And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines, at Gob; then Sibbechai the Hushathite smote Saph, who was of the children of Raphah.
The giant Ishbi-benob had nearly killed an exhausted David. His men then swore the king would never go out to battle again. So at Gob the giant falls to a servant, Sibbecai the Hushathite, and not to the king.
Gob had already been a battlefield, and the king is not on the field this time. One writer turns both facts into encouragement:
It does not matter that our David is absent, as in the two battles at Gob. The same Spirit that drove Him on is still with us. Perhaps we may be alone, as Sibbecai the Hushathite was alone against Saph — for the struck-down giant always reappears in another form. What does that matter? Perhaps — a discouraging situation — Gob, the place where he was defeated, will become a battlefield for us a second time. What does it matter if we must retrace the same steps when we thought we had finished with a treacherous struggle?
The man killed here belongs to a family line, not just an army. Chronicles records him under a different name:
One described as "of the sons of the giant" (or Rapha), killed by Sibbecai. 2 Sam. 21:18. He is called SIPPAI in 1 Chr. 20:4.
Writers offer several meanings for the name Saph. One traces it back to a root with two opposite senses, and finds a warning in it:
Saph, as commonly used in Hebrew, means "basin," or "door, threshold," and this, I suppose, is commonly accepted as the meaning of the second giant's name. Young, however, gives "preserver," while Simonis, comparing the Ethiopic, translates it "extended, long, tall." If it comes from saphah, however, a meaning appears that agrees so completely with the context here that we cannot hesitate to prefer it. Saphah has two meanings, opposed to one another and yet in perfect spiritual harmony: it means either "to add" or "to take away." Saph may in this way stand for "addition" or "subtraction." So Saph stands for adding, from time to time, to the authoritative standard of Christian truth. No one taught in the Word can doubt that such "additions" are really "subtractions" from the authority of Scripture. They are used to overturn some of its plainest teachings.
David is absent, yet the chapter is full of victories. One writer ties the strength of the servants to the place their king holds:
Now that David is restored to his true position, grace so overflows that his servants become mighty men. Their brave deeds only proclaim who is on the throne. Notice that the Spirit turns to look at the servants only after David is firmly settled on the throne and doing judgment and justice. Until then the Spirit speaks only of David... The Lord uses men, and honours them by using them as His servants now; but we are not necessary to His power. But David is more than an honoured servant. As a type he must be on the throne. Then there is no limit to the outflow of grace. The servants are mighty because David is on the throne, and they kill giants.
The same writer contrasts the Philistines with Israel's other enemies:
We do not read here of giants among the Ammonites and Syrians. Those enemies stand instead for the outside forces of the Enemy — for us, the world, with its hatred, persecutions, and killing of the saints. But when Israel faces the Philistines, it finds giants, and these are more an enemy inside the borders... they were the most persistent of all. The Israelites do not subdue them with one victory. Not even these famous warriors scare them off. Israel may beat them again and again, and yet war comes again. And they come with increased power.
Sibbecai does what his king once did against Goliath. One writer traces that courage back to David, and then to us:
David's men were able to win significant victories over various giants. David's own faith, when he first went out against Goliath, had no doubt left a lasting effect. It encouraged his men to face these giants boldly. We too see the Lord Jesus going without fear against the power of His enemies, in His life on earth and in everything surrounding the cross. Does this not stir up our courage of faith to meet enemies boldly?
- Throne first. The servants grow mighty because their king sits secure on the throne. Their victories announce who reigns, not how strong they are.
- Courage borrowed. David's stand against Goliath is what gives men like Sibbecai courage to face giants of their own.
- Same ground again. Gob has to be fought over twice. An old enemy returning in another form is normal, and no reason for discouragement.
- Persistent breed. The Philistine giants picture the enemy nearest home — beaten again and again, yet returning with more power.
- Named and numbered. Saph, also called Sippai, belongs to a family line of giants; writers suggest different meanings for his name, and one reads it as "addition" — adding to God's truth, which is really subtraction from it.
