Goliath
Goliath (גָּלְיָת "Passage; revolution", Standard Hebrew Golyat, Tiberian Hebrew Golyāṯ) was a legendaryPhilistine warrior in the Bible. A descendant of Rapha of a race of giants, he is most famous for his battle in the 11th century B.C.E. with David, the young Israelite patriotic who would later become the King of Israel. He hailed from Gath, one of five ancient city states in Philistia. The account of David and Goliath (Jaloot) is given both in the Hebrew Bible and in the Qur'an.
Biblical Account
Goliath hailed from the Philistine city of Gath, in the area known today as the Gaza Strip. One of four powerful sons of a man named Rapha, he is traditionally thought to be a descendant of a legenday race of giants called the Nephilim. These "men of renown" supposedly originated when angelic beings or gods ("ben-elohim" — the sons of God) had mated with human females in the time of Noah. (Gen. 6:4) They are again in evidence when the Israelites send spies to assess the feasibility of conquering Canaan in Numbers 13:33, indicating that they seem somehow to have survived the Flood.
Goliath was reportedly over nine feet tall and was unexcelled as a warrior, his weapons of choice being the sword, spear, and javelin. His spear shaft was so thick that it was compared to a weaver's beam, and it point was made of iron. This gave him a huge advantage not only in size and strength over his opponents, but also an edge in technology, since the Israelites did not yet possess iron weapons. When arrayed for battle, he wore a bronze helmet on his head and an immense coat of heavy bronze scale armor on his body. His legs were protected by bronze greaves.
unfortunately, we are told little of Goliath's exploits before the day of his battle against the young David, but they must have been impressive indeed. According to the First Book of Samuel, during the reign of King Saul the Philistine army marched into southern Israel to make war on the Israelites. Instead of immediately engaging in battle, the army set up camp in the Valley of Elah, while the Israelites under Saul camped nearby. Goliath, who is described as a "champion" in the biblical text, positioned himself between the two armies and challenged the Israelites to send out a warrior to meet him in single combat. If that man won, the Philistines would become the subjects of Saul's army. If Goliath won, the converse would occur. For 40 days, in both the morning and evening, Goliath issued his challenge, taunting the Israelites and insulting their God. However, no man came forward to meet meet him.
David was the youngest of the eight sons of the Bethlehemite Jesse. When delivering food to his brothers on the battlefield, David heard Goliath's haughty challenge and burned with anger. The youth came to Saul and offered to fight the giant. Though initially skeptical of David's capacity to defeat Goliath, Saul was persuaded to allow the match after the young Bethlehemite detailed his previous victorious encounters with a bear and a lion. David rejected the king's offer of armour and a sword and went out to fight Goliath with a staff and five smooth stones he had taken from a nearby stream.
Goliath sent his shield-bearing before him, moving slowly closer to the Israelite champion. Seeing that he was in reality only a boy, Goliath took his presence as an insult, believing that the Israelites must send out the mightiest warrior to meet him. "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" he complained. Goliath cursed David by his own gods, and taunted: "Come here and I'll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"
His young opponent proved to be a worthy one in the battle of words, retorting: "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied... Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel."
Hearing enough, Goliath then closed in to attack. David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him, using his one advantage: speed. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck Goliath on the forehead before the mighty Philistine could even strike a blow. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. David then drew Goliath's own sword from its scabbard and cut off his head.
So powerful had this mighty warrior been that when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran from the field, and the Israelite army pursued them out of Judah, slaughtering many in the process. The young David went on to be a mighty warrior in his own right. Hounded by the jealous Saul, he would later form an alliance with Achish, the king of Gath, (1 Samuel 20:10) and become his vassal. Eventually, he would become a king in his own right, first of Judah, and later of both Judah and Israel. Such was the man who conquered the mighty Goliath of Gath.
Alternate account
A little known later account in the First Book of Samuel actually reports that it was not David, but one of David's warriors named Elhanan, who killed Goliath. In this version, the battle takes place not at the beginning of Saul's reign, but just after its end. The recently enthroned King David turns on his former Philistine allies. In the course of the enuing battles, Goliath and his three brothers — all sons of Rapha — are slain. None of them is killed by David himself.
- Ishbi-Benob vows to kill David, but the king is rescued by Abishai, son of Zeriah.
- In another battle, Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Rapha's son Saph.
- At Gath itself, David's nephew, Jonathan son of Shimeah, kills an unnamed son of Rapha, "a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot." Jonathan kills him "when he taunted Israel."
- In a battle at Gob, it is a warrior called Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim who kills Goliath, "who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's rod."
Thus, what we may have in the story of "David and Goliath" is a legend which combines several earlier stories of battles with giants, combines them into one, and attributes them to David when he was just a boy. Such processes are not uncommon in folk literature.
