1 Chronicles 20 Study Notes

20:5 Goliath had a brother named Lahmi, who may have been as tall as Goliath (1Sm 17:4). He was killed by Elhanan son of Jair, who is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.

20:6-7 Another giant, whose name is not given, copied Goliath by taunting Israel. In addition to his extraordinary stature, he had an extra digit on each hand and foot. This time the killing of a giant remained in David’s family when his nephew Jonathan took care of the matter.

20:8 The elimination of giants is an important aspect of how David finally took possession of the entire promised land. Assuming the spies were giving an accurate report rather than an exaggerated report born of fear and faithlessness, giants were spotted in the promised land. This report initially deterred the Israelites from invading Canaan (Nm 13:33-14:9). Those giants may have been Anakites, descended from the Nephilim who were destroyed in Noah’s flood (Gn 6:4) but whose genes might have been carried recessively by Noah’s son Ham or his wife, among the eight survivors of the flood. About forty years after the aborted invasion of the promised land Caleb had the opportunity to demonstrate his faith in God by eliminating the Anakites who lived around his new hometown of Hebron (Jdg 1:20). The defeat of these giants was a sign that the land had finally been completely conquered.