fell face down

In Gbaya, the notion of the large Goliath onto the ground in 1 Samuel 17:49 is emphasized with the ideophone rum, which refers to the collapse of a large animal or a person falling heavily.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

David Fights Goliath

The following is a stained glass window from the Three choir windows in the Marienkirche, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, of the 14th century, depicting Hannah’s dedication of Samuel:

Source: Der gläserne Schatz: Die Bilderbibel der St. Marienkirche in Frankfurt (Oder), Neuer Berlin Verlag, 2005, copyright for this image: Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologisches Landesmuseum

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

See also other stained glass windows from the Marienkirche in Frankfurt.

David Kills Goliath

Artwork by Sister Marie Claire , SMMI (1937–2018) from Bengaluru, India.

For more information about images by Sister Marie Claire and ways to purchase them as lithographs, see here .

For other images of Sister Marie Claire paintings in TIPs, see here.

complete verse (1 Samuel 17:49)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 17:49:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then David removed a stone from his bag and put it in the sling and after that he threw it. That stone hit the forehead of Goliath and it entered into his head. Then Goliath fell face down.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “David taking out one stone that was in his bag, [and] putting it into a sling, struck that Philistine on the forehead. That stone went into his forehead and Goliath went sprawling, prostrate on the ground.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “David took a stone from of his leather/[lit. skin] container, and he slung/hurled this at Goliat, and this landed on his forehead. The stone made-an-impression/penetrated into his forehead, and he fell facing-down on the ground.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He put his hand into his shoulder-bag and took out one stone. He put it in his sling and hurled it toward Goliath. The stone hit Goliath on the forehead and penetrated his skull, and he fell face down onto the ground.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English means “beloved.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Elizabeth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about David (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 17:49

This verse uses the pronouns his and he in reference to both David and Goliath. Translators may need to replace some of the pronouns with proper nouns if the pronoun reference is not clear. This will of course depend on how pronoun reference is handled in the receptor language. But readers must understand that David reached into his own bag for the stone, and that it was Goliath’s forehead that was hit by the stone. Further, it was Goliath who fell down to the ground.

Bag: see the comments on verse 40. A “sling” is also described in verse 40. The verb slung is from the same root in English as the noun “a sling.” In some languages it may be necessary to say something like “took out a stone, put it in the sling and threw it.”

Sank into his forehead is a literal translation and is not a natural English way of expressing what happened. Compare “penetrated his forehead” (New Jerusalem Bible), “embedded itself in his brow” (New American Bible), and “broke his skull” (Good News Translation).

To ensure that the pronoun reference is clearly understood, Good News Translation uses the name “Goliath” in the last sentence of this verse in place of he. Otherwise some readers may think that David prostrated himself in gratitude to God for what had happened.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .