And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a boy, and he is a warrior from his youth — Saul's objection (*lo tuchal*, you are not able) rests on the visible facts: age, experience, size, training—all favor Goliath. The verb *ish milchamah*, a man of war, echoes the phrase *ish elohim*, man of God, suggesting that Goliath represents a world of purely physical prowess, a mankind organized around martial capability. Saul's logic is impeccable, his fear reasonable; yet his assessment operates entirely in the material register, the realm of the visible and measurable. He cannot imagine a victory that would require faith rather than force.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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