Giant Goliath Slept Here

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of unusually large stone fortifications beneath the excavation of Gath, one of the five Philistine city-states, established in northwestern Philistia. The remains of this giant 3,000-year-old Philistine city may have inspired biblical stories of giants hundreds of years later, including the warrior giant Goliath who David defeated by hitting him in the head with the stone from a slingshot.

The story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) has come to symbolize the spirit and triumph of the underdog. In the biblical story, It is David’s defeat of giant Goliath that enabled the Israelites to turn the tides and defeat the Philistines in the valley of Elah.

Archaeologists excavating in 2019’s Dig season uncovered, below a thoroughly explored layer at Tell es-Safi, large scale stone fortifications, built with very large stones. They believe they’ve found an older, extremely large Philistine city for the time, dating to the 11th Century BCE. Featuring much larger stones and walls twice as thick as other cities in the area, it might have inspired tales of the giant Goliath, and as many as four other Philistine giants who appeared in the bible.

Learn more about Gath, and possibly about its implications for the story of giant Goliath, at the Tell es-Safi/Gath Blog site. Even though they only plan to dig for two more years, there may yet be more surprises in store that may impact our understanding of biblical history. As Maeir and Erhlich concluded their 2001 article, “One never knows what the next spade will turn up.”

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/giant-goliath-slept-here/