HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H1143
בֵּנַיִם
be.na.yim — champion
1) between, space between two armies 1a) man of the space between armies, i.e. champion (of Goliath) (meton)
2 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
Champion
Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H376
אִישׁ
ish — man
: man 1) man 1a) man, male (in contrast to woman, female) 1b) husband 1c) human being, person (in contrast to God) 1d) servant 1e) mankind 1f) champion 1g) great man 2) whosoever 3) each (adjective)
1371 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H377
אשׁשׁ
ish — be manly
(Hithpalel) to be a man, show masculinity, champion, great man
1 tagged verse occurrence · see every occurrence →GREEK · G21014
πρόμαχος
promachos — cake
1. fighting before or in front : πρόμαχοι, οἱ, the foremost fighters, champions , (Homer); ἐν προμάχοισιν among the foremost , (Iliad by Homer):—;as adjective, πρ. δόρυ the champion spear, (Sophocles Tragicus) 2. fighting for , πόλεως, δόμων (Aeschulus Tragicus) (ML)
0 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G21278
ὑπέρμαχος
hupermachos — champion, defender
a champion, defender , [variant datesAnthology Palantina (ML)
0 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G8945
προστάτης
prostatēs — a superintendent
1. one who stands before, a front-rank-man , (Xenophon Historicus) 2. a chief, leader of a party, (Herdotus Historicus); ὁ πρ. τοῦ δήμου (Thucydides) 3. generally, a president, ruler , (Aeschulus Tragicus), etc.; προστάται τῆς εἰρήνης its chief authors , (Xenophon Historicus) 4. one who stands before, a protector, guard, champion , πυλωμάτων (Aeschulus Tragicus), etc. 5. at Athens, of a citizen who took care of the μέτοικοι, as the Rom. patronus took care of his clientes; προστάτην γράφεσθαί τινα to choose as one's patron , (Aristophanes Comicus); but, γράφεσθαι προστάτου to enter oneself by one's patron's name , attach oneself to a patron , (Sophocles Tragicus) 6. προστάτης θεοῦ one who stands before a god to entreat him, a suppliant , (Sophocles Tragicus) (ML)
0 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →Historical dictionary entry
(1 Sam. 17:4, 23), properly “the man between the two,” denoting the position of Goliath between the two camps. Single combats of this kind at the head of armies were common in ancient times. In ver. 51 this word is the rendering of a different Hebrew word, and properly denotes “a mighty man.”
Scripture references
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.