And there was again a battle at Gob with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, smote Goliath the Gittite; now the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam.
At first reading, this verse gives Goliath's death to Elhanan — the same giant, spear and all, that David had already killed. How can both be true? And why does Scripture record these later battles against the giant's family at all?
Critics use this verse to argue that the account in 1 Samuel 17 never happened. One writer sets the two records side by side.
Almost all modern critics treat the story of this chapter as unhistorical. One of their leading arguments is the statement in 2 Sam. 21:19 that Goliath's killer was Elhanan the son of Jair-oregim, a Bethlehemite. But if we consult still another passage we find that Elhanan slew the brother of Goliath. "And Elhanan the son of Jair struck down Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite" (1 Chron. 20:5). It is therefore no discrepancy at all. If the account in 1 Sam. 17 were untrue, Saul's jealousy of David would make no sense.
The names themselves point the same way. One writer weighs the wording:
In Samuel, "Jaare-oregim" means "forests of the weavers," which does not look like the name of a man. In Chronicles, Elhanan is the "son of Jair," and the word "oregim" ("weavers") may have crept in from later in the sentence… Also, "Beth-halahmi," "the Bethlehemite," in the one passage comes strikingly close to "eth Lahmi" — Lahmi, as the object of the verb — in the other. On the whole, Chronicles seems to give the correct text, though the Septuagint keeps both.
The spear "like a weaver's beam" makes this giant look like the one David had already beaten. One writer speaks straight to Elhanan:
Look now! Goliath, that old enemy, reappears on this ground… This Goliath, this Gittite, is a false Goliath. He bears a deceptive name, a lying name. He is only Lahmi, Goliath's brother. Yes, but he has the same spear, like a weaver's beam, doesn't he? Ask him, Elhanan, where his sword is. His sword is in David's hands, and it will stay there forever. You are sure of victory, Elhanan!
The same pattern runs through the chapter's other giants:
They may be defeated, again and again, and yet again there is war. And they come with increased power. There is a man of great size, beyond anything normal. But he was the son of the giant, and the killing of Goliath is the pledge of his own.
The man's name matters. Set beside another name in this chapter, it says something about God:
Elhanan (v.19) means "God is a gracious giver." That stands in great contrast to the way formal religion presents God, as dealing with people on a legal, bargaining basis. Jonathan (v.21) was a nephew of David, and his name means much the same as Elhanan: "Jehovah is giver." So we may think of God as the great Originator of all things, or look at Him as Jehovah in His dealings with people. Either way, He is always a giver. He is not a merchant seeking gain from others.
David is not named in this battle. The fighting goes on without him, on ground already fought over once.
It does not matter if our David is absent as in the two battles at Gob. The same Spirit that urged Him on is still with us… for the stricken giant is always reappearing in another form. What does that matter? Perhaps — and this is discouraging — Gob, the place where he was beaten, will become a battlefield for us a second time. What does it matter if we must go over the same ground again, when we thought we had finished a treacherous fight?
Here the giant-killers are servants, not the king. Their strength says something about him:
Now that David holds his true position again, grace so overflows that his servants become mighty men. Their brave deeds only proclaim who is on the throne… The Lord uses men now, and honours them by using them as His servants. But we are not necessary to His power… As a type, he must be on the throne. Then there is no limit to the outflow of grace. The servants are mighty because David is on the throne, and they kill giants.
- No contradiction — the parallel record names the man Elhanan killed as Lahmi, Goliath's brother. Chronicles seems to give the clearer text, and "the Bethlehemite" stands close in Hebrew to "eth Lahmi."
- No true Goliath — the spear like a weaver's beam makes a look-alike. But the real Goliath's sword stays in David's hands, so this giant had already lost before the fight began.
- No bargain — Elhanan means "God is a gracious giver," against every idea that God trades with people instead of giving to them.
- No wasted ground — the beaten enemy keeps coming back in new forms. Gob must be fought over a second time, and going over old ground again does not matter.
- No need of us — the servants grow strong because their king sits on the throne. Their victories proclaim who reigns, not who fought.