Episode 16 – David and Goliath – the History

Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.

Script Notes:

The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah. So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them. Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall!”

1 Samuel Chapter 17, verses 1 through 4, New Living Translation

The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

Mizraim was the ancestor of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, Pathrusites, Casluhites, and the Caphtorites, from whom the Philistines came.

Genesis, Chapter 10, verses 6 and 13, New Living Translation

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VK: Hello! I’m Victoria K and I’d like to welcome you to another episode of Anchored by Truth. Again with us today in the studio is RD Fierro, author and Founder of Crystal Sea Books. Today we want to continue our discussion series based on one of the best known episodes from the Bible – the story of David and Goliath. To help us do that we’re going to use another of Crystal Sea Books’ Life Lessons with a Laugh humor series. This is the second lesson in the series of 5 lessons about David and Goliath. And today’s life lesson is all about the need for prayer and obedience. RD would you like to say anything before we enjoy hearing you and Jerry spar over tricky names like … say, Jerry?

RD: Well, today I’d like to begin the discussion of the historical background for the David and Goliath story. As our listeners may recall, in a previous episode of Anchored by Truth I mentioned that when I am reading the historical stories in the Bible I like to approach them by thinking about 5 attributes of the story: the history of the story, prophecies that may pertain to the story, how the story applies to the ancestry of the Bible’s central figure, Jesus, how the story affects the unity of the Bible, and the stories relevance to the reader.

VK: Or “relevancy” to be consistent with history, prophecy, ancestry, and unity.

RD: That will work too. So in keeping with that analytical format in today’s discussion I’d like to begin talking about some of the historical underpinnings of the David versus Goliath story so we can have confidence that we’re talking about real history not just an enhanced or fictional vignette from David’s life – or worse just a myth designed to perpetuate sort of a pious fraud.

VK: As always sounds like we’re going to do some serious thinking today. So let’s start on the lighter side with another humorous take on the story of David and Goliath.

---- David and Goliath, Lesson 2

VK: Well, I’ll say that you and Jerry have a gift for pithy proverbial poetry. “To make it in the fight, you got to walk in the light, so always stay tight with what the Lord says is right.” Just doing that would keep a lot of people away from trouble.

RD: True dat.

VK: So let’s move on the history or historicity of the story. But before we actually launch into that, maybe we should do a brief reminder of why knowing the historical attributes of the Bible and the Bible stories is so important today.

RD: Good idea. At one point in our culture most people probably saw the Bible as being essentially true even if they had questions about specific parts, but unfortunately that viewpoint is no longer true. Today a lot of people believe that the Bible is at best, just sort of a variegated collection of fables and parables and what history the Bible does contain is suspect unless it’s confirmed by extra-Biblical sources. But nothing could be further from the truth. Where the Bible records actual history the accuracy of that history is strongly supported not only by historical disciplines such as archeology and paleontology but also – as we saw when we did our series on Noah and the flood – by empirical evidence. The essential point at issue is of course whether the Bible can be fairly treated as the word of God. Jesus certainly treated the scriptures that were in existence in His time as the word of God and if He was mistaken about that it would disqualify Him as being our savior. So, in a very real sense, the historical veracity and reliability of the Bible is directly related to our salvation through Jesus.

VK: And that alone would make it sensible for us to apply ourselves to be sure that we have a good grasp on how we can have confidence in the Bible’s historical episodes. So, on to discussing the historical foundation for David and Goliath. Where do you want to start?

RD: Let’s start with thinking about some of the major elements that are found in all stories whether they are true or not. At a minimum, stories always contain characters, settings, and plots. And the best stories have interesting characters, engaging settings, and dramatic plots. All of those elements are present here. For simplicity’s sake let’s start with looking at the setting of the fight. First, the two nations that the Bible said were involved were the Philistines and the Israelites and the conventional dating for when the fight took place was the latter part of the 11th century BC. David is generally thought to have lived between 1040 and 970 BC and most commentators believe he fought Goliath when he was a teen-ager. And the Bible tells us that the fight took place in the valley of Elah which is in western Israel both then and today.

