- Flourished:
- c.1100 BCE - c.1001 BCE
Goliath
Goliath, (c. 11th century bce), in the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament), the Philistine giant slain by David, who thereby achieved renown. According to 1 Samuel 17, the Philistines had come up to make war against Saul, and this warrior came forth day by day to challenge to single combat. Only David ventured to respond, and armed with a sling and pebbles he overcame Goliath. The Philistines, seeing their champion killed, lost heart and were easily put to flight. The giant’s arms were placed in the sanctuary, and it was his famous sword that David took with him in his flight from Saul (1 Sam. 21: 1–9).
The Bible says Goliath was four cubits and a span or six cubits and a span, meaning he was either very tall or extremely tall. Read Britannica’s essay to learn more.
In another passage it is said that Goliath of Gath was slain by a certain Elhanan of Bethlehem in one of David’s later conflicts with the Philistines (II Samuel 21:18–22). This may be a transcriptural error as the parallel account in I Chronicles 20:5 avoids the contradiction by reading “Elhanan . . . slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath.”
