How was Goliath "killed"?
Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 1:54 pm
I received (and answered) the following question in my regular email. I thought it might interest others:
Good morning Steve,I am in a bible study group,and we are currently in 1 Samuel. In chapter 17 vv.50-51 says David killed Goliath with one stone and a sling.In v.51 it says he killed him with the sword and cut off his head.Which method actually killed him, the stone or the sword?People for years have been saying David killed Goliath with a smooth stone what is your take on this? Thank you for your answer. —Marion
Hi Marion,
It really is peculiar that Goliath is said to have been killed both with the stone and with the sword. It may be that he was knocked unconscious (and possibly even killed—no one could tell for sure) by the stone, but that his actual death was known with certainty to the onlooking armies when his head was removed.
If a man were to be mortally injured by falling from a building, and died shortly afterward, in the hospital, due to receiving an inappropriate dosage of anesthesia, we might equally say he was killed by the fall, or he was killed by the overdose. Technically, the overdose was the immediate cause of death, but since he was dying already, due to the fall, we could say the fall killed him.
Goliath's death was probably a process that began with the stone striking him down (from which he would have died anyway) and culminated with his decapitation, so that he was really killed by the series of events that includes both the stone and the sword.
King Saul was mortally wounded in battle. His death was inevitable, but he was dying so slowly that he feared the Philistines would find him alive and torture him. Therefore, he fell on his sword and died more quickly. We could say either that Saul was killed in battle by the Philistines, or else that he committed suicide. Both statements would be, in a sense, true.
It seems as if the wording of 1 Samuel 17:49-51 could be understood similarly.
Good morning Steve,I am in a bible study group,and we are currently in 1 Samuel. In chapter 17 vv.50-51 says David killed Goliath with one stone and a sling.In v.51 it says he killed him with the sword and cut off his head.Which method actually killed him, the stone or the sword?People for years have been saying David killed Goliath with a smooth stone what is your take on this? Thank you for your answer. —Marion
Hi Marion,
It really is peculiar that Goliath is said to have been killed both with the stone and with the sword. It may be that he was knocked unconscious (and possibly even killed—no one could tell for sure) by the stone, but that his actual death was known with certainty to the onlooking armies when his head was removed.
If a man were to be mortally injured by falling from a building, and died shortly afterward, in the hospital, due to receiving an inappropriate dosage of anesthesia, we might equally say he was killed by the fall, or he was killed by the overdose. Technically, the overdose was the immediate cause of death, but since he was dying already, due to the fall, we could say the fall killed him.
Goliath's death was probably a process that began with the stone striking him down (from which he would have died anyway) and culminated with his decapitation, so that he was really killed by the series of events that includes both the stone and the sword.
King Saul was mortally wounded in battle. His death was inevitable, but he was dying so slowly that he feared the Philistines would find him alive and torture him. Therefore, he fell on his sword and died more quickly. We could say either that Saul was killed in battle by the Philistines, or else that he committed suicide. Both statements would be, in a sense, true.
It seems as if the wording of 1 Samuel 17:49-51 could be understood similarly.