2
On the other hand, in the major Septuagint (LXX) manuscripts Goliath's height is
given as "four cubits and a span," which puts him at a much shorter height of 6'9". For
much of the modern era, the Septuagint manuscripts were viewed as secondary witnesses
to the Old Testament text when compared to the Masoretic Text. However, the discovery
of the Dead Sea Scrolls changed that situation, because in several cases the older Hebrew
texts found at Qumran supported the readings of the Septuagint over against the MT.
And today the field of Old Testament text criticism is still scrambling to interact with and
to incorporate correctly the new textual data from these scrolls from the Judean Desert.
Regarding 1-2 Samuel and the height of Goliath, the find at Qumran was quite
significant. Although several small fragments of 1-2 Samuel were found, only one large
substantial manuscript of 1-2 Samuel was discovered, referred to as 4QSam
a
. Although
some portions of the scroll are damaged, 1 Samuel 17:3-6 is clear, and in this manuscript,
by far our oldest Hebrew manuscript of this text, Goliath is listed as four cubits and a
span, around 6'9", matching the height stated in the Septuagint.
THE LITERARY PROBLEM
Before we get too far into the text critical discussion, however, it is important to point out
that the varying heights of Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 are but part of a very significant and
very complicated literary problem. As in the book of Jeremiah, there is quite a difference
between the Septuagint text of 1-2 Samuel and the Masoretic Text of 1-2 Samuel. Also
the LXX and 4QSam
a
variant reading of 6'9". The NLB reads "over nine feet," but they include a footnote
citing the "Greek" variant. The NRSV reads "six cubits and a span" with a note saying that the Qumran
manuscripts and the Greek read "four." The HCSB reads "nine feet, nine inches tall," adding a note that
states that the DSS and LXX read "four cubits and a span," but without explaining what "four cubits and a
span" means. Only the New American Bible (a Catholic translation) follows the LXX and 4QSam
a
, stating
Goliath's height as "six and a half feet tall."