VK: So the first question is – is there evidence that confirms that the nations of Philistia and Israel both existed in or around that area in the 11th century BC?

RD: And the answer to that is decidedly yes. The records of both the Egyptians and the Assyrians confirm the existence of both nations in that area during that time. The Philistines were part of what the Egyptians referred to as the “Sea Peoples” – probably because the Philistines and their allies, likely the Phoenicians and possibly people from Crete or other areas of the Aegean, arrived in that area by crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The Egyptian records tell us that the Sea Peoples were aggressive and warlike. They even attempted to invade Egypt although the pharaoh Ramesses III repelled them. Ramesses was not able to expel them from Palestine however and the Philistines settled in an area adjacent to the Mediterranean that more or less formed the western boundary of the territory ultimately occupied by Israel after the Exodus. The Philistines never really formed a strong centralized nation but had a loose confederation of city-states. The five most prominent were Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath and the Bible uses the names of those cities to generally refer to the Philistines as a group. It’s interesting that the modern term Palestine actually came from Philistine so there’s a current reminder of their presence there, even though the original peoples are long gone.

VK: So we’re able to locate those cities on maps today, right? In other words we can have strong confidence that the Bible story of David and Goliath accurately reflects the real nations that were in existence at that time. And it makes sense that the armies would have faced each other on opposite sides of the Valley of Elah because that valley was near the boundaries of the two territories that were claimed by each side.

RD: Precisely. As “Sea Peoples,” the Philistines had settled near the Mediterranean coast. They were comfortable being on and near the sea whereas the Israelites were never a sea faring people. And even though the Lord had included the territory occupied by the Philistines in the land that was given to Israel during Joshua’s initial conquest of the Promised Land the Israelites failed to dislodge the Philistines. Joshua 13:1-3 says “When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over. “This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and Geshurites, from the Shihor River on the east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north, all of it counted as Canaanite though held by the five Philistine rulers in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron;” This was unfortunate because the Philistines continued to plague the Israelites for the next 400 years or so. At various times they would make incursions into the territory that the Hebrews had occupied and oppress them. Remember that the book of Judges tells us that the arch enemy that Samson was fighting was the Philistines.

VK: It sounds like the Philistines were a thorn in Israel’s side throughout the period of the Judges and even into the time period when Saul became the first king of Israel. The episode in which David fought Goliath was just part of this long history of conflict between the two nations? And the extra-Biblical records provide corroboration for the presence of the Philistines in Palestine during that time period. Of course, it makes sense that when the Israelites left Egypt during the Exodus and finally began to arrive at their destination, the two sides would come into conflict. So, the confrontation at the Valley of Elah was, at that time, just the latest in a long series of engagements between the two sides.

RD: Exactly. And one of the things that made the Philistines such a formidable opponent was that they apparently had a much greater mastery of the newest metal that was being used in warfare at the time: iron. The conflict between David and Goliath took place as the Bronze Age was being replaced by the Iron Age. Many scholars think that by virtue of their connection with other cultures in other parts of the Mediterranean they had a superior grasp on the technology of making and using iron. It goes without saying that an army that had more iron weapons would have an advantage over one that was still using bronze or other softer metals. That may have been one of the reasons Saul offered David the use of his armor and weapons. As the king he would have been equipped with the best that his side had available.

VK: And if I understand correctly not only do the written records of the time support the various elements that comprise the general setting for the story, but archeological finds also provide good support that story has a solid historical foundation?

RD: Yes. For instance, archeology tells us that some of the five cities the Bible consistently ascribes to the Philistines have been located.

