And a champion
(one who stands between two – Hebr. benajim) came out from the camp of the Philistines, named
Goliath from Gath
[present-day Tell Safi], whose height was 6 cubits and 1 span
[i.e., nearly 3 meters].
[A standard cubit is 44.5 cm and a span is 23 cm (half a cubit, the measurement between the thumb and little finger of an outstretched hand), which gives a height of 2.9 meters! The Greek translation Septuagint tones down the measurement and writes 4 cubits instead of 6. However, the measurement in the Hebrew text is not unreasonable. The tallest man in modern times, Robert Wadlow (1918-1940), was 2.72 m tall – only 20 cm shorter than Goliath. Egyptian letters from (Papyrus Anastasi I) from the 13th century BC describe terrifying Canaanite warriors who were 2.7 meters tall. Two female skeletons, each just over 2 meters tall, have been found in the Jordan Valley at Tell Saidije (probably biblical Tsaretan).]