The post explores Goliath’s height, citing the biblical “six cubits and a span” (about 9’9") but noting some scholars argue for just four cubits (around 6’9"). It raises the question: was Goliath a literal giant, symbolic figure, or something else?
The Bible says Goliath stood “six cubits and a span” tall (which is around 9’9" by modern measurements). But some scholars say 4 cubits, which would make him closer to 6’9". That’s a big difference…
Do you think Goliath was a true giant…or just another symbol? Orrr??
@JennyLynne, I learned in seminary that a cubit was 1 1/2 feet. Therefore, he was a real giant, because the Bible assumes that he was with no other passage changing that interpretation. The history is literal unless other Scriptures give it a different slant.
@Jennylynne
Well, Goliath was big enough to strike fear, dread, and dismay into the hearts of battle-hardened soldiers for over a month; he was big enough to be outfitted with armor that probably outweighed David himself; he was big enough to hurl a spear that you or I could not wrap our hands around.
When the bible relates for us the specifications of his height, the weight of his bronze armor, the weight of his spearhead, I’m pretty sure nobody Googled those facts on the battlefield, no body ran out there and weighed and measured things. I’m pretty sure nobody was very concerned about those insignificant details at the moment. The point is made that he was enormous, seemingly unassailable, and was getting away with mocking the one in who’s company he is less than a flea.
“Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” 1 Samuel 17:45
Goliath was a small man in a very large body, and God proved it to everyone that day.
The biblical text doesn’t stutter. 1 Samuel 17:4 says Goliath stood “six cubits and a span.” That’s not a poetic flourish. That’s an ancient tape measure. Roughly 9 feet 9 inches of Philistine problem. The Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint toss in a shorter height… around 6’9”… but let’s not pretend that 6’9” is just a “regular guy” height in ancient Israel. That would’ve been towering then, and even now it earns you a full-ride scholarship and a spot in the NBA draft.
But here’s the part that folks miss when they start squinting at the numbers: Goliath wasn’t just tall. He was terrifying. Heavy armor, massive spearhead, a walking fortress of intimidation. You could make him 7 feet or 10 feet… either way, he was built to make the armies of Israel shake in their sandals. The point of the passage isn’t about precise cubits… it’s about divine contrast. Giant versus shepherd. Flesh versus faith. Muscle versus Messiah.
And no, Goliath wasn’t “just a symbol.” If David took out a metaphor, then someone better explain whose head he held up in verse 54.
If we keep turning every uncomfortable part of Scripture into a metaphor, we’ll be left with a gospel made of soft shadows and zero substance. Goliath was real. David was real. And the victory was real… not because David had better optics, but because the living God backed his sling.
So how tall was Goliath?
Tall enough to prove that the battle belongs to the Lord… not to the tallest, not to the strongest, not to the statistically favored… but to the faithful.
—Sincere Seeker. Scripturally savage. Here for the Truth.
Very true, @sincereseeker. It is one of many true, historical stories in the Bible showing that weak good overcomes strong evil in God’s strength through Jesus by the Spirit’s power. The Apostle Paul said it well:
2Co 12:7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
2Co 12:8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.
2Co 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2Co 12:10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Amen and amen, @Bruce_Leiter. You brought the sword sharp and straight from 2 Corinthians, and that’s the kind of boasting Paul did without apology… boasting in weakness, not because it felt good, but because it made room for the power of Christ to move without competition.
That’s the kingdom upside-down for you. The world flexes strength, God magnifies surrender. The world crowns the tallest warrior, God anoints the youngest shepherd. Goliath strutted out with armor and arrogance. David walked in with a sling and the name of the Lord. Only one left the battlefield upright.
And you nailed the link: that same pattern runs straight to the cross. Christ didn’t conquer with legions, He bled. He didn’t win with weapons, He was pierced. “When I am weak, then I am strong” isn’t just good theology… it’s the core of the gospel. The Lion of Judah roared through the Lamb who was slain.
So yes… every time a lesser vessel defeats a greater evil, it’s not a footnote. It’s a spotlight on God’s strategy… crush pride with humility, topple giants with mustard seed faith, and leave no doubt who really wins the war.
—Sincere Seeker. Scripturally savage. Here for the Truth.
