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What happened to Goliath's sword and spear after King David killed
him? Did it simply disappear? Could it possibly exist today?
The Bible states that when, as a young man, David slew Goliath
the giant he took his armor and put them in his tent (1 Samuel 17:54).
This would include the giant's sword and spear.
The first questions we need to answer, however, is how BIG were
these implements of war that Goliath used and how big he had to be in order to
use them.
The Bible says Goliath's height was “six cubits and a span" (1 Samuel 17:4).
Various Bible commentaries place the length of a cubit anywhere
from 17 inches (43.2 centimeters) to 21 inches (53.3 centimeters).
The length of a span is highly likely around 9 inches (22.9
centimeters).
Conservatively, Goliath was 9 feet 3 inches tall or 2.82 meters
and likely was taller! Compare this to the average height of a U.S. male which
is 5 feet 10 inches (1.8 meters).
Regarding the size and weight of Goliath's armor the Bible
says his battle coat weighed 5,000 shekels of bronze.
He carried a long spear or javelin when he went to war that
was as thick as a weaver's beam (roughly 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter).
The head of the spear he carried was made of iron and
weighed six hundred shekels (1 Samuel 17:5 -
7).
It is safe to say that Goliath wore a protective coat that
weighed at least 78 U.S. pounds (35.4 kilograms).
Several commentaries place the weight of the coat at an
amazing 156 U.S. pounds (70.8 kilograms)!
The length of his spear may have been as long as 26 feet
(7.9 meters). The head alone on it weighed at least 17 pounds U.S. (7.7
kilograms).
He was a formidable opponent indeed!
Goliath's
armor comes up again later in David's life.
While
he was fleeing from King Saul, he went to the priests at Nob to get some food.
After
he ate, he requested a sword. Ahimelech the high priest gave him the only one
he had, which is the one used by Goliath (1 Samuel
21:8 - 9).
But
what would a sword be doing in the possession of one of God's priests?
The
Bible says Ahimelech retrieved it, wrapped in cloth, from behind the ephod. It
had become a sacred national possession for Israel.
We
can well guess that the spear also had the same honor.
Could
Goliath's sword and spear still exist to this day?
Some
students of the Bible are familiar with the fact that a large portion of the
Israelite tribe of Dan had migrated through Europe after captivity and
into what is now Ireland.
In
the 11th edition of Encyclopedia Britannica (1911) in an article on Ireland,
under the subheading of "Legendary Origins, Early History" we find a
people called the "Tuatha de Danan" (tribe of Dan) had migrated into
Ireland having with them the Stone of Destiny (called the Lia Fail or Jacob's
pillar stone).
There
were also other things transported to Ireland.
The
king's daughters (Jeremiah 41:10; 43:6), princesses, and descendants of the house of David also made
the journey.
It
is through them that God would keep his promise to always have one of David's
descendants on a throne over Israel.
The
article also mentions Scythian warriors migrating to Ireland.
In
Colossians 3:11, we find the Scythians were a major group of people.
In the 1911 Encyclopedia article on Ireland, we find the
Tuatha de Danan and Scythian people (many of which were descendants of the
Israelites taken into captivity) with genealogical records dating to Noah.
They brought with them to Ireland 'the sacred sword and
spear.' These weapons of warfare are highly likely the same ones Goliath used
to battle King David.
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