Goliath

About Goliath

Goliath was a Philistine warrior from the city of Gath who fought against the Israelites during the reign of King Saul. He is described as a giant, standing at six cubits and a span (approximately 9 feet 9 inches or 3 meters) tall, and wearing heavy bronze armor (1Sa.17.4-7). Goliath challenged the Israelites to send a champion to face him in single combat, but no one dared to accept the challenge until David, a young shepherd, volunteered. With a sling and a stone, David defeated Goliath, striking him on the forehead and killing him (1Sa.17.48-50). David then cut off Goliath's head with the giant's own sword (1Sa.17.51). This event is significant in David's life, as it marked the beginning of his rise to prominence in Israel. The sword of Goliath was kept as a trophy, and David later retrieved it from the tabernacle at Nob when he was fleeing from Saul (1Sa.21.9, 22:10). In 2Sa.21.19 and 1Ch.20.5, there is mention of another Goliath, also from Gath, who was killed by Elhanan, one of David's warriors. Some scholars believe this may refer to a brother or relative of the Goliath killed by David.

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.