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Was Goliath “four cubits and a span” or “six cubits and a span?” And what exactly is a cubit?
1 Samuel 17:4: “And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.”
All right. First, let’s get a figure for Goliath’s height, according to the Bible. I cite several commentaries, on this passage (my italics), and other reference sources:
Continued below.
How Tall Was Goliath?
1 Samuel 17:4: “And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.”
All right. First, let’s get a figure for Goliath’s height, according to the Bible. I cite several commentaries, on this passage (my italics), and other reference sources:
- Benson Commentary: “At least nine feet nine inches.”
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible: “If the cubit, the length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, is about 1-1/2 feet; and the span, the distance from the thumb to the middle or little finger, when stretched apart to the full length, be half a cubit, six cubits and a span would equal about nine feet nine inches.”
- Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges: “The most probable estimate is about ten feet three inches.”
- Pulpit Commentary: “In our measure his height was eight feet five and one-third inches; for the cubit is sixteen inches, and the span (really the hand-breadth) is five and one-third inches.”
- Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: “His height was six cubits and a span (6 1/4 cubits), ... about nine feet two inches Parisian measure ...”
- McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia (“Goliath”): His height was “six cubits and a span,” which, taking the cubit at 21 inches, would make him 10 1/2 feet high.
- Clarke’s Commentary: “Nine feet nine inches is the most reasonable.”
Continued below.
How Tall Was Goliath?
