Q. Is there any evidence that Goliath had four brothers? I was told this was the reason why David took five stones with him into battle. A. It's interesting that you mentioned the coincidence of David picking up five stones and Goliath having four similarly gigantic brothers. Now we know from 2Samuel 21:16-22, especially the last verse, that there were four Philistine giants besides Goliath. However, there is no record of these other four giants challenging the army of Israel along with Goliath in 1Samuel 17, when David slew him with God's help.
What's interesting, from the viewpoint of seeing this encounter as a lesson in faith, is that David took five stones (1Samuel 17:40), not just one, despite having faith in God and His special protection. David prudently planned that it might take more than one stone to kill Goliath, much as Jacob carefully prepared before encountering his brother Esau again after leaving the employ of Laban (Genesis 32-33) while praying to God before this meeting also. There is an interesting translation issue in 2Samuel 21:15-21 in that the term translated "the giant" at least in the plural can mean "Rephaim." This apparently was a race or breed of giants, such as Og, the king of Bashan, who had a bedstead of about 13 1/2 feet in length and 6 feet wide (Deuteronomy 3:3, 11; cf. Joshua 12:4). Although one of these four other Philistine giants was Goliath's brother (2Samuel 21:19; cf. 1Chronicles 20:5, which preserved the text more correctly), the others aren't clearly said to be. Another race or group of giants was called the Anakim (Numbers 13:28, 32-33), but it doesn't appear they were related to the Philistine giants. |
