The Nephilim...

[Guest]

What you recall, TK, was the comment from the Catholic guy (what was his name?) that the Septuagint says that Goliath was "4 cubits and a span" (That would be 6 ft. 4 in.). It's true. The Septuagint does say that.
The Septuagint is much earlier than the Masoretic manucripts from which the Old Testament was translated, and so that might have been the actual height of Goliath.

All translations of the Old Testament have "6 cubits and a span" due to the Masoretic text.

Just a moment ago, I checked with the "Dead Sea Scrolls Bible", from those very ancient Hebrew manuscripts. I didn't expect to find it, since so much of the Old Testament is missing from the Dead Sea manuscripts.
However, much to my delight, I found the text!

It's "4 cubits and a span".

That pretty much settles it for me. I am now convinced that the height of Goliath was 6ft. 4 in.

Thank you, TK, for bringing that up.

[Guest]

couldn't the 4 cubits translation be wrong? i still dont see how 6'4" could be a giant, even if the hebrews average height was only 5'4". goliath was portrayed as so fearsome that no one would fight him (except silly little David).

and wasnt Saul supposed to have been head and shoulders than everyone else? did they call him a giant, too?

TK

[Guest]

I guess that's what some of the later copyists thought --- the ones who changed "4 cubits" to "6 cubits".