Page 321 - Foundations

Just how tall and powerful were these giants that Israel faced? Other than Og, King of Bashan, there
is no description given of their size and might until the days of David during the reign of King Saul.
We are told that among the Philistines there was a family of giants, the most famous of whom was
Goliath.

I Samuel 17:4-7
Then a champion came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose
height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with
scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. He also had bronze greaves on his legs
and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam.
The head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-carrier also walked before him.

Rendering these weights and measures into their English equivalents, we are informed that Goliath
was 9 feet 6 inches tall. His armor weighed 125 lbs. and the head of his spear weighed 15 lbs.. It is
little wonder that King Saul and all of his army were daunted by this giant. They were looking through
physical eyes and recognized that they were overmatched. Only David, looking through eyes of faith,
saw that the Philistine giant could be conquered, for Goliath’s strength was no match for that of
Yahweh.

It is difficult to imagine how large Goliath actually was. It is inappropriate to describe Goliath as a
large man. He was truly a giant. In modern times there have been some instances of men who grew
to impressive stature. This is usually due to a physical defect such as the case of Robert Wadlow of
Indiana in America. Robert Wadlow was born in 1918 and died in 1940 at the age of 22. He holds the
record for being the tallest documented human in modern history. Robert had a tumor on his pituitary
gland that caused his body to secrete excessive amounts of human growth hormone. By the time
Robert graduated from high school he was 8 feet 4 inches tall. At his death he had obtained a height
of 8 feet 11 inches.