This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

1 SAMUEL 17:46KJV
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1 Samuel 17:46 (KJV)

What does 1 Samuel 17:46 mean?

1 Samuel 17:46 records David boldly declaring to Goliath that the LORD will hand Goliath over to him that very day, allowing David to defeat him, cut off his head, and give the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds and wild animals. David says this will show everyone that there is a God in Israel.

In this verse, David is speaking directly to Goliath on the battlefield, just before their famous fight. David, a young shepherd, is facing the giant warrior Goliath, who represents the Philistine army. David’s confidence is not in his own strength, but in the LORD (the God of Israel), and he makes it clear that the outcome will demonstrate God’s power to everyone watching.

The Hebrew behind 1 Samuel 17:46

  • The word for "deliver" is סָגַר (sagar), often meaning "to hand over" or "to give into someone’s power." David is saying that God Himself will actively give Goliath into David’s control, not just allow it to happen.
  • The word for "LORD" is יְהוָה (YHWH, often pronounced Yahweh), the personal name of Israel’s God. This stresses that David is not talking about a generic deity, but the specific God who has a relationship with Israel.
  • The word for "know" is יָדַע (yada‘), which means more than just intellectual knowledge—it often carries the sense of recognizing or acknowledging something as true. David wants all people to recognize and acknowledge the reality of Israel’s God.
  • The word for "God" is אֱלֹהִים (’elohim), a general word for God, but here it is used to make clear that Israel’s God is the true God, in contrast to the Philistines’ gods.

Why 1 Samuel 17:46 matters

  • This verse clears up the idea that David’s victory is about personal bravery or skill; David himself says the battle is about showing God’s power, not his own.
  • The verse highlights the public nature of what is happening—David wants "all the earth" to know about God, not just the Israelites or Philistines.
  • 1 Samuel 17:46 connects to the larger story by showing that David’s faith and understanding of God set him apart from others, even before he becomes king.

Where else these words appear

“carcases” Hebrew H6297 · used in 21 verses

  • Genesis 15:11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
  • 2 Chronicles 20:24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
  • Jeremiah 33:5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city.

“fowls” Hebrew H5775 · used in 70 verses

  • Genesis 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
  • Leviticus 7:26 Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.
  • Psalms 104:12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

“deliver” Hebrew H5462 · used in 87 verses

  • Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
  • 1 Samuel 1:6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
  • Job 12:14 Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

“is” Hebrew H3426 · used in 129 verses

  • Genesis 18:24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
  • 1 Samuel 23:23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.
  • Psalms 135:17 They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.