15
from tombs and gravesites indicate that people in general were slightly taller.
21
So it is
probably safe to say that at the time of David, the average height of people in Israel was
probably somewhere between 5'0" and 5'3", but certainly no taller than 5'6". If the
entire army of Israel averaged around 5'3" then a huge "Flozell Adams-size" warrior
standing 6'9" (and probably weighing around 350 pounds) would indeed still be
formidable.
22
Saul is Afraid of Goliath's Training, not his Size
As pointed out above, there is little, if any, evidence within the story that would indicate
that Goliath had to be 9'9" tall. On the other hand, there are numerous events and aspects
of the story that fit better with the 6'9" height. Notice, for example, that when David
goes to Saul and volunteers to fight Goliath, Saul states, "You are not able to go out
against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man
from his youth." This is strange response if Goliath is nearly 10 feet tall. We might
expect Saul to exclaim, "Good grief, man, this Philistine is ten feet tall!!" Saul does not
21
The now famous "crucified man" found at Giv'at ha-Mivtar (first century AD) measured just under 5'6".
See Peter Connolly, Living in the Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Bnei Brak, Israel: Steimatzky, 1983), 51.
22
Arnold, 1& 2 Samuel, NIVAC, 254, in support of the 9'9" height, suggests that Goliath may have
suffered from gigantism. Arnold mentions an article by Kellermann that argues that Goliath may have
suffered a vision problem, common to gigantism. D. Kellermann, "Die Geschichte von David und Goliath
im Lichte der Endokrinologie" ZAW 102 (1990): 344-57. Likewise, in trying to establish the plausibility
of Goliath's 9'9" height, Youngblood, "1,2 Samuel," 695, cites the famous 8'11" height of Pershing
Wadlow, who died in 1940 at the age of 22. Yet these examples hardly help to establish Goliath as a huge,
fearsome warrior. Wadlow, at 8'11" was extremely clumsy and slow, hardly a model for a fearsome
warrior. He was not quick enough or agile enough to play basketball. Furthermore, one of the symptoms
of gigantism is not only poor eyesight (esp. peripheral vision) but also overall physical weakness (see
http://health.yahoo.com/health/ency/adam/001174). Was Goliath tall, skinny, clumsy, weak and nearly
blind? Hardly a formidable foe! Flozell Adams, a much more fearsome opponent, would cut Pershing
Wadlow to pieces. A better modern example can perhaps be found in Andre Rene Roussimoff ("Andre the
Giant") who was 7'4", weighed 500 pounds, and was agile enough to participate in professional wrestling
(WWF). Andre the Giant, however, is still 2'2" shorter than the MT version of Goliath, and much closer
(+7") to the LXX/4QSam
a
version.