Goliath

Goliath (meaning passage; revolution; heap) was a Philistine warrior from Gath, described as a giant of extraordinary stature — "six cubits and a span" in height (approximately nine feet, 1 Sam. 17:4). He was likely descended from the Rephaim, the giant peoples of Canaan who took refuge among the Philistines after being dispossessed by Israel (Deut. 2:20–21). For forty days Goliath issued a daily challenge to Israel's army to send a champion to settle the battle by single combat, a practice attested in ancient Near Eastern warfare. When the armies met in the Valley of Elah, David, a young shepherd and son of Jesse, accepted the challenge without armor, trusting in the LORD. He struck Goliath with a stone from his sling, felled him, and cut off his head with Goliath's own sword (1 Sam. 17:51). David's victory became one of the defining moments of his rise to prominence. A second warrior named Goliath, whose brother was slain in a later Philistine war, appears in 2 Samuel 21:19 / 1 Chronicles 20:5, creating a textual difficulty resolved by the Chronicles parallel as referring to Lahmi, Goliath's brother.