And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
Parallel translations
- WEB A champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span went out.
- BSB Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,
- NKJV And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
- NASB Then a champion came forward from the army encampment of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span.
- NLT Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A Philistine champion named Goliath of Gath, of enormous height, steps forward. The formidable giant emerges as Israel's seemingly unbeatable foe.
Overview
Goliath, a towering champion, comes out to represent the Philistines in single combat, a custom that could decide a battle. His extraordinary size embodies the human impossibility that confronts Israel. This sets up the central contrast of the chapter: human might against faith in the living God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Josh 11:22There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.
- 1 Sam 17:23And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
- 2 Sam 21:16–22And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.
- 1 Chr 20:4–8And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued.
- Deut 3:11For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.
- 1 Sam 27:4And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him.
- 1 Sam 21:9–10And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.
- 1 Chr 11:23And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear.
- Amos 2:9Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 17:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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