Interesting Findings

I thoroughly enjoyed my blog last week about the allusion, and I wanted to continue with that because I did have one question stick out to me. The story of David and goliath is a great story, but I always find myself caught by one verse.  In 1Samuel chapter 17 verse 4 states: “A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span”.  Now I imagine that is a pretty big height, but exactly how tall he was is not clear to me at all. So my question is how exactly tall was Goliath?

 

 

 

   While doing a little digging online I found various height listed for goliath. One website that I found stated the following : According to the Masoretic Text of the Old Testament[1] Goliath was six cubits and a span tall, 3.2 meters (9 feet, 6 inches), if measured by the 18 inch cubit, and 3.5 meters (just over 11 feet), if the 21 inch cubit is used.  

This was shocking to me because I cannot imagine someone being 9 feet tall or 11 feet tall. That is simply unheard of for any time period, but it’s strange to think someone was that tall.  If you would like look at the website for further reading you can click here: http://bibleapologetics.wordpress.com/2011/01/30/how-tall-was-goliath/

 

While this website helped my understanding of his height I wanted more information. So I went and found another source to help my understanding of his height.  In the article I was shocked to find that another height was listed for him. In the Dead Sea scrolls there is a portion of the scrolls about Solomon and this text list goliath as merely 6 feet tall. “The height of Goliath is given as “four cubits and a span,” or only about six feet, nine inches.

Interestingly enough this height is also listed in an earlier version of the Old Testament called the “Septuagint”.  The website http://www.fundamentallyreformed.com/2011/11/18/how-tall-was-goliath/  was a good read through, and although both sources listed different heights I did come to a conclusion about his height. Whether Goliath was 9, 11, or 4 feet tall he obviously a tall man. His actual height might be the median of all three heights listed, but remember in those times people had no real measurement system like today. So he was probably around 7 feet tall, and the extreme heights are listed to embellish or make the story a lot more shocking to its readers.