carried his shield walked in front of him. 8 Goliath stood and shouted to the Israelite soldiers, "Why have you taken positions for battle? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul's servants! Choose a man and send him to fight me. 9 If he can fight and kill me, we will be your servants. But if I can kill him, you will be our servants." 10 Then he said, "Today I stand and dare the army of Israel! Send one of your men to fight me!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the valley: 1 Samuel 17:19, 1 Samuel 21:9

set the battle in array: Heb. ranged the battle

Reciprocal: 1 Chronicles 19:9 - put the battle

Cross-References

Genesis 9:9
"Now I am making my agreement with you and your people who will live after you,
Genesis 12:2
I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.
Genesis 13:16
I will make your descendants as many as the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust on the earth, he could count your people.
Genesis 15:18
So on that day the Lord made an agreement with Abram and said, "I will give to your descendants the land between the river of Egypt and the great river Euphrates.
Genesis 17:4
"I am making my agreement with you: I will make you the father of many nations.
Genesis 17:6
I will give you many descendants. New nations will be born from you, and kings will come from you.
Genesis 17:8
You live in the land of Canaan now as a stranger, but I will give you and your descendants all this land forever. And I will be the God of your descendants."
Genesis 17:11
Cut away your foreskin to show that you are prepared to follow the agreement between me and you.
Genesis 17:17
Abraham bowed facedown on the ground and laughed. He said to himself, "Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth to a child when she is ninety?"
Genesis 17:18
Then Abraham said to God, "Please let Ishmael be the son you promised."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together,.... He being cured, at least being better of his disorder, through the music of David, and alarmed and aroused by the invasion of the Philistines, which might serve to dissipate any remains of it, or prevent its return, got together his forces:

and pitched by the valley of Elah; which Jerom u says Aquila and Theodotion interpret "the valley of the oak"; but the Vulgate Latin version, the valley of Terebinth; which, according to our countryman Sandys w, was four miles from Ramaosophim, where Samuel dwelt; for he says,

"after four miles riding, we descended into the valley of Terebinth, famous, though little, for the slaughter of Goliath;''

and in the Targum this valley is called the valley of Butma, which in the Arabic language signifies a "terebinth", or turpentine tree; though some translate it "the oak"; and, according to some modern travellers x, to this day it bears a name similar to that; for they say it is

"now called the vale of Bitumen, very famous all over those parts for David's victory over Goliath:''

and set the battle in array against the Philistines; prepared to give them battle.

u Deloc. Heb. fol. 91. F. w Travels, p. 157. ed. 5. x Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 1. p. 305.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The valley of Elah - i. e., of the terebinth, now called Wady es Sunt, from the acacias which are scattered in it.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 17:2. The valley of Elah — Some translate this the turpentine valley, or the valley of the terebinth trees; and others, the valley of oaks. The situation of this valley is well known.


 
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