HOW BIG WAS GOLIATH WHOM DAVID DEFEATED? SCIENTISTS PUT IN THEIR TWO CENTS
Pictured: Goliath was a biblical warrior said to be of gigantic proportions – but just how big was the Philistine champion? (artist’s impression)
DANIEL WHYTE III, PRESIDENT OF GOSPEL LIGHT SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL, SAYS THIS IS REALLY NOT AN IMPORTANT QUESTION BECAUSE THE POINT OF THIS AMAZING TRUE STORY IS THAT GOD USED A BOY NAMED DAVID, WHO WAS FULL OF FAITH IN GOD, TO DEFEAT THE “ANDRE THE GIANT” OF HIS DAY IN THE MOST NOTABLE GLADIATOR FIGHT IN HISTORY, WITH THE MORAL OF THE STORY BEING THAT WITH FAITH IN GOD ANYBODY CAN DEFEAT THE GIANTS IN THEIR LIVES AS WELL AS MOVE THE MOUNTAINS IN THEIR LIVES FOR THE GLORY OF GOD; HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS TRIVIA, WHYTE REFERS YOU TO DR. S. MICHAEL HOUDMANN AND GOT QUESTIONS MINISTRIES FOR A MORE TRUSTWORTHY AND ACCURATE ANSWER TO THIS AGE-OLD QUESTION:
There is, however, a variation found in some ancient texts on the matter of Goliath’s height. A Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, records Goliath’s height as four cubits and one span. Current measurements translate this to about six feet, six inches. While this would shorten Goliath some, he still would have been quite a bit taller than the average man’s height at that time—about five and a half feet. There are other sources that corroborate the shorter measurement, including one Hebrew text among the Dead Sea Scrolls and the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus. The NET Bible goes with the shorter height, saying that Goliath was “close to seven feet tall” (1 Samuel 17:4).
When it comes to the deviation between these measurements, it is important to note a couple things. First, the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. The difference may be due to how the measurements were translated into Greek for the Septuagint. Second, the measurement of a cubit is not precise, since a cubit was based on the distance from a person’s elbow to the tip of a finger. Thus, the length of a cubit would vary somewhat, according to the one doing the measuring and the length of his arm.
Regardless of Goliath’s precise height, we know from God’s Word that he was a formidable opponent. He was not only tall—at least a foot taller than David, and possibly several feet taller—he was also strong. His bronze armor alone weighed 125 pounds (1 Samuel 17:5), and he carried a giant-sized spear (verse 7). There was a reason that Goliath was the “champion” of the Philistines (verse 4). In the end, however, a young man named David, armed with only a simple sling, a few rocks, and faith, defeated this enemy of Israel. David proved stronger than Goliath because he had the almighty God on his side.
Goliath is a Biblical figure so gargantuan that his very name has become a byword for immense size.
In the famous story, he was a Philistine warrior who towered above his fellow soldiers and battled with the future King David.
Estimates based on the Bible’s account vary from a fairly unimpressive six feet to a monstrous height of nine feet and nine inches.
But just how big was this biblical giant in reality?
Although it might seem strange, scientists say there was nothing supernatural about Goliath’s towering stature.
Archaeologists have found the remains of other ‘giants’ dating back as far as 2700 BC – around the time of the biblical battle.
If he really did exist, these huge humans likely suffered from a rare genetic condition which caused them to grow to seemingly impossible sizes.
And, unfortunately for the Philistines, this condition might also explain why Goliath ultimately proved so easy to slay.
How tall does the Bible say Goliath was?
In the Bible, the book of Samuel recounts the story of the great battle between the Philistine and Israelite forces.
We are told that the Philistine champion is a warrior named Goliath who challenges the Israelites to single combat.
Interestingly, this section also gives an extremely detailed description of Goliath’s physical appearance.
The Bible says that his height is ‘six cubits and a span’ and that he wears bronze armour weighing ‘five thousand shekels’.
However, most archaeologists believe that this estimate is much larger than the Bible intended.
Even though the measurement of six cubits and a span became standard translation, older versions of the Bible show a different measurement.
For example, the Greek Septuagint, a translation of the Old Testament into Greek written between the first and third century BC, gives Goliath’s height as four cubits and a span.
This is the version of Goliath’s height which biblical scholars generally believe is correct.
According to some measurements, Goliath was nine feet and nine inches tall which would make him a foot and a half taller than the current world’s tallest man Sultan Kosen (pictured)
What do these ancient measures mean?
