1 Samuel 17:16 (YLT)

Passage

And the Philistine draweth nigh, morning and evening, and stationeth himself forty days.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:14 And David is the youngest, and the three eldest have gone after Saul,

1 Samuel 17:15 and David is going and returning from Saul, to feed the flock of his father at Beth-Lehem.

1 Samuel 17:16 And the Philistine draweth nigh, morning and evening, and stationeth himself forty days.

1 Samuel 17:17 And Jesse saith to David his son, `Take, I pray thee, to thy brethren, an ephah of this roasted <FI>corn<Fi> , and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;

1 Samuel 17:18 and these ten cuttings of the cheese thou dost take in to the head of the thousand, and thy brethren thou dost inspect for welfare, and their pledge dost receive.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "philistine", "draweth", "nigh", "morning", "evening", "stationeth", "himself", and "forty". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "philistine" and "draweth", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "and David is going and returning from..." into verse 17's "And Jesse saith to David his son...", so "philistine" and "draweth" 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 "philistine" and "draweth" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.