1 Samuel 17:21 (ASV)

Passage

And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the vale of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

1 Samuel 17:20 dummy verses inserted by amos

1 Samuel 17:21 And Israel and the Philistines put the battle in array, army against army.

1 Samuel 17:22 And David left his baggage in the hand of the keeper of the baggage, and ran to the army, and came and saluted his brethren.

1 Samuel 17:23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "israel", "philistines", "battle", "array", "army", and "against". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "israel" and "philistines", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "dummy verses inserted by amos..." into verse 22's "And David left his baggage in the...", so "israel" and "philistines" belong inside that flow. In 1 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "israel" and "philistines" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.