Simple question to resolve a debate I'm having with a family member. How did David kill Goliath? Was it with the stone from his sling or with the sword when he cut off his head?

Today's First Readings:

January 18, 2012

Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 Sm 17:32-33, 37, 40-51

David spoke to Saul:
"Let your majesty not lose courage.
I am at your service to go and fight this Philistine."
But Saul answered David,
"You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him,
for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth."

David continued:
"The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear,
will also keep me safe from the clutches of this Philistine."
Saul answered David, "Go! the LORD will be with you."

Then, staff in hand, David selected five smooth stones from the wadi
and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's bag.
With his sling also ready to hand, he approached the Philistine.

With his shield bearer marching before him,
the Philistine also advanced closer and closer to David.
When he had sized David up,
and seen that he was youthful, and ruddy, and handsome in appearance,
the Philistine held David in contempt.
The Philistine said to David,
"Am I a dog that you come against me with a staff?"
Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods
and said to him, "Come here to me,
and I will leave your flesh for the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field."
David answered him:
"You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar,
but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts,
the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted.
Today the LORD shall deliver you into my hand;
I will strike you down and cut off your head.
This very day I will leave your corpse
and the corpses of the Philistine army for the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field;
thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God.
All this multitude, too,
shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves.
For the battle is the LORD's and he shall deliver you into our hands."

The Philistine then moved to meet David at close quarters,
while David ran quickly toward the battle line
in the direction of the Philistine.
David put his hand into the bag and took out a stone,
hurled it with the sling,
and struck the Philistine on the forehead.
The stone embedded itself in his brow,
and he fell prostrate on the ground.
Thus David overcame the Philistine with sling and stone;
he struck the Philistine mortally, and did it without a sword.
Then David ran and stood over him;
with the Philistine's own sword which he drew from its sheath
he dispatched him and cut off his head.

From the Jerusalem Bible:

First reading	1 Samuel 17:32-33,37,40-51 ©

David said to Saul, ‘Let no-one lose heart on his account; your servant will go and fight the Philistine.’ But Saul answered David, ‘You cannot go and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior from his youth.’

‘The Lord who rescued me from the claws of lion and bear’ David said ‘will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.’ Then Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’

He took his staff in his hand, picked five smooth stones from the river bed, put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch, and with his sling in his hand he went to meet the Philistine. The Philistine, his shield-bearer in front of him, came nearer and nearer to David; and the Philistine looked at David, and what he saw filled him with scorn, because David was only a youth, a boy of fresh complexion and pleasant bearing. The Philistine said to him, ‘Am I a dog for you to come against me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, ‘Come over here and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.’ But David answered the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have dared to insult. Today the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I shall kill you; I will cut off your head, and this very day I will give your dead body and the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord gives the victory, for the Lord is lord of the battle and he will deliver you into our power.’

No sooner had the Philistine started forward to confront David than David left the line of battle and ran to meet the Philistine. Putting his hand in his bag, he took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; the stone penetrated his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone and struck the Philistine down and killed him. David had no sword in his hand. Then David ran and, standing over the Philistine, seized his sword and drew it from the scabbard, and with this he killed him, cutting off his head. The Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and took to flight.

The RSV explicitly says that there was no sword in David’s hand.

From: 1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51

David and Goliath (Continuation)

[32] And David to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will
go and fight with this Philistine.” [33] And Saul said to David, “You are not able
to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he has
been a man of war from his youth.” [37] And David said, “The LORD who deli-
vered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me
from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be
with you!” [40] Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones
from the brook, and put them in his shepherd’s bag or wallet; his sling was in his
hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.

[41] And the Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer
in front of him. [42] And when the Philistine looked, and saw David, he disdained
him; for he was but a youth, ruddy and comely in appearance. [43] And the
Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the
Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me,
and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” [45]
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear
and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God
of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. [46] This day the LORD will deliver
you into my hand, and I will strike you down, and cut off your head; and I will give
the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and
to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in
Israel, [47] and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with
sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and he will give you into our hand.”

[48] When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran
quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his
bag and took out a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead;
the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

[50] So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck
the Philistine, and killed him; there was no sword in the hand of David. [51] Then
David ran and stood over the Philistine, and took his sword and drew it out of its
sheath, and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that
their champion was dead, they fled.

As a child I used to view this story, and so many of the Bible stories as “miracles”. Some of them are not so much miracles, but just using the gifts that God has given you. And even the “lowliest” are given gifts - and sometimes those gifts are developed in hard times. I’m sure David felt left out that he had to stay with the sheep while his older brothers got to be heros in battle. (”How come THEY always get to....”).

But it was David’s talents, and his faith - both in God and his talents, that saw David victorious. And I also like it how the science indicates that the sling and a stone did have the physics behind it to kill.

I also get a real kick out of all the faith and praise that David has for God, and that it will be God’s doing of killing Goliath, and God is all powerful, etc. And then David
.
.
.
...goes and grabs FIVE stones.

I wish someone would give a sermon on that some day!

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