Block, SkipCaptcha, apieditor, Automoderated users, Bots, edit, ratelimit-exempt
58,183
edits
Changes
clean up & uniformity
[[Image:DavidandGoliath.jpg|250px|thumb|[[David]] and Goliath by [[Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio|Caravaggio]]]]
[[Image:DavidandGoliath.jpg|250px|thumb|[[David]] and Goliath by [[Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio|Caravaggio]]]]
'''Goliath''' ([[Hebrew]], "exile" or "passage" or "revolution") was the [[Philistines|Philistine]] single-combat [[champion]] who fell before the young future king [[David]] of [[Israel]].
== Origin and Description ==
== Origin and Description ==
Neither side wanted to take the initiative and bring the other to battle. So, presumably on the orders of the high king of the Philistines, Goliath walked into the valley and challenged the [[Israelite]]s to send out a champion to fight him. Whichever champion won the combat would win the day.
Neither side wanted to take the initiative and bring the other to battle. So, presumably on the orders of the high king of the Philistines, Goliath walked into the valley and challenged the [[Israelite]]s to send out a champion to fight him. Whichever champion won the combat would win the day.
Goliath probably placed as much faith in his own tremendous size as in the Philistine pantheon. In any event, he waited for forty days for a champion to emerge. But at the sight of the slender, red-cheeked youth who appeared before him--one who, furthermore, wore no armor at all!--he evidently did not know whether to howl with laughter or with rage.<blockquote>Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Samuel|chap=17|verses=43|version=KJV}}</ref></blockquote>This was in reference to the sight of this young lad carrying a shepherd's staff and a small leather satchel slung over one shoulder, and with no other weapons. The sight was probably deeply insulting. That Goliath meant to return insult for insult is evident because, in Goliath's day, [[dog]]s were strays, scavengers, and far less friendly to mankind than they are today.
Goliath probably placed as much faith in his own tremendous size as in the Philistine pantheon. In any event, he waited for forty days for a champion to emerge. But at the sight of the slender, red-cheeked youth who appeared before him—one who, furthermore, wore no armor at all!--he evidently did not know whether to howl with laughter or with rage.<blockquote>Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?<ref>{{Bible ref|book=I_Samuel|chap=17|verses=43|version=KJV}}</ref></blockquote>This was in reference to the sight of this young lad carrying a shepherd's staff and a small leather satchel slung over one shoulder, and with no other weapons. The sight was probably deeply insulting. That Goliath meant to return insult for insult is evident because, in Goliath's day, [[dog]]s were strays, scavengers, and far less friendly to mankind than they are today.
Goliath responded by cursing the lad in the name of his gods and threatening to feed him to the birds and the beasts. Young David's rejoinder was simple: that while Goliath relied on his weapons, David relied on his [[God]], and God would win the day. Furthermore, David promised not only to kill Goliath and cut off his head, but to cause the entire Philistine army to be fed to the birds and the beasts.
Goliath responded by cursing the lad in the name of his gods and threatening to feed him to the birds and the beasts. Young David's rejoinder was simple: that while Goliath relied on his weapons, David relied on his [[God]], and God would win the day. Furthermore, David promised not only to kill Goliath and cut off his head, but to cause the entire Philistine army to be fed to the birds and the beasts.
The combat between the two men was short. Goliath rushed forward to attack, and David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it. The stone struck Goliath directly between the eyes and killed him instantly. David then cut off Goliath's head--again, after Goliath was already dead.
The combat between the two men was short. Goliath rushed forward to attack, and David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it. The stone struck Goliath directly between the eyes and killed him instantly. David then cut off Goliath's head—again, after Goliath was already dead.
The Philistines immediately broke and ran. David stripped the dead Goliath of his armor and treasured it for years thereafter.<ref>[http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/b6c9.html The Goliath Account] in [[Flavius Josephus]], [[The Antiquities of the Jews]]</ref>
The Philistines immediately broke and ran. David stripped the dead Goliath of his armor and treasured it for years thereafter.<ref>[http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/b6c9.html The Goliath Account] in [[Flavius Josephus]], [[The Antiquities of the Jews]]</ref>
These same doctors even speculate that the pituitary tumor grew to impinge upon the [[optic chiasm]] and cut off the signals that pass from each [[eye]] to the opposing [[occipital lobe]], which is the center for visual processing. Thus Goliath would have suffered [[bitemporal hemianopsia]], which produces "tunnel vision," and thus David would have been better able to approach him close enough to deliver a killing blow with his slingshot.<ref>Berginer, Vladimir M. [http://www.ima.org.il/imaj/ar00sep-15.pdf Neurological Aspects of the David-Goliath Battle: Restriction in the Giant's Visual Field]. ''IMAJ'' 2000;2:725-727 (requires a PDF reader or plug-in)</ref>
These same doctors even speculate that the pituitary tumor grew to impinge upon the [[optic chiasm]] and cut off the signals that pass from each [[eye]] to the opposing [[occipital lobe]], which is the center for visual processing. Thus Goliath would have suffered [[bitemporal hemianopsia]], which produces "tunnel vision," and thus David would have been better able to approach him close enough to deliver a killing blow with his slingshot.<ref>Berginer, Vladimir M. [http://www.ima.org.il/imaj/ar00sep-15.pdf Neurological Aspects of the David-Goliath Battle: Restriction in the Giant's Visual Field]. ''IMAJ'' 2000;2:725-727 (requires a PDF reader or plug-in)</ref>
But such speculation ignores three key facts. One is the utility of the ancient slingshot; indeed the Book of [[Judges (book)|Judges]] speaks of a cadre of slingers who each could reliably hit a target no broader than a human hair.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Judges|chap=20|verses=16|version=KJV}}</ref> Though that verse does not say from how far away the slingers could accomplish this feat, one must remember that the combat between David and Goliath was at very close range, with the two combatants never more than five or six cubits apart from one another. In all likelihood, David could have defeated a three-meter-tall man having full possession of his visual faculties--and equally likely, the Philistines would not have invested such effort to train and equip a man, no matter how tall he stood, if he had, in effect, two blind sides.
