Summary: Drawing from contemporary biblical archaeology, biblical manuscripts, and studies of ancient measurements, I provide a clear, reasoned, and historically grounded answer.
Was Goliath really over 9 feet tall? Or is the Bible telling a more realistic story than many imagine? In this fascinating episode of Lux Veritatis, I unpack one of the most queried details in the Bible: the height of Goliath. You’ll learn what the Masoretic Text, the Septuagint, and the Dead Sea Scrolls actually say—and how experts like Jeff Chadwick and J. Daniel Hays calculate Goliath’s height using the best information available about ancient cubits and spans. Was he a myth? A monster? Or just a very tall man? Watch now to find out.
Here’s some more “biblical trivia” from my free book, Inspired!: 198 Supposed Biblical Contradictions Resolved:
47. Did David kill Goliath with a sling and stone (1 Sam. 17:50) or with a sword (1 Sam. 17:51)?
The words “kill” or “slew” in these two verses are used in different ways. In Hebrew grammar, the Hiphil form denotes primary causation, while the Polel form (here related to “kill”) had the meaning of “finishing off someone who was already mortally wounded.” With this understanding, we see that David’s slingshot killed Goliath in the first sense (as the primary cause), while his sword did in the second sense; hence, no logical contradiction exists. One can find parallel verses. 2 Samuel 1:9-10 is about the death of King Saul, who was mortally wounded in battle and then asked a soldier to kill him, to put him out of his misery. The two instances of “kill” in the passage use the Polel form. Further verses that utilize the Polel form with regard to killing are 1 Samuel 14:13 (“And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him;”) and Judges 9:54. In the latter instance, a man’s skull was crushed with a big millstone (9:53), but someone thrust a sword into him to kill him (see also 1 Sam. 4:13; 17:51; 2 Sam. 1:9-10, 16).
Someone asked about this in the combox of the video and I had a ready answer! Nothing like existing research in one’s own “archives” . . .
My Related Articles
“Goliath’s Height: Six Feet 9 Inches, 7 Feet 8, or 9 Feet 9?” [7-4-21]
Other Cited Articles
Daniel Hays, “Reconsidering the Height of Goliath” (Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, December 2005, 701-714).
Hannah Brown, “Tall tales: Research examines Goliath’s true height” (The Jerusalem Post, 10 October 2020)
My Related Books
The Word Set in Stone: How Archaeology, Science, and History Back Up the Bible (Catholic Answers Press: March 15, 2023, 271 pages).
My Related Web Page
Jews, Judaism, and the Old Testament
Photo Credit: copyright Lux Veritatis, 2025.
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