Account of the Qur'an
When the two armies faced each other, Goliath(Jalut) challenged any soldier from King Saul's (Talut)army to single combat, as was the custom of battle in those days. Goliath also wanted to show off his strength. The men were terrorized, and no one had enough courage to volunteer. The king offered the hand of his pretty daughter in marriage to the man who would fight Goliath, but even this tempting offer did not change the deadly silence among his soldiers.
Then, to everyone's surprise, a youth stepped forward. A roar of laughter echoed from the enemy's side, and even Saul's men shook their heads.
The young man was David (Dawud), from the city of Bethlehem. His elderly father had chosen three of his sons to join Saul's army. He had instructed the youngest one, David, not to take part in the fighting but to help the army in other ways and to report to his father daily on what was happening on the war front.
Although Saul was very impressed by the youth's courage, he said: "I admire your courage, but you are no match for that mighty warrior. Let the strong men come forward." David, however, had already decided and was willing to meet the challenge. Proudly, he told the king that only the day before he had killed a lion which had threatened his father's sheep, and on another occasion he had killed a bear. He asked Saul not to judge him by his appearance, for he feared no man or wild beast. Saul, surprised by young David's brave stance, agreed: "My brave soldier, if you are willing, then may Allah(GOD in arabic) guard you and grant you strength!"
The king dressed David in battle armor and handed him a sword, but David was not used to wearing battle dress. He felt uncomfortable in it, and it obstructed his movements. He removed the armor, then collected a few pebbles and filled his leather pouch with them. He slung it over his shoulder next to his sling. With his wooden staff in hand, he began to walk towards the enemy. Saul was worried and asked him how on earth, with a sling and a couple of stones was he going to defend himself against the giant? David replied: "Allah Who protected me from the claws of the bear and the fangs of the lion will certainly protect me from this brute!"
When Goliath set eyes on the lean young man who looked like a boy, he laughed loudly and roared: "Are you out to play war with one of your playmates, or are you tired of your life? I will simply cut off your head with one swipe of my sword!"
David shouted back: "You may have armor, shield, and sword, but I face you in the name of Allah, the Lord of the Israelites, Whose laws you have mocked. Today you will see that it is not the sword that kills but the will and power of Allah!"
So saying, he took his sling and placed in it a pebble from his pouch. He swung and aimed it at Goliath. The pebble shot from the whirling sling with the speed of an arrow and hit Goliath's head with great force. Blood gushed out, and Goliath thumped to the ground, lifeless, before he had a chance to draw his sword. When the rest of his men saw their mighty hero slain, they took to their heels. The Israelites followed in hot pursuit, taking revenge for their years of suffering at the hands of their enemy, killing every soldier they could lay hands on. In this battle the Israelites regained the glory and honor that had been lost for a long time.
David became a hero overnight. Saul kept his word and married his daughter Michal (Miqel) to the young warrior and took him under his wing as one of his chief advisors.
Almighty Allah declared: So they routed them by Allah's Leave and David killed Goliath, and Allah gave him (David) the kingdom (after the death of Saul and Samuel) and wisdom, and taught him of that which He willed. And if Allah did not check one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief. But Allah is full of Bounty to the Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exist). (Ch 2:251 Quran).
David became the most famous man among the Israelites. However, he was not inveigled by this; he was not a prisoner of fame or leadership but a prisoner of Allah's love.
Therefore, after killing Goliath he went out into the desert in the company of nature, glorifying Almighty Allah and contemplating His favors. Verily, We made the mountains to glorify Our Praises with him (David) in the Ashi (after the mid-day till sunset) and Ishraq (after the sunrise till mid-day). And (so did) the birds assembled: all with him (David) did turn (to Allah, glorified His Praises). We made his kingdom strong and gave him wisdom and sound judgment in speech and decision. (Ch 38:18-20 Quran)
Creatures such as the plants, birds, beasts, and even the mountains responded to his voice glorifying Allah. Allah had chosen David to be a prophet and revealed the Psalms to him. As He the Almighty said: And to David We gave the Psalms. (Ch 17:55 Quran).
(Taken from Tafseer of the Qur'an by Ibn Kathir)
Textual difficulties
David may not have been the one to kill Goliath. Elhanan, the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite, is given credit for killing Goliath in 2 Sam 21:19. The KJV adds the phrase "the brother of" before Goliath's name in light of the parallel account given in 1 Chron 20:5, and other reasons detailed below.
The KJV insertion is justified by the parallel account of Elhanan's deed at 1 Chron 20:5b, which states that "Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath." The word "Jair" here is "Jaare-oregim" at 2 Sam 21:19b; "oregim" is Hebrew for "weavers," which also appears at the end of both verses. Also, "Lahmi" (Hebrew "´eth-lach·mi´," where "´eth" simply means that Lahmi is the object of the verb "slew") in the former becomes "behth hal·lach·mi´" ("Bethlehemite") in the latter. Hence many scholars view 2 Sam 21:19b to be the result of two scribal errors, with 1 Chron 20:5b as the correct account.
