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Q&A: They Found Goliath and the Cause of His Death?

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Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.

They Found Goliath and the Cause of His Death?

Question

I saw a study about remains in the Ashkelon-Gaza-Kiryat Gat area, more or less the Philistine region, and indeed giants from that period were found there. Calculating Goliath’s height based on that region gives around 2.30 meters, as against an average person of that period at 1.60, which is indeed an impressive height but not something bizarre. The genetics of the Philistines there are strikingly similar to regions of tribes in northern Europe, then and now, and indeed there is a condition there that appears in between 1 in 1,000 and 1 in 2,500 people, where they grow very tall in adolescence and do not stop growing until they die at a relatively young age because of complications from the height itself—large blood volume, tremendous pressure on the heart, and many other problems caused by the height. One of their main impairments is that they have no peripheral vision, only straight-ahead vision (it has to do with the brain, in the growth area and at its expense). They are also weak when it comes to carrying heavy things.
Now in summary:
Goliath the Philistine was tall, like many there, and apparently suffered from that same disease that exists today among tribes in northern Europe. He was clumsy in his movements and needed a youth close by to carry his gear for him. He couldn’t see from the side. David came at him from the side and threw a stone at him; he lost his balance, fell, and his head was cut off relatively easily (another impairment is that it is easy to kill them and cut off their limbs, something connected to the cause of the height and the large amount of blood; somehow the muscles and other things are also really weak compared to a regular person).
Admittedly, he had a frightening appearance and maybe also a kind of great strength,
but with cunning and an attack from the side, this was not a miracle but the ordinary way to defeat Goliath.
 
What does the Rabbi think about this?
 

Answer

Maybe.

Discussion on Answer

Renewed Lovers of Simplicity (2025-03-09)

In my opinion Goliath was dazzled by the sun and didn’t see David. David got up at dawn and went from Bethlehem to the Valley of Elah, and the Philistine army was northwest of the Israelite army in the southeast, which means that in those morning hours the sun was exactly behind David’s back, and that made things harder for Goliath in the duel with him.
What is certain, even in the plain meaning of the verses, is that it wasn’t a miracle. He simply shot a stone into his forehead, so he fainted. There’s no midrashic miracle here.

Avi (2025-03-09)

A lumbering giant who could barely move—it’s hard to believe the Philistines would send him against the best Israelite warrior.

השאר תגובה

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