And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
Two armies face each other across the valley of Elah. Out of one camp steps a single man whose size settles the argument before a blow is struck. His title, his town and his measurements all mark out a power no one in Israel can match.
The Man Who Stepped Out
The Philistines did not send an army into the valley. They sent one man.
W. T. P. WolstonIt appears that the Philistines had a champion: Goliath of Gath, "a man of war from his youth". His height was six cubits and a span, or about ten feet. That is a very tall man!... In plain language, to human eyes the leader of the Philistine army could not be harmed. No man dared to fight him or answer his challenge.
His town explains his size. Scripture links Gath with the last survivors of a race of giants.
Hamilton SmithThe city of Gath was famous as the dwelling place of the last of the Anakims — a race of giants (Joshua 11:21-22; 1 Sam. 17:4). However, the might of man proves to be of no avail against the power of God.
Six Cubits — The Measure of Man
The number six runs through Goliath's description. Commentators read it as the number of man at full stretch, and still under God's limit.
Samuel RidoutThe way Scripture uses six suggests its meaning. The six days speak of work and its limit... The number is often tied to men's effort to be independent of God. It shaped the height of Goliath, the defier of Israel, and the weight of his spear (1 Sam. 17:4-7)... But Goliath was overthrown, in the name of the living God, by David... So God has put His limit upon man's day, and will triumph over him when he reaches his highest point.
The pattern is not limited to his height. One writer counts it through the whole description:
F. B. HoleIt is significant that six is a number stamped upon the Philistine giants — see 1 Samuel 17:4-7; 2 Samuel 21:20. Goliath's height was six cubits and a span, six pieces of his armour are specified, his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels.
The Meaning of the Name
The two names carry a message of their own.
Numerical Bible NotesGoliath means, we believe, "banishment, exile", and the name of his city makes that meaning even stronger. Gath means the "wine-press". We have linked it before with what seems its only explanation here — the weighty saying in Revelation, "He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty." "Banishment from God in His wrath" we may take as the true thought carried by the frightening figure of Goliath of Gath.
What He Was Really Challenging
Goliath aimed his taunt at soldiers. He had misjudged who stood behind them.
H. L. RossierSure of his strength, he stands out before the assembled people and challenges them. Once he has filled with terror the people he wants to subdue, he cries out, "I defy the ranks of Israel this day!" He does not know that he is not dealing with Israel but with God. In defying God's people, he is defying God Himself. This is his downfall.
His confidence had evidence behind it. Israel looked like nothing.
William KellyThe Philistine took the side of nature, founded on appearances. And indeed there was little to show that Israel were the people of God. Their condition was wretched and their humiliation almost complete, so the Philistine could find plenty of reasons to think the whole claim was empty pretence... This is how unbelief usually reasons from appearances.
Why Israel Needed Someone Else
Israel had a king of its own. Beside Goliath he counted for nothing.
Samuel RidoutAgainst such armour and such a height, the king of Israel looks tiny and his armour worthless, for he has nothing but his natural advantages. Even Jonathan, a man of faith, cannot stand up to this terrifying attack... All of this is striking. Israel's utter powerlessness to do anything shows how completely they needed a deliverer.
The Larger Picture
Several writers read the giant as a picture of a greater enemy, and David's method as a picture of how that enemy fell.
The Bible TreasuryIf David is a picture of the Messiah, Goliath is just as truly a symbol of Satan's power... The great enemy is not yet banished from the scene of Messiah's glory, but he must learn the power of Israel's future king.
Death was that enemy's weapon, and it became the means of his own defeat.
An Outline of Sound WordsThe Lord Jesus used the very weapon that made men tremble to defeat Satan and break the power of death. For it is written, "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery" (Heb. 2:14-15).
Summary
- Champion. One man from Gath, the town where the last of the giants lived, was enough to stop a whole army.
- Six. Six marks his height and his gear — the number of man at full stretch, still under God's limit.
- Banishment. Commentators read his name as "exile" and Gath as "wine-press" — together a picture of banishment from God in His wrath.
- Defiance. He thought he was insulting Israel's ranks; he was defying God, and that was his ruin.
- Deliverer. The king looked tiny beside him and Jonathan could not face him. Israel needed someone else — and in the end the enemy fell by his own weapon.