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Scripture Analysis

1 Samuel 17:38

This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.

Contradictions
1 entry

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WEB

Saul dressed David with his clothing. He put a helmet of bronze on his head, and he clad him with a coat of mail.

World English Bible

Read 1 Samuel 17:38 in context

Examined in Scripture Analysis

Contradictions (1)

Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.

  • Was David a man of war before he fought Goliath?

    1 Samuel 16:18 introduces David to Saul as already "a mighty valiant man, and a man of war." One chapter later, 1 Samuel 17:33 has Saul calling David a youth incapable of fighting Goliath, and David unable to even walk in armor he has never tried on.

    Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.

    More on this question

    The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.

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Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built

Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.

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One of these tensions involves a difference in wording across manuscripts or translations. Examine the original language on Lemma

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This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.

"1 Samuel 17:38 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/1-samuel/17/38?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).