Goliath, (c. 11th century bc), in the Bible (I Sam. xvii), the Philistine giant slain by David, who thereby achieved renown. The Philistines had come up to make war against Saul, and this warrior came forth day by day to challenge to single combat. Only David ventured to respond, and armed with a sling and pebbles he overcame Goliath. The Philistines, seeing their champion killed, lost heart and were easily put to flight. The giant’s arms were placed in the sanctuary, and it was his famous sword that David took with him in his flight from Saul (I Sam. 21: 1–9).
In another passage it is said that Goliath of Gath was slain by a certain Elhanan of Bethlehem in one of David’s conflicts with the Philistines (II Sam. 21: 18–22). This may be a transcriptural error as the parallel I Chron. 20:5 avoids the contradiction by reading “Elhanan . . . slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath.”