1 Samuel 17:21 (YLT)

Passage

and Israel and the Philistines set in array rank to meet rank.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 17:19 And Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel <FI>are<Fi> in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

1 Samuel 17:20 And David riseth early in the morning, and leaveth the flock to a keeper, and lifteth up, and goeth, as Jesse commanded him, and he cometh in to the path, and to the force which is going out unto the rank, and they have shouted for battle;

1 Samuel 17:21 and Israel and the Philistines set in array rank to meet rank.

1 Samuel 17:22 And David letteth down the goods from off him on the hand of a keeper of the goods, and runneth into the rank, and cometh and asketh of his brethren of welfare.

1 Samuel 17:23 And he is speaking with them, and lo, a man of the duellists is coming up, Goliath the Philistine <FI>is<Fi> his name, of Gath, out of the ranks of the Philistines, and he speaketh according to those words, and David heareth;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "israel", "philistines", "array", "rank", and "meet". 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 "And David riseth early in the morning..." into verse 22's "And David letteth down the goods from...", 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.