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The Case for a 6'9" Goliath: Theological Implications
J. Daniel Hays
Ouachita Baptist University
November, 2004
INTRODUCTION
The story of David and Goliath is one of the best known and best loved stories in the
entire Old Testament. Goliath is nearly ten feet tall and yet the young David bravely
attacks the giant and slays him with a single well-aimed stone from his sling. This
version of the story is firmly embedded in our tradition, not only through the account of it
in our English Bibles, but also through children's books, children's Sunday School
lessons, art, and song. Indeed, David's heroic battle against the giant has become a
classic paradigm within the larger American culture of the underdog's upset victory. It
probably appears foolish to tamper with such a famous, firmly entrenched and beloved
story, but as I hope to demonstrate, the text critical evidence, both external and internal,
compels us to reconsider the height of Goliath, and suggests to us that we should
probably cut the giant down at the knees, reducing him from 9'9" to 6'9".
OVERVIEW
Here is a summary of the case. The Masoretic Text (MT), i.e. the "received" Hebrew text
upon which most of our English Old Testaments are based, states in 1 Samuel 17:4 that
the height of Goliath is "six cubits and a span." A cubit is approximately 18 inches and a
span is about 9 inches. Thus in the MT Goliath is 9'9" tall. Most of our English
translations follow this reading.
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The KJV stays with the literal "six cubits and a span" without explaining or interpreting the height. The
NASB does the same, with no mention of the other variant reading. The NIV reads "over nine feet tall,"
with a footnote explaining that the Hebrew says "six cubits and a span." Nowhere does the NIV mention