But such speculation ignores three key facts. One is the utility of the ancient slingshot; indeed the Book of [[Judges (book)|Judges]] speaks of a cadre of slingers who each could reliably hit a target no broader than a human hair.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Judges|chap=20|verses=16|version=KJV}}</ref> Though that verse does not say from how far away the slingers could accomplish this feat, one must remember that the combat between David and Goliath was at very close range, with the two combatants never more than five or six cubits apart from one another. In all likelihood, David could have defeated a three-meter-tall man having full possession of his visual faculties—and equally likely, the Philistines would not have invested such effort to train and equip a man, no matter how tall he stood, if he had, in effect, two blind sides.
Another fact is the nature of pituitary adenoma and the consequences of the continued secretion of growth hormone after the [[epiphyseal plate]]s of bones have fully formed. A patient so afflicted has outsized fingers and toes, a condition called [[acromegaly]]. The Bible does not describe the anatomical anomalies associated with acromegaly in Goliath.
Another fact is the nature of pituitary adenoma and the consequences of the continued secretion of growth hormone after the [[epiphyseal plate]]s of bones have fully formed. A patient so afflicted has outsized fingers and toes, a condition called [[acromegaly]]. The Bible does not describe the anatomical anomalies associated with acromegaly in Goliath.
The famously cynical political scientist [[Nicolo Machiavelli]] once said that the best way to fight is with weapons that we know and understand, and not with weapons that others use, however efficacious they might appear. Machiavelli credits the "lesson" of David and Goliath with giving him this insight.<ref name=Macchiavelli>[[Nicolo Machiavelli|Machiavelli, Nicolo]]. "[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/machiavelli-prince.html#CHAPTER%20XIII Concerning Auxiliaries, Mixed Soldiery, and One's Own]." ''[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/machiavelli-prince.html The Prince]''. 1513. Retrieved May 29, 2007 from the [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html The Medieval Sourcebook] at [[Fordham University]].</ref>
The famously cynical political scientist [[Nicolo Machiavelli]] once said that the best way to fight is with weapons that we know and understand, and not with weapons that others use, however efficacious they might appear. Machiavelli credits the "lesson" of David and Goliath with giving him this insight.<ref name=Macchiavelli>[[Nicolo Machiavelli|Machiavelli, Nicolo]]. "[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/machiavelli-prince.html#CHAPTER%20XIII Concerning Auxiliaries, Mixed Soldiery, and One's Own]." ''[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/machiavelli-prince.html The Prince]''. 1513. Retrieved May 29, 2007 from the [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html The Medieval Sourcebook] at [[Fordham University]].</ref>
Today, "Goliath" is a common name for a very large machine or other artifact--and "David against Goliath" is a proverbial description for a contest in which one opponent finds himself extremely outmatched but might win anyway--especially if the "outmatched" contestant does win. However the German [[Goliath tank]] of [[World War II]] was a tiny, unmanned remote-controlled vehicle.
Today, "Goliath" is a common name for a very large machine or other artifact—and "David against Goliath" is a proverbial description for a contest in which one opponent finds himself extremely outmatched but might win anyway—especially if the "outmatched" contestant does win. However the German [[Goliath tank]] of [[World War II]] was a tiny, unmanned remote-controlled vehicle.
Goliath has been celebrated as an "action hero" in [[Italy|Italian]] [[motion picture|cinema]], and in this regard continues to illustrate the Biblical statement that certain giant-sized men, called [[Nephilim]], were "the mighty men that were of old, men of renown."<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=6|verses=1-4|version=NASB}}</ref>
Goliath has been celebrated as an "action hero" in [[Italy|Italian]] [[motion picture|cinema]], and in this regard continues to illustrate the Biblical statement that certain giant-sized men, called [[Nephilim]], were "the mighty men that were of old, men of renown."<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=6|verses=1-4|version=NASB}}</ref>
<references/>
<references/>
== See Also ==
== See also ==
* [[David]]
* [[David]]
* [[Saul]]
* [[Saul]]