Monthly Archives: July 2011

How tall was your average Philistine woman compared with Goliath? As it turns out: about the same as Kim Kardashian compared with Kris Humphries!

Did you know that the heights of Kim Kardashian (5′ 1″) and fiance Kris Humphries (6′ 9″) perhaps exactly match the average heights of an ancient Philistine woman and Goliath? 1 Samuel 17 sets the story of David and Goliath sometime in what we … Continue reading

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Filed under 1 Samuel 17, Goliath, Numbers 13-14

How tall were the biblical giants? Comparative height chart

Notes: The height of Goliath varies between the various witnesses (manuscripts) to 1 Samuel 17.4 - between 4 1/2 and 6 1/2 cubits (even coming in at 5 1/2 cubits in one witness). Deuteronomy 3.11 only offers us the length of King Og’s coffin (which, … Continue reading

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Filed under 1 Samuel 17, Ancient Jewish texts, Deuteronomy 3, Goliath, King Og

Mark Goodacre on the Gospel of Peter, Walking and Talking Crosses, and Giant Jesuses

Mark Goodacre now has a podcast out which introduces the Gospel of Peter. Towards the end of the podcast, he addresses a unique development in this Gospel. The canonical Gospels never narrate the ascent of Jesus from the grave to heaven (or to … Continue reading

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Jesus was a Giant – But Let’s Be Reasonable: There was no walking, talking cross!

I recently quoted Bart Ehrman on the Gospel of Peter’s narrative about a gigantic Jesus and a walking, talking cross. Although I was more interested in the (angelomorphic) height of Jesus, Mark Goodacre comments on the Gospel’s description of the … Continue reading

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The Undeniable Truth of the Existence of Giants

It is undeniable that Giants exist. Here is a English Scholar on the matter: The existence of giants has been supported by all the writers of antiquity, and received as an undeniable truth. – John Lemprière, A Classical Dictionary: Containing … Continue reading

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Filed under Books on Giants

Take a Stroll down Emek Refaim Street, Jerusalem

Jerusalem is truly a most wondrous city to visit, and Ben Yehuda is no longer the “place to be”. Try Emek Refaim Street for a wide selection of restaurants from “Aroma” coffee bar to some more up market fancy establishments. … Continue reading

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Filed under Ancient Jewish texts, Emim, King Og, Nephilim, Rephaim, Zamzummim

Jesus: The Cold Case – Watch it online

It’s only available for five days, and only in New Zealand. Bryan Bruce investigates who killed Jesus, and why:

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The Wisdom of Sarah Michelle Geller: There are, Like, Five Basic Stories – All of which can be traced back to the Bible (and Buffy the Vampire Slayer) – and one of which is David and Goliath

Sarah Michelle Geller comments on storylines in her new tv series, Ringer: Interviewer: This seems to be the season of the doppelganger. We are seeing it on Fringe and Vampire Diaries. I know you are not playing a doppelganger, but … Continue reading

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Filed under 1 Samuel 17, Goliath

Jesus: The Cold Case – Reviewing Bryan Bruce’s exhumation of Jesus

Bryan Bruce’s documentary on the death of Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus: The Cold Case (TV1, 24 July 2011, 8:30pm), asks who killed Jesus and why. Although Bruce moves well beyond his usual comfort zone in investigating unsolved murders from recent decades, for the most … Continue reading

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Jesus: The Cold Case on TVNZ tonight: A couple of interviews with Bryan Bruce

In the Otago Daily Times: “What happens in the first and second and third century in Rome is that the Christians begin to separate themselves (from the Jews). “They write into their own writings anti-Semitic stuff. They cosy up to … Continue reading

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