1 Samuel 17 Footnotes

17:4 How tall was Goliath? The ancient texts disagree on this matter: the Hebrew text states that Goliath was “six cubits and a span” (= 9 ft. 9 in.) in height, while the Septuagint, a Qumran manuscript, and Josephus indicate he was “four cubits and a span” (= 6 ft. 9 in.). The tallest known human being in modern times was Robert Wadlow, who attained a height of 8 feet, 11.1 inches before his death in 1940. In view of the excessive weight of Goliath’s armor and weapons, the biblical author evidently understood the Philistine to be awesome in size; the MT’s figure is therefore probably the original. The Bible does not state whether Goliath’s height included his shoes and helmet, though it would not be improper to have included these in the overall figure.

17:54 Jerusalem was not under Israelite control at the time of this incident, but it was a city of great military interest to David’s tribe of Judah. The tribe had fought against the city (Jos 15:63) and had taken a war trophy there previously after temporarily conquering it (Jdg 1:8). Jerusalem was a city of great interest to David as well, the first city he set out to conquer when he became king of all Israel (2Sm 5:6-9). Perhaps David took Goliath’s head there to intimidate Jerusalem’s Jebusite residents, letting them know that Israel was a nation to be feared. Alternatively, this verse may refer to an event that took place a few years later, after David had conquered the city.