Tag: Goliath

Goliath (Hebrew: גָּלְיָת, Modern Golyat Tiberian Golyāṯ; Arabic: جالوت, Ǧālūt (Qur’anic term), جليات Ǧulyāt (Christian term)) or Goliath of Gath (one of five city states of the Philistines) is a figure in the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament). Described as a giant Philistine warrior, he is famous for his combat with the young David, the future king of Israel. The fight between them is described in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and, more briefly, in the Qur’an.
The purpose of the original story was to show David’s identity as the true king of Israel. Post-Classical Jewish traditions stressed Goliath’s status as the representative of paganism, in contrast to David, the champion of the God of Israel. Christian tradition gave him a distinctively Christian perspective, seeing in David’s battle with Goliath the victory of God’s King over the enemies of God’s helpless people as a prefiguring of Jesus’ victory over sin on the Cross and the Church’s ongoing struggle against Satan.
The…