While this is far more information than we get about any other biblical figure, the exact conversions for these ancient units are unclear.
Clyde Billington, a biblical scholar and executive director of the Institute for Biblical Archaeology, told MailOnline: ‘The ancient cubit was the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. A span is the width of the hand, for example, like the way that the height of a horse is measured today.
‘This varied from individual to individual and only in Egypt was the cubit standardised at 20.66 inches (52.5 cm).’
Taking the Egyptian units, at six cubits and a span, Goliath would have measured an absolutely absurd 10ft and 9 inches (3.28m).
Even using the more accurate four cubits and a span measurement, this would still make Goliath about 7ft and 5 inches (2.26m).
However, archaeologists now believe that the ancient Israelites would have used a different measurement system.
This map shows Tell es-Safi in modern Israel, widely believed to be the site of Goliath’s hometown, Gath. Excavations suggest that there really was a battle between the Israelites and the people of Gath as the Bible suggests
Although researchers haven’t found any remains belonging to Goliath, the giant’s hometown of Gath is definitely a real place.
Now known by its Arabic name of Tell es-Safi, Gath was continuously occupied from about 5000 BC until its population were driven out during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
The discovery of arrowheads and evidence of weapons production at the site aligns with the Biblical account of the Israelite invasion of Gath in the ninth century BC.
However, it was the excavation of the town’s walls which could be the key to understanding Goliath’s height.
By measuring hundreds of architectural features, researchers led by Professor Jeff Chadwick, of Brigham Young University, worked out the units used by the ancient architects.
This revealed that the ancient cubit was equivalent to 54cm (21.65 inches) while a span was 22cm (8.66 inches).
Using those units, Goliath’s height comes out as seven feet 10 inches (2.38m).
Given that the average height of a Bronze Age man was five feet three inches (160cm), Goliath would have seemed like a true giant to his contemporaries.
The only issue is that there is no evidence that this really was Goliath’s true height beyond the single biblical source.
In fact, Professor Chadwick believes that this measurement might function more as a literary device than an accurate description.
In a presentation to the American Schools of Oriental Research, Professor Chadwick pointed out that 2.38 metres, or four cubits and a span, also happens to be the exact thickness of the walls of Gath.
Professor Chadwick said: ‘It seems like an appropriate literary device, to characterize Goliath as being as big as a city wall.’
If that is the case, then the Bible’s authors might have been trying to say that Goliath was extremely tall rather than give his exact height.
Do giants really exist?
Even if this isn’t a precise measurement, it does suggest that Goliath was tall enough to be considered a literal giant by the ancient Israelites.
And scientists now believe there is good reason to think they were right.
Scientists say that the enormous size of Goliath and other giants like the French Hugo Brothers (pictured) is due to a condition affecting the pituitary gland. In some cases, a tumour on this gland means that there is nothing to stop the production of human growth hormone
Giantism causes extremely rapid growth especially during puberty. Jayson (pictured) is 10-years-old and measures a whopping six-foot-three-inches thanks to this rare condition
Professor Patrick Morrison, a geneticist from Belfast City Hospital, told MailOnline that Goliath and other historical giants likely suffered from a rare genetic condition which affects the pituitary gland.
Professor Morrison says: ‘The pituitary gland produces about six hormones, and one of those is human growth hormone.
‘That’s something which kicks in around puberty to make you grow and then it shuts off again.’
However, in some people, tumours disrupt the normal control circuits leaving the pituitary gland ‘like a thermostat that’s stuck in the on position’.
With nothing to stop the production of human growth hormone, the body just keeps growing, eventually leading to a condition called acromegalic gigantism.
If this kicks in during adulthood, the growth is typically restricted to the hands, feet, and head.
But, if the tumours occur while someone is going through puberty before their bones have stopped growing, it can lead to giantism.
Normally that growth would be stopped by the release of sex hormones at the end of puberty.
To make matters worse, the tumour would also have caused weakening of the skull, making the impact of a well-placed stone all the more deadly.
So, while Goliath might have looked like a formidable enemy, in reality, he would have been pretty frail.

‘We suspect what David did with his sling is that he went around to where Goliath couldn’t see him and got him in the side of the head.
‘Then while he was scrambling about trying to see what happened David probably just lopped off his head – so it really is a matter of brains vs brawn.’