“Of the five Pentapolis sites, only three—Gaza, Ashkelon, 031Ashdod—have been definitely located, and only one, Ashdod, has been thoroughly excavated. At Gaza, only the slightest evidence attesting a late Philistine occupation has been uncovered. The limited archaeological work at Ashkelon has revealed that the last Canaanite stratum suffered a violent destruction and was followed by a Philistine settlement. Khirbet Muqanna (Tel Miqneh) may be the site of Ekron, an identification that has been strengthened by our recent excavations there. The location of Gath is still an open question: the most likely site is Tell es-Sefi. The most extensive evidence of Philistine material culture has come from recent excavations at Tell Ashdod and from a site on the northern border of Philistia whose ancient name we do not know—Tell Qasile within the city limits of modern Tel Aviv. These two sites, Tell Ashdod and Tell Qasile provide complementary data on the nature of Philistine urban settlement, facets of their material culture, and cultic structures and practices.” Quoted material above is from the article “What we know about the Philistines” from the Bible Archeology Society. See link below for more information.

https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/8/4/1

The archeological evidence reveals that there are a lot more iron artifacts from this era in Philistine sites than are found in sites believed to be the location of Israelite settlements.

VK: What other important things does the archeology tell us about the Philistines?

RD: Well, we’re going to get more into some of these details in some upcoming episodes but there are archeological finds that provide confirmation about:

• The fact that duels between designated champions were common of warfare of the time particularly those in the Aegean region. Remember the famous duel described by Homer between Paris of Troy and Menelaus of Greece in the Iliad. There are other examples from other cultures including Egypt and Babylon.

• The armor and weapons used by Goliath and the fact that Goliath had probably trained to be a designated champion. At a minimum Goliath would have been part of a group Homer calls “first men,” an type of ancient infantryman who were designed to be the first rank in battles where the battle fronts were composed of several long lines of infantry trying to sweep their opponents out of the way.

• That names similar to Goliath were common in Philistine society. Sherds of pottery that have been dubbed the “Goliath sherds,” contain names similar to Goliath and have even been found in Tell-es-Safi which is thought to be the Biblical Gath, Goliath’s home town. These sherds have been dated to the 9th century BC or in other words in the general time period of the Biblical confrontation.

VK: So all this evidence is consistent with the details of the Biblical description of the encounter between David and Goliath, right? At a minimum we know that there is a high degree of confidence that the Bible account describes nations known to be in conflict, both occupying territories that are supported historically and by archeological finds, from and at locations that can be located on a map, and that the weapons and armor used by the Philistine champion are abundantly validated by extra-Biblical sources. Of course, we haven’t gotten to the more spectacular elements of the fight, but since we’re nearing the end of our time today, maybe you could provide some final thoughts.

RD: One of the reasons it’s important to take the time to study the evidentiary support for Bible stories like that of David and Goliath is because the amazing elements of the story can so easily be mischaracterized in such a way as to introduce doubt about the historicity of the story – and by extension the historical validity of the Bible. The good news is – the really good news is – that the Bible can withstand such scrutiny if we will take the time and effort to properly prepare ourselves for questions that may come from doubters. When we do so, we are being obedient to the Bible’s command to be able to offer a reason for the hope that lies within us.

VK: Well, I can’t wait until next time when we can delve even deeper into the history behind David and Goliath. You know somehow we all connect more to inspirational stories like David and Goliath when we know that they are true stories. After all, it was David who wrote the 23rd Psalm. Knowing that he faced “the valley of the shadow of death” for real when he confronted Goliath makes that psalm even more meaningful For our prayer today – in recognition of the fact that we have many soldiers from our nation today who need our prayers for their safety as they guard our freedoms, let’s listen to a prayer for deployed soldiers.

---- Prayer for Deployed Soldiers

VK: Next time on Anchored by Truth we’re going to continue with our study of the historical background of David and Goliath. We hope you’ll be with us then and we hope you’ll take some time to encourage some friends to tune in too, or listen to the podcast version of this show.

If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not famous but our Boss is!”

(Bible Quotes from the New Living Translation)

1 Samuel Chapter 17, verses 1 through 4, New Living Translation

Genesis, Chapter 10, verses 6 and 13, New Living Translation

https://scientistsforjesus.wordpress.com/2013/11/02/david-and-goliath-factual-evidence/

https://patternsofevidence.com/2018/10/26/david-battles-goliath/

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/05/18/who-were-the-philistines-in-the-bible/

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/artifacts-and-the-bible/where-did-the-philistines-come-from/

https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/8/4/1