Goliath’s Height — Setting the Record Straight

Bible Believing Christian
3 days ago
5 min read

Goliath’s Height — Setting the Record Straight

When the Oldest Evidence Disagrees with the Popular Reading

(1 Samuel 17:4)

Opening / Why This Matters

Most Christians know the David-and-Goliath story by heart, and many have also heard the traditional detail that Goliath stood “six cubits and a span,” often repeated as nearly ten feet tall. That number has become part of the legend—so familiar that few pause to ask a simple question: is that actually what the oldest biblical evidence says?

This is not a trivial detail. It is a case study in why textual history matters. When modern readers treat one medieval form of the Hebrew text as if it were automatically the earliest and most reliable, they can unintentionally elevate a later scribal tradition above older witnesses. Scripture is not threatened by doing careful textual work. It is clarified by it.

The Bible’s authority does not depend on inflated numbers or mythic exaggeration. The theological point of 1 Samuel 17 is not that David defeated a fairy-tale monster. It is that God delivers His people through faith, not weaponry, and He does it against very real, historically plausible odds.

Biblical Foundation (NASB)

“Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.”(1 Samuel 17:4)

“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.’”(1 Samuel 17:45)

“All this assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands.”(1 Samuel 17:47)

The theological emphasis is unwavering: God saves. The question is whether the traditional measurement details have been transmitted without distortion.

Textual Foundations: Why the Septuagint Matters Here

The Septuagint (LXX) is a Greek translation of the Old Testament begun centuries before Christ. It predates the medieval Hebrew manuscripts by a wide margin and functioned as the Bible of the Greek-speaking Jewish world and, later, the early Church.

By contrast, the Masoretic Text tradition—while valuable and carefully preserved—reflects a later standardized Hebrew stream. The Masoretes were medieval Jewish scribes who produced highly precise vocalization and scribal notes to preserve a received consonantal text. Their work was meticulous, but it did not create an early manuscript tradition; it preserved a later one.

That distinction matters. When the LXX and other early witnesses disagree with a later form of the Masoretic tradition, we are obligated to compare evidence rather than assume that the later reading is automatically original.

In 1 Samuel 17:4, that comparison is decisive.

The Oldest Reading: Four Cubits and a Span

In the Septuagint, Goliath’s height is given as four cubits and a span, not six.

Septuagint Greek (1 Kingdoms / 1 Samuel 17:4 — Goliath’s height)

καὶ ἦν τὸ ὕψος αὐτοῦ τεσσάρων πήχεων καὶ σπιθαμῆς.

English translation

“And his height was four cubits and a span.”

The LXX reads “four cubits and a span” (not “six”), a shorter height that aligns with the oldest textual witnesses and preserves Goliath as a terrifying—yet historically plausible—human champion.

That reading is also supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls, which preserve older Hebrew textual forms than the medieval Masoretic manuscripts.

The difference is not subtle.

Masoretic reading: six cubits and a span
Older witnesses (LXX + DSS): four cubits and a span

Using standard cubit estimates, four cubits and a span places Goliath around six feet nine inches—still enormous in the ancient world, still a terrifying warrior, still a “champion,” but not the near-mythic giant many imagine.

This matters historically. The Philistines were a real people. Warfare accounts in Samuel read like history, not folklore. The older height fits the literary and historical environment: Goliath is a fearsome human champion from Gath, not a supernatural creature.

Why Did the Number Grow?

The most likely explanation is scribal expansion. Numbers are especially vulnerable in manuscript transmission. A small copying error can quickly become tradition. Additionally, in a story already emphasizing the improbable victory of a young shepherd, later transmitters may have unconsciously intensified the contrast by preserving or adopting an inflated measurement.

None of this is a threat to Scripture. It is a reminder that God’s word has been transmitted through real human processes, and that comparing ancient witnesses helps us recover the earliest attainable text.

The faithfulness of Scripture is not diminished when we acknowledge that copyists were not inspired in the same way the prophets were. Inspiration belongs to the original revelation; textual criticism helps us discern the most likely original reading.

Misconceptions / Clarifications

One misconception is that accepting the older reading somehow “shrinks the miracle.” It does not.

A six-foot-nine champion in bronze armor, trained for war, armed with spear and sword, is still an overwhelming threat to an unarmored youth carrying a sling. The point was never that David defeated a cartoon giant. It was that David trusted the living God when everyone else trembled.

Another misconception is that this is “attacking the Bible.” It is the opposite. Treating later readings as automatically superior can create unnecessary confusion and give skeptics ammunition when better evidence is available. The oldest witnesses often make the narrative more coherent, not less.

Theological Reflection: Faith, Not Folklore

Even with the older height, the story remains the same.

Saul is tall by Israel’s standards, yet he hides. Israel’s army is armed, yet they fear. David is young, unarmored, and underestimated, yet he speaks with calm certainty because his confidence is not in himself.

The narrative teaches that God’s deliverance is not dependent on visible strength. David’s courage is not denial of danger; it is proper fear of God over fear of man.

“The LORD does not save by sword or by spear.”

That is the center. The details serve that center.

Connection to Christ

David’s victory foreshadows the Messiah’s victory.

The true Champion defeats the enemy of God’s people, not by matching his weapons, but by trusting the Father completely. David walks into the valley as Israel’s representative. Christ enters the world as ours.

Goliath stands as the taunting enemy, confident in strength. Sin and death taunt humanity the same way. David’s sling looks foolish to the world. The cross looks foolish as well—yet God chooses what appears weak to display His power.

Christ conquers not by human force but by obedient surrender. Like David, He wins the battle for the people who could not win it themselves.

Christ-Centered Conclusion

The older evidence does not diminish Scripture—it clarifies it. Goliath was still a towering champion, and David was still a faithful servant who trusted God rather than weaponry.

When we read with humility and honesty, we see the beauty of Scripture more clearly. God does not need exaggeration to be glorious. The truth is strong enough.

And the truth points us beyond David to the greater Son of David, who entered the valley of death and rose victorious so that the trembling army behind Him could rejoice and follow.