David and Goliath Bible Quiz
Five questions on the story most children can already tell, and the details almost everyone gets wrong.
5 questions · 1 Samuel 17:38-50 · King James Version · about 3 minutes
1 Samuel 17 · Bible quiz
What did Saul put on David before the fight?
Choose one answer.
Answer · 1 Samuel 17:38
A brass helmet and a coat of mail — Saul armed David with his own armour, a helmet of brass and a coat of mail. David wore it for a moment and then took it off, because he had never used it and would not learn how in a valley.
Read the chapter“And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.”
1 Samuel 17:38 · King James Version1 Samuel 17 · Bible quiz
How many stones did David choose from the brook?
Choose one answer.
Answer · 1 Samuel 17:40
Five — Five smooth stones, put into a shepherd's bag. He only needed one, which is the detail people remember, but he went prepared for five.
Read the chapter“And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.”
1 Samuel 17:40 · King James Version1 Samuel 17 · Bible quiz
Which animals had David already fought while keeping his father's sheep?
Choose one answer.
Answer · 1 Samuel 17:36
A lion and a bear — A lion and a bear. He tells Saul about both before the fight, as the reason he is not afraid of the Philistine.
Read the chapter“Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.”
1 Samuel 17:36 · King James Version1 Samuel 17 · Bible quiz
Goliath came with a sword, a spear and a shield. What did David say he came with?
Choose one answer.
Answer · 1 Samuel 17:45
In the name of the LORD of hosts — David names the weapons Goliath is carrying, then answers with a name rather than a weapon: he comes in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.
Read the chapter“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”
1 Samuel 17:45 · King James Version1 Samuel 17 · Bible quiz
What does verse 50 say David did not have in his hand?
Choose one answer.
Answer · 1 Samuel 17:50
A sword — No sword. The chapter makes a point of it: David beat the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and only picked up a sword afterwards, and it was Goliath's own.
Read the chapter“So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.”
1 Samuel 17:50 · King James Version
Questions and answers
All 5 questions with their answers, the reason behind each one, and the verse it rests on.
What did Saul put on David before the fight?
A brass helmet and a coat of mail — Saul armed David with his own armour, a helmet of brass and a coat of mail. David wore it for a moment and then took it off, because he had never used it and would not learn how in a valley.
“And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.”
1 Samuel 17:38 · KJVHow many stones did David choose from the brook?
Five — Five smooth stones, put into a shepherd's bag. He only needed one, which is the detail people remember, but he went prepared for five.
“And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.”
1 Samuel 17:40 · KJVWhich animals had David already fought while keeping his father's sheep?
A lion and a bear — A lion and a bear. He tells Saul about both before the fight, as the reason he is not afraid of the Philistine.
“Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.”
1 Samuel 17:36 · KJVGoliath came with a sword, a spear and a shield. What did David say he came with?
In the name of the LORD of hosts — David names the weapons Goliath is carrying, then answers with a name rather than a weapon: he comes in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.
“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”
1 Samuel 17:45 · KJVWhat does verse 50 say David did not have in his hand?
A sword — No sword. The chapter makes a point of it: David beat the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and only picked up a sword afterwards, and it was Goliath's own.
“So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.”
1 Samuel 17:50 · KJV
About David and Goliath
Most children meet this story as a small boy, a giant, and one lucky stone. The chapter itself is more interesting than that, because it spends its time on what David refused rather than on what he threw. Saul dresses him in a king's armour, a brass helmet and a coat of mail, and David takes all of it off again. His reason is plain and worth reading aloud: he had not proved it. He would not walk into the valley wearing equipment he had never used.
What he took instead was what he knew. A staff, a sling, and five smooth stones out of the brook — the tools of the job he had been doing all along, out with his father's sheep. He had already fought a lion and a bear over a lamb, and he says so to Saul before the fight rather than afterwards. Whatever nerve he had, he had built it keeping sheep.
The line the chapter builds to is the one children remember least. Goliath lists his sword, his spear and his shield. David answers with a name: he comes in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. Then verse 47 says what the whole story is for — the battle is the LORD's. The stone lands two verses later, and the writer is careful to add that there was no sword in the hand of David.
Read it with a child and the question worth asking is why he would not wear the armour.
Written and checked against the King James text by Random Bible. Last reviewed September 23, 2026.
David and Goliath: common questions
Is this Bible quiz suitable for children?
Yes. The questions are written for readers around eight and up, every answer names its verse, and nothing in the quiz goes past verse 50 — the beheading in verse 51 is outside the passage.
How tall was Goliath?
Six cubits and a span, which the King James Version gives in 1 Samuel 17:4. That works out around nine feet nine inches, though the oldest Greek and Hebrew manuscripts disagree with each other about the number.
Why did David take five stones if he only needed one?
The chapter does not say. It says he chose five smooth stones out of the brook and used one. Some readers point to 2 Samuel 21, where four more giants of Gath are killed and one of them is named as Goliath's brother; others say David was simply being careful. Neither reading has more support in the text than the other.