However, other scholars argue that Elhanan may have been the victor over Goliath, but that David was later credited with the deed in order to enhance his reputation. It has been contended that, because of David's introduction to Saul in 1 Samuel 16:19-23, Saul should have known who David was in 1 Samuel 17:55-58 and would not need to ask whose son David is, especially since Jesse, David's father, is also mentioned in the earlier passage.
One response to this is to argue that the earlier passage only implies that the servants of Saul knew that David was the son of Jesse. There is no reason to believe Saul had to have known that Jesse was David's father two years later in Chapter 17.
Another problem is that David is said to have brought Goliath's head to Jerusalem (1 Sam 17:54), though Jerusalem belonged to the Jebusites at the time, which casts some doubt on this detail of the story.
These arguments aside, when the text of 2 Sam 21:19 is examined in context, it is clear that this verse is describing a war at a later time in David's life. Here he is surrounded by his loyal, "mighty men" such as Abishai, who saved David from Ishbi-benob in verse 17. When examined in context and the chronology of David's life, it is plain that this "Goliath" (2 Sam 21:19) was not intended to be the same Phillistine as the one detailed in 1 Sam 17.
Extra-Biblical evidence
Archaeologists digging at Tell es-Safi in central Israel, the accepted location of the biblical home of Goliath ("Gath of the Philistines") have unearthed a shard of pottery bearing an inscription, written in Proto-Semitic letters, consisting of two names ("alwt" and "wlt"), which are etymologically quite similar to the name Goliath, and most probably are semitizised versions of an Indo-European name (similar, for example to Lydian Alyattes). This find demonstrates that the biblical description of the figure Goliath (and in particular, his name), fits in with the cultural millieu that existed in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age IIA (10th-9th centuries B.C.E.).
The shard dates back to around 950 B.C.E., within 70 years of when biblical chronology asserts David squared off against Goliath, making it the oldest Philistine inscription ever found, the archaeologists said.
Scientists made the discovery at Tell es-Safi, a dig site in southern Israel thought to be the location of the Philistine city of Gath.
Medical speculation
Some intriguing medical hypotheses have been made concerning Goliath's size and general health. Given his grossly abnormal height (traditionally believed to have been 9 feet, 6½ inches, or 2.91 m), some have suggested that he suffered from gigantism due to a growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma. Given the pituitary's position adjacent to the optic chiasm, pituitary masses also tend to impinge on the decussating fibers delivering images from both peripheral visual fields. This causes bitemporal hemianopsia. Some have suggested that this may have allowed David to sneak up on Goliath and deliver a fatal sling shot to the Philistine.
Modern references
- Niccolò Machiavelli, in The Prince, states that we should learn this lesson from David and fight with our own weapons, using our own strengths, and not try to borrow or hire those of others.
- "David and Goliath" is now a proverbial expression of a small force defeating a larger one.
Filmography
The Italians used Goliath as an action superhero in a series of Biblical adventure films (peplums) in the early 1960's. He was possessed of amazing strength, and the films were similar in theme to their Hercules and Maciste movies. After the classic "HERCULES" (1957) became a blockbuster sensation in the film industry, a 1959 Steve Reeves film ("Terror of the Barbarians") was retitled "Goliath and the Barbarians" in 1960 in the USA, and the film was so successful at the box office, it inspired Italian filmmakers to do a series of 4 films featuring a beefcake hero named Goliath. (The 1960 Italian film "DAVID AND GOLIATH" starring Orson Welles was not part of this series, as it was a straightforward adaptation of the original Biblical story).
The titles in the Italian "Goliath" peplum series were as follows:
- Goliath Against the Giants (1960) starring Brad Harris as Goliath.
- Goliath and the Rebel Slave (aka The Tyrant of Lydia Vs. The Son of Hercules, 1963) starring Gordon Scott as Goliath (Note* - this film was sold directly to American TV in a syndication package known as "Sons of Hercules", in this case referring to Goliath as a Son of Hercules, simply for marketing reasons).
- Goliath and the Masked Rider (aka Hercules and the Masked Rider, 1964) starring Alan Steel as Goliath. (This film was marketed on USA television as a Hercules movie)
- Goliath at the Conquest of Baghdad (aka Goliath at the Conquest of Damascus, 1964) starring Peter Lupus as Goliath.
The name Goliath was also used in the film titles of a few other Italian movies that were retitled for distribution in the USA in an attempt to cash in on the Goliath craze, but these films were not originally Goliath movies in Italy. Both "Goliath and the Vampires" (1961) and "Goliath and the Sins of Babylon" (1963) actually featured the famed superhero Maciste in the original Italian versions, but American distributors didn't feel the name Maciste had any meaning to American audiences. "Goliath and the Dragon" (1960) was originally an Italian Hercules movie called "The Revenge of Hercules", and it is a mystery to this day why U.S. distributors didn't market the film under that title, since Hercules films always tended to do much better at the box office than "Goliath" movies. (Filmography supplied by Frank Verzyl)
External links
- Goliath - Bible Verses pertaining to Goliath
- Sword and sandal (film genre)
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