And all this assembly will know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear — David's proclamation (*v'yode'u kol ha'qahal ha'zeh ki lo b'cherev u'bichniyt YHWH moshi'a'*) announces the theological principle underlying his action: victory belongs not to the one with superior weaponry but to the one whose faith is anchored in the living God. The negation *lo b'cherev u'bikhnit* (not by sword and spear) asserts a radical reversal of expected cause and effect; the mechanisms of warfare will prove irrelevant. This statement will be proven true not by argument but by event—the stone that fells the giant will be more powerful than all of Goliath's military apparatus.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse