In May 1993, the ‘Weekly World News’ Newspaper, conveyed the history of how archaelogist, Dr. Martin, discovered Goliath’s skull in a valley west of Jerusalem with the stone from David’s slingshot still installed in his forehead! Dr. Marin stated, “We discovered this skull in the valley of Elah, in the lower regions of the Judean mountains, amid an archeological overview 20 miles south-west of Jerusalem on 23rd March, 1993.” He proceeded, “The most telling bit of proof is the little round stone we found installed in the giant’s skull. The Bible tells that David slaughtered Goliath with a stone flung from a cowhide sling.” “There was likewise proof to propose that the head had been SEVERED from the body by a sharp article, probably a sword. There can be little uncertainty this is Goliath’s skull,” said Dr. Martin.” He and his partners in a flash understood that the find was significant; however it was just when they had performed tests which demonstrated the skull to be somewhere in the range of 2,900 and 3,000 years of age that they started to think they had discovered the remaining parts of Goliath. The Bible places the fight among David and Goliath around 1000 B.C.
HOW BIG WAS GOLIATH’S SKULL?
When interviewed, Dr. Martin described the size of Goliath’s skull, saying, “even more intriguing, the skull is HUGE and clearly belonged to a man of ENORMOUS STATURE. And if you believe the Bible, you know that Goliath was three meters tall (9 feet 9 inches).” And to further prove that he was certain of his entire discovery, beyond any doubt, Dr. Martin said, “To be perfectly frank, I’m staking my career on it.”
HOW TALL WAS GOLIATH?
In 1 Samuel 17:4, Goliath is recorded to be “six cubits (9 feet) and a span (9 inches) ”, which is today’s measuring of either three meters or 9 feet 9 inches tall if we assume that all ancient cubits were 18 inches in length and all spans were 9 inches long. However, according to Flavius Josephus, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Alexandrian Greek Septuagint, Goliath was only four cubits and a span. If we use the 18 inch cubit and the 9 inch span, then Goliath was approximately six feet nine inches tall. If we use the Egyptian cubit of 21 inches and the 10.5 inch span, then Goliath was seven feet 10.5 inches tall. If we use the Egyptian 24 inch cubit and 12 inch span, then Goliath was probably eight feet and 12 inches tall or nine feet even. It appears that earlier
PRIMARY SOURCES: ‘Weekly World News’ Newspaper; Halley’s Bible Handbook; Henry H. Halley; 1965. The Bible; Jim Bell and Stan Campbell; 1999. The Complete Guide To The Bible; Stephen Miller; 2007. The Complete Guide To Bible Prophecy; Stephen Miller; 2010.
