What does 1 Samuel 17:9 mean?

The Philistines have gathered against Israel for war (1 Samuel 17:1–3). Goliath of Gath has come out of the Philistine camp; he is massive, intimidating, and seemingly unbeatable (1 Samuel 17:4–7). Goliath proposes something called "champion warfare" (1 Samuel 17:8). Instead of the two armies engaging in all-out battle with each other, resulting in many deaths and injuries, two representative warriors from each side fight to the death. The loser's side becomes servants or slaves to the winner's side.

Champion warfare was apparently practiced around the Near East during this era. It is more common in literature than in the real world, but it was occasionally used. Homer's Iliad describes such an arrangement in two battles, and wall paintings and stories from ancient Egypt show similar showdowns. This may have represented the theological view that the gods won battles. Why sacrifice so many lives to see which of the gods will prevail when that same can be accomplished with just one life? The obvious advantage for both sides was avoiding massive loss of life and destruction of property. The disadvantage, of course, was that one-on-one battles can have unpredictable outcomes.

Goliath's proposition reveals that he had no concerns. In his mind, no Israelite could possibly defeat him in one-on-one combat. His taunts may be an attempt to bait one of the Hebrew soldiers into making a foolish choice.