Goliath

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This article is about the biblical warrior. For other uses of "Goliath", see Goliath (disambiguation).
David faces Goliath in single combat.
David faces Goliath in single combat.

Goliath (גָּלְיָת "Passage; revolution", Standard Hebrew Golyat, Tiberian Hebrew Golyāṯ, Arabic: جالوت Jalut) is a Philistine warrior mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and a descendant of Rapha. He is famous for his battle in the 11th century BC with David, the young Israelite boy who would later be chosen by God and anointed by Samuel to become the King of Israel. He hailed from Gath, one of five ancient city states in Philistia.

The account of David and Goliath is given in the Hebrew Bible (and hence the Christian Old Testament) and in the Qur'an.

Contents

[edit] Account in the Hebrew Bible

The young Hebrew David hoists the severed head of the Philistine Goliath.
The young Hebrew David hoists the severed head of the Philistine Goliath.

In the Biblical account, according to the First Book of Samuel, the Philistine army marched into southern Israel to make war on the Israelites, but instead of immediately engaging in battle, they camped in the Valley of Elah. The Israelites under King Saul made camp nearby. Goliath, who is described as a "champion" in the Biblical text, positioned himself between the armies and challenged the Israelites to send out a warrior to challenge him. If that man won, the Philistines would become the subjects of Saul's army. If Goliath won, the converse would occur. For 40 days, morning and evening, Goliath issued his challenge. However, no man stepped forward to accept it.

David, who was born approximately 1030 B.C., was the youngest of the eight sons of the Bethlehemite Jesse. When delivering roasted grain and bread to his brothers on the battlefield, David heard Goliath's haughty challenge and burned with anger. The youth went before Saul and offered to fight the giant, who stood six cubits and a span (three metres, or 9' 6"). 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 mocked David for coming against him with "sticks," cursed him by the names of wog and the Philistine gods, then closed in to attack. "David ... struck the Philistine, and killed him. This is how he did it: First, he slung the stone, then "took his sword ... and killed him". David drew a stone from his bag and used his sling to send it flying into the giant's head. When Goliath fell to the ground, David drew the Philistine's sword from his scabbard and cut off his head as he previously stated he would. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran from the field, and the Israelite army pursued them out of Judah.

There are differences between the most commonly used and the oldest known Hebrew text (the oldest being Dead Sea Scrolls). The Dead Sea Scrolls say his height was four cubits and a span (7 feet) instead of six cubits and a span used in modern versions.

[edit] Later Jewish Sources

The Bible's Book of Ruth describes King David's descent from the Moabite woman Ruth, but there is no such genealogy for Goliath. However, the Babylonian Talmud (Sotah 42b) makes the distinction that Goliath is a descenadnt of Orpah, Ruth's Moabite sister-in-law ([1]).

Further, in Ruth Rabbah (a haggadic and homiletic interpretation of the Book of Ruth), Rabbi Bibi quoting Rabbi Reuven (ר' ביבי בשם ר' ראובן ), considers Orpah and Ruth to have been actual sisters, not just sisters-in-law, and to have been the daughters of Eglon, King of Moab (which is in not attested in the Bible) [1]. The net result is to make David and Goliath into distant cousins, whose great-grandmothers were sisters.

[edit] Account of the Qur'an

David about to cut the head off Goliath, by Michelangelo
David about to cut the head off Goliath, by Michelangelo

When the two armies faced each other, as was the custom of battle in those days, Goliath (Jalut) challenged any soldier from King Saul's (Talut) army to single combat. Goliath 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 God 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 Tafsir of the Qur'an by Ibn Kathir)

[edit] Extra-scriptural evidence

Unearthed shard of pottery bearing an inscription consisting of two names "alwt" and "wlt", which are etymologically quite similar to the name Goliath
Unearthed shard of pottery bearing an inscription consisting of two names "alwt" and "wlt", which are etymologically quite similar to the name Goliath

In 2005, 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 similar to the name "Goliath", and may semitizised versions of an Indo-European name (similar, for example to Lydian Alyattes).

While not suggesting that the shard was owned by or referred to the biblical Goliath specifically, the archaeologiests noted that the find was of importance because one of the factors that would seem to cast doubt on the biblical story is the non-Semitic nature of the name "Goliath". The find demonstrates that that name, despite not being Semitic in origin, still fits in with the cultural millieu that existed in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age IIA (10th-9th centuries BC).

The shard dates back to around 950 BCE, 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Modern references

  • Today the word 'goliath' is often used to describe any person or entity of enormous size.
  • 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, or two people or groups with very opposing views.
  • The World's Largest bear, of Space Farms Zoo and Museum in Sussex NJ was honorably named "Goliath". The record holding bear lived between 1972-1991.
  • The World's Heaviest beetle, and by far the largest member of the scarab family, measuring as much as a sparrow but weighing in at five times a sparrow's weight, is called the goliath beetle.
  • A roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California is named Goliath in honor of the tale. It's maiden ride was led by a person named David Cox as a play on the story of David "defeating" Goliath.
  • In another computer game, Battlefield 2142, in the expansion pack Northern Strike there is a vehicle of the EU team called the Goliath. It is the biggest drivable vehicle in the game (drivable, as in not a Titan).

[edit] Filmography

The Italians used Goliath as an action superhero in a series of Biblical adventure films (peplums) in the early 1960s. 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. The film was so successful at the box office it inspired Italian filmmakers to do a series of four 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.

In 2005, Lightstone Studios released a direct-to-dvd movie musical titled "One Smooth Stone," which was later changed to "David and Goliath." It is part of the Liken the Scriptures (Now just "Liken") series of movie musicals on DVD based on scripture stories. Find out more at www.LikenIt.com.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Quoted in (Hebrew article) "From Tamar to Ruth - the Mothers of King David" (מתמר ועד רות: אמהותיו של דוד המלך) by Dr. Yochi Fisher-Yinon, Van Leer Institute, Jerusalem
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