Goliath

Goliath was a giant warrior from Gath who served as the Philistine champion and daily challenged Israel's army to single combat for forty days, recorded in 1 Samuel 17. His height is given as 'six cubits and a span' (approximately nine feet) and his armor and weapons are described in impressive detail. His defeat at the hands of the young shepherd David with a sling and stone became one of the most celebrated events in Israel's history, establishing David's fame and inaugurating the decline of Philistine dominance. The story of David and Goliath is a paradigmatic biblical narrative of divine empowerment enabling the weak to overcome the mighty.