1 Samuel 17:3 (DBY)

Passage

And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side; and the ravine was between them.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:1 And the Philistines assembled their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.

1 Samuel 17:2 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.

1 Samuel 17:3 And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side; and the ravine was between them.

1 Samuel 17:4 And there went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

1 Samuel 17:5 And he had a helmet of bronze upon his head, and he was clothed with a corselet of scales; and the weight of the corselet was five thousand shekels of bronze.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "philistines", "stood", "mountain", "side", "israel", and "other". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "philistines" and "stood", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "And Saul and the men of Israel..." into verse 4's "And there went out a champion from...", so "philistines" and "stood" 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 "philistines" and "stood" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.