Tag Archives: Philistines
Aren Maeir: “The so-called political issues that are supposedly raised by the remnants of giants blog are, you’ll excuse me, ludicrous!”
In an earlier post, Remnant of Giants observed how the current archaeological site of Tel es-Safi (“Gath”) was remembered in The Washington Post as a place of conflict between Israelites and Philistines approximately 3000 years ago, while the newspaper made no mention of the eradication of … Continue reading
Filed under Archaeology, Goliath
Ethnic Cleansing of Khirbat Zakariyya allows for excavation of site mentioned in David and Goliath story, Tel Zakariyya (“Azekah”)
The story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 opens with this geographical description of the military camps of the Philistines and Israelites: Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to … Continue reading
Filed under 1 Samuel 17, 2 Samuel 21, 23, Archaeology, Goliath
The European Origins of the Book of Genesis: Dmitri Panchenko on the Giants of Gen. 6.1-4
In a recent article, “Европейские элементы в Книге Бытия (6: 1-16)” ["European Elements in the Book of Genesis (6.1-16)"], Dmitri Panchenko argues that the Nephilim of Genesis 6.1-4 have European origins. The argument for Greek origins to biblical giant stories is not … Continue reading
Filed under 1 Enoch, Anakim, Genesis 6.1-4, Nephilim
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
Filed under 1 Samuel 17, Goliath, Numbers 13-14
Goliath of Gath/Tel es-Safi in the News
On 7 July 1948, Israeli Defense Forces commander Shimon Avidan ordered the 51st Battalion of the Giv’ati to ethnically cleanse the large Arab town of Tel es-Safi. Avidan told the 51st Battalion ”to destroy, to kill and to expel [lehashmid, leharog, u´legaresh] refugees encamped in the … Continue reading
Filed under Ancient Jewish texts, Archaeology, Goliath
Finkelstein vs. Garfinkel: The historical worth of the story of David vs. Goliath
In a 2008 article, Yosef Garfinkel and Saar Ganor claim that the story of David and Goliath contains a historical kernel of truth. For behind this legend, they claim, is an historical reality of tenth-century BC conflicts between Judahites and Philistines. The battle between … Continue reading
Filed under 1 Samuel 17, Archaeology, Goliath
A Kangaroo Called Goliath
As I was waiting for my Vietnamese takeaway at lunchtime, I picked up a copy of the October 2010 National Geographic. Inside the magazine was an article on Australia’s extinct megafauna: Giant kangaroos, rhino-size browsers, enormous flightless birds. And what is the … Continue reading
