Giants & the Bible

Kitsune · Post by **Kitsune** » 2003-06-16 09:24pm

In the Story of David and Goliath, Goliath is listed as one height in the present versions of the bible and another in the Dad Sea Scrolls version. The heigth in the scrolls would indicate just a really large guy. So much for the bible being the word of god.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-06-16 09:26pm

Well, so much for it being absolutely inerrant, anyway.

Perinquus · Post by **Perinquus** » 2003-06-16 09:32pm

Hmmm... an earlier version of the story shows a more realistic height, than the version which is printed in all the current Bibles. In other words, the farther the scribes who copied it got from the original, the more they exaggerated and inflated the details to make it more impressive and make both god's enemies and the feats of his servants seem like something marvellous and powerful. What a shock!

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2003-06-16 09:38pm

Don't forget this one.

Numbers 13:33 NIV : We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

Note, these were the same ones that had kids with normal sized humans in Genesis 6:4.

David · Post by **David** » 2003-06-17 12:00am

Kitsune wrote:In the Story of David and Goliath, Goliath is listed as one height in the present versions of the bible and another in the Dad Sea Scrolls version. The heigth in the scrolls would indicate just a really large guy. So much for the bible being the word of god.

Care to post what those heights are? Where did you get the information? Put some efforts into your posts Kitsune.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2003-06-17 12:10am

http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/t ... iants.html

Goliath in Samuel is listed at about 9 and 3/4 feet tall.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-06-17 02:52am

"In the Bible, who were the 'giant sons of God'?"
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgiantsons.html

Gil is corrected in the final large paragraph (the spies were exagerating to keep them away), but it's good to read the whole thing.

SPOOFE · Post by **SPOOFE** » 2003-06-17 03:24am

Hey, Spanky, nice to see another Straight Dope reader around here.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-06-17 03:40am

SPOOFE wrote:Hey, Spanky, nice to see another Straight Dope reader around here.

Damn straight. I bet my knowledge has at least doubled after first discovering that site.

And actually, as a fan of religious mythology, I find their religious and Biblical articles to be fancinating...

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2003-06-17 01:11pm

Actually, besides the biblical height of ~3m for Goliath, I think there is another text (mentioned in the 1992 Guinness Book Of Records) which lists Goliath as only a little taller than 2m.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2003-06-17 02:18pm

Simon H.Johansen wrote:Actually, besides the biblical height of ~3m for Goliath, I think there is another text (mentioned in the 1992 Guinness Book Of Records) which lists Goliath as only a little taller than 2m.

Either way, when the average height was ~5'5, a 6'-7' tall man would seem a giant, especially a well-muscled warrior.

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Giants & the Bible

Giants & the Bible

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