· Translation: KJV

1 Samuel 17:24All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were terrified.

The setting

Valley of Elah, Israel, ~1025 BC. Two armies face each other across a ravine. A 9-foot warrior in bronze armor steps forward, and an entire army flees in terror.

The emotion here: horrified at witnessing such cowardice

The original word

yare' (יָרְאוּ) — visceral terror that makes your knees buckle, not mere concern

Why it matters

Goliath's armor weighed 125 pounds — more than most soldiers could even carry

Read with care

What most readers miss in 1 Samuel 17:24

This happened DAILY for 40 days — imagine the psychological warfare

Common misconceptionPeople think this is about physical courage, but it's about spiritual blindness. Israel forgot they were God's army and saw only human strength.

Bible Genome reading

1 Samuel 17:24 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerNarrator
EraUnited Kingdom
Primary emotionanxious
Literary typenarrative

Emotional genome

Comfort power10%
Quotability40%
Memorability70%
Crisis relevance90%
Standalone30%
Themes:fearcowardice

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open 1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel 17:24 comes from the book of 1 Samuel, written during the United Kingdom period. These words are attributed to Narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is urgent. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include fear, cowardice. Notable phrases: fled from him; terrified.

Your reflection

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