The sword and spear of Goliath

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The Bible states that when, as a young man, David slew Goliath he took his armor and put them in his tent: "And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his (Goliath's) armor in his tent" (1Samuel 17:54). However, what happened to Goliath's armor - his sword and spear - after taken in battle? Could they still exist TODAY?

The first question we need to answer, however, is how BIG were the implements of war that Goliath used and how TALL and STRONG he had to be to use them. The Bible says his height was 'six cubits and a span" (1Samuel 17:4). The exact length of the ancient cubit, using modern measurement standards, is a topic of debate. Various Bible commentaries place the length of a cubit anywhere from 17 inches (43.2 centimeters) to 21 inches (53.3 centimeters). The length of a span is highly likely around 9 inches (22.9 centimeters). Conservatively, Goliath was 9 feet 3 inches tall or 2.82 meters and likely was a bit bigger! Compare this to the average height of a U.S. male (2003-2006 data) of 5 feet 10 inches (1.8 meters).

Regarding the size and weight of his armor it says, "He (Goliath) had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him." (1Samuel 17:5-7)

It is safe to say that Goliath wore a protective coat that weighed at least 78 U.S. pounds (35.4 kilograms). Several commentaries place the weight of the coat at an amazing 156 U.S. pounds (70.8 kilograms)! The length of his spear may have been as long as 26 feet (7.9 meters). The head alone on the spear weighed at least 17 pounds U.S. (7.7 kilograms). Goliath was a formidable opponent indeed! David had these heavy, super-sized weapons to transport!

Goliath's armor comes up again later in David's life. While he was fleeing from King Saul, he went to the priests at Nob to get some food. After he ate, he requested a sword. Ahimelech the priest gave him the ONLY sword they had available - Goliath's: "David asked Ahimelech, 'Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king’s business was urgent.' The priest replied, 'The sword of GOLIATH THE PHILISTINE, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth BEHIND THE EPHOD. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.' David said, 'There is none like it; give it to me.' " (1Samuel 21:8-9)

Where was the sword? It was behind the ephod. It had become a sacred national possession for Israel. We can well guess that the spear also had the same honor.

The Tribe of Dan and Goliath's weapons

Some students of the Bible are familiar with the fact that a large portion of the Israelite tribe of Dan had migrated through Europe after captivity and into what is now Ireland.

In the 11th edition of Encyclopedia Britannica (1911) in an article on Ireland, under the subheading of "Legendary Origins, Early History" we find a people called the "Tuatha de Danan" (tribe of Dan) had migrated into Ireland having with them the Stone of Destiny (called the Lia Fail or Jacob's pillar stone). Also taken were some of the king's daughters (Jeremiah 41:10; 43:6), princesses, and descendants of the house of David, through which God kept his promise to always have one of his descendants on a throne over Israel. The article also mentions Scythian warriors migrating to Ireland.

In Colossians 3:11, we find the Scythians were a major group of people:

". . . put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian (foreigner), SCYTHIAN, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all." (Colossians 3:10-11)

David sculpture
by Michelangelo

In a dichotomy, they were the circumcised Israelites as opposed to the Romans and were a major part of the Parthian empire. Parthians were present at the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:9). Studies of history show that many of the Parthian-Scythian peoples were part of the lost ten tribes of Israel -- the northern kingdom after the split when Solomon's son, Rehoboam, became king and the northern ten tribes seceded, setting up capital at Samaria. Some of the ten northern tribes left Palestine earlier and others became captives of Assyria and carried away.

In the 1911 Encyclopedia article on Ireland, we find these Tuatha de Danan and Scythian people with genealogical records dating to Noah. These brought with them to Ireland "the sacred sword and spear.” These are highly likely the sword and spear of Goliath the giant.

Written by: Bill Hillebrenner
edited and expanded by Biblestudy.org

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