The scientists at Brigham Young University have established that the height of Goliath, the Philistine Warrior mentioned in the book of Samuel in the Bible, could have been about 2.38 meters.
In the official translation of the Bible it is said that Goliath’s height was “six elbows and a finger”, ie 2.97 meters. But archaeologists and other representatives of the scientific fields believe that this number is most likely exaggerated.
Clyde Billington, biblist and executive director of the Institute of Bible Archeology, explains: “Ancient tail” was a unit of measure expressed by the length from the top of the middle finger. This was only standardized in Egypt, where it was 52.5 cm long. Thus, according to Egyptian measures, Goliath would have been about 3.28 meters high.
In the older versions of the Old Testament, for example, in the Greek Septuagint (translated between the 1st and 3rd centuries BC), Goliath’s height is described as “four elbows and one finger”, ie 2.26 meters (seven legs and five inches).
Professor Jeff Chadwick of Bright Young University, who led the research, recalls that ancient Israelites had a system of measurements, different from the Egyptian one. His colleagues measured hundreds of architectural elements in the ruins of Gath, where, according to the biblical tradition, Goliath would have been born. They came to the conclusion that the “ancient tail” in this place was 54 cm, and the step was 22 cm. Thus, the height of the giant could have been 2.38 meters (seven feet and ten inches). In comparison, the average height of a person of that period was about 1.60 meters.
Although scientists admit that the description of Goliath’s height could only be a literary means to emphasize his special dimensions.
