1 Samuel 17:4

4 Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height, ^[a]

1 Samuel 17:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 17:4

And there went out a champion out of the camp of the
Philistines
Or a "middle person", or a man "between two" ^F25; meaning either one that went and stood between the two armies of Israel and the Philistines, as the Jewish writers generally interpret it: or a "dueller" ^F26, as others, with which our version agrees; one that proposed to fight a duel, and have the war decided by two persons, of which he would be one:

named Goliath of Gath;
which was one of the places where the Anakims or giants were driven, and left, in the times of Joshua, and from whom this man descended, ( Joshua 11:22 )

whose height was six cubits and a span;
and taking a cubit after the calculation of Bishop Cumberland ^F1 to be twenty one inches, and more, and a span to be half a cubit, the height of this man was eleven feet four inches, and somewhat more; which need not seem incredible, since the coffin of Orestea, the son of Agamemnon, is said ^F2 to be seven cubits long; and Eleazar, a Jew, who because of his size was called the giant, and was presented by Artabanus, king of the Parthians, to Tiberius Caesar, is said by Josephus ^F3 to be seven cubits high; and one Gabbara of Arabia, in the times of Claudius Caesar, measured nine feet nine inches, as Pliny ^F4 relates, and who elsewhere ^F5 speaks of a people in Ethiopia, called Syrbotae, who were eight cubits high; the Septuagint version makes Goliath to be only four cubits and a span high, and so Josephus ^F6; that is, about eight feet.

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 (Mynybh vya) "vir intermedius", Montanus; "inter duo", Vatablus; "vir medietatum", Noldius, p. 194. No. 283.
F26 "Quidam duellator", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F1 Of Scripture Weights and Measures, c. 2. p. 57.
F2 Herodot. Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 68. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 16.
F3 Antiqu. l. 18. c. 5. sect. 5.
F4 Nat. Hist. ib.
F5 Ibid. l. 6. 30.
F6 Antiqu. l. 6. c. 9. sect. 1.

1 Samuel 17:4 In-Context

2 Saul and the men of Israel assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, arraying themselves for battle against the Philistines.

3 The Philistines stood on one hill and the Israelites stood on another, with the valley between them.

4 Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,

5 and he had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a bronze coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels,

6 and he had armor of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.

Footnotes

• [a]. Goliath was approximately 9 feet 9 inches or 297 centimeters tall; LXX, DSS, and Josephus four cubits and a span in height (approximately 6 feet 9 inches or 206 centimeters tall).