And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.

1 SAMUEL 17:38KJV
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1 Samuel 17:38 (KJV)

What does 1 Samuel 17:38 mean?

1 Samuel 17:38 describes King Saul preparing David to fight Goliath by giving him a soldier’s protective equipment. Saul’s own armor, helmet, and coat of mail show that David is being equipped for a face-to-face battle with a heavily armed opponent.

The verse follows Saul’s permission for David to go against Goliath. The clothing and weapons associated with Saul place David in the role of a conventional warrior, setting up the contrast with how David approaches the fight in the verses that follow.

The Hebrew behind 1 Samuel 17:38

  • “armour” — מַד (mad): This word can refer to clothing or a garment. Here the KJV’s “armour” presents it as the clothing Saul gives David for battle.
  • “mail” — שִׁרְיוֹן (shiryōn): This word refers to protective body armor. The KJV’s “coat of mail” pictures a garment worn to protect the body, rather than an ordinary coat.

Why 1 Samuel 17:38 matters

  • Saul’s equipment gives David a point of comparison before the fight. In verse 39, David tries to walk in the gear but takes it off because he is not used to it.
  • The armor brings David’s preparation alongside Goliath’s. Earlier in the passage, Goliath also wears a brass helmet and a coat of mail, making the two fighters’ equipment a noticeable part of the story.

Where else these words appear

“helmet” Hebrew H6959 · used in 2 verses

  • Ezekiel 23:24 And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.

“mail” Hebrew H8302 · used in 8 verses

  • 1 Samuel 17:5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
  • 2 Chronicles 18:33 And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
  • Nehemiah 4:16 And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.

“armour” Hebrew H4055 · used in 12 verses

  • Leviticus 6:10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.
  • 1 Samuel 4:12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.
  • 2 Samuel 21:20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.

“armed” Hebrew H3847 · used in 103 verses

  • Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
  • 2 Chronicles 5:12 Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)
  • Isaiah 49:18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.