It may seem odd in some languages to state as the Hebrew does that Goliath wore the helmet on his head, since a helmet by definition is worn on the head. Good News Translation leaves that information implicit. Bronze is a compound consisting of copper and tin. Compare Gen 4.22 and Josh 6.19. But there are contexts in which the same Hebrew term seems to mean “copper” (Deut 8.9). Where copper and bronze are unknown, translators may have to resort to a more general term meaning “metal.”

A coat of mail: this was a garment made of interlocking metal rings or small scales that were tied together with leather thongs. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh calls this “a breast-plate of scale armor” (similarly New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Century Version, New International Version).

Five thousand shekels of bronze: about sixty kilograms (132 pounds). Translators are not encouraged to translate by retaining the Hebrew unit of measure but are rather urged to use a modern equivalent in the receptor language. For example, New International Version, which uses a modern equivalent for the height of Goliath, should not be followed with regard to the weight of his armor, since it adopts a literal rendering of the Hebrew.

The placement of the word meaning of bronze is odd in English. It refers to the material of which the coat of mail was made and seems out of place as a part of the weight. Translators will almost certainly want to shift it forward.

The description of Goliath’s armor in verses 5-6 shows that most of his body is protected. All of this prepares the reader for verse 49, where David strikes the giant in his forehead, the one unprotected part of Goliath’s body.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .