Who Killed Goliath?

From: Subject: Who Killed Goliath? Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 08:22:13 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_000F_01C3F9E6.2407EF80"; type="text/html" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_000F_01C3F9E6.2407EF80 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.apologeticspress.org/abdiscr/abdiscr44.html Who Killed Goliath?

WHO KILLED GOLIATH?

Joe Deweese

=93And there was again war with the = Philistines at=20 Gob; and Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim the = Beth-lehemite=20 slew Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear = was like=20 a weaver=92s beam=94 (2 Samuel 21:19).

=93And there was again war with the Philistines; = and=20 Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of = Goliath=20 the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a = weaver=92s=20 beam=94 (1 Chronicles 20:5).

The record of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) = clearly=20 speaks of the defeat of the giant of Gath by the = shepherd boy.=20 This story is used to emphasize faith and faithfulness = to the=20 young from their earliest ages. However, some have = alleged a=20 discrepancy between the account in 1 Samuel and two = other=20 passages (2 Samuel 21:19 and 1 Chronicles 20:5). = According to=20 2 Samuel 21:19, it appears that Elhanan killed Goliah; = yet 1=20 Chronicles 20:5 states that Elhanan killed Lahmi the=20 brother of Goliath. The question, then, is who = did=20 Elhanan kill?

First, we must recognize who Elhanan was = not.=20 According to 1 Chronicles 20:5, Elhanan was the son of = Jair.=20 This was not the same man as Elhanan the Bethlehemite, = son of=20 Dodo (2 Samuel 23:24; Keil and Delitzsch, 1996, = 2:681).=20 Furthermore, it appears that Jair and Jaareoregim = actually are=20 the same person (Barnes, 1998, 2:120). Barnes, as well = as the=20 editors of The Pulpit Commentary, noted that = the=20 difficulty may have begun when oregim, the = Hebrew word=20 translated =93weaver=94 in this passage, ended up = being placed on=20 the wrong line by a copyist=97something that has been = known to=20 happen in several instances (see Spence and Exell, = 1978,=20 4:514). Therefore, Jair, combined with oregim, = became=20 Jaare-oregim in order to make it fit with = proper Hebrew=20 grammar (Spence and Exell, 4:514).

Second, the phrase =93Lahmi the brother of=94 is = absent in 2=20 Samuel 21:19. The King James Version inserts the = phrase =93the=20 brother of=94 between =93Bethlehemite=94 and =93 = Goliath.=94=20 Furthermore, in the Hebrew, eth Lachmi (a = combination=20 of =93Lahmi=94 and the term =93brother=94) appears to = have been=20 changed into beith hallachmi (Beth- lehemite). = With=20 this simple correction, the two texts would be in = clear=20 agreement (Clarke, n.d., p. 369). In other words, = =93the brother=20 of=94 and the name =93Lahmi=94 likely were combined by = a copyist to=20 form what is translated in English as = =93Beth-lehemite=94 in 2=20 Samuel 21:19. This, however, caused the difficulty = when the=20 passage was paralleled with 1 Chronicles 20:5.

In his Encyclopedia of Bible = Difficulties,=20 Gleason Archer used the same scenario mentioned = above to=20 explain this difficulty, and then summed up the = situation by=20 noting: =93In other words, the 2 Samuel 21 passage is = a=20 perfectly traceable corruption of the original = wording, which=20 fortunately has been correctly preserved in 1 = Chronicles 20:5=94=20 (1982, p. 179). A fair, in-depth examination of the = alleged=20 difficulty shows that there actually is no = contradiction at=20 all, but simply a copyist=92ss mistake.

REFERENCES

Archer, Gleason L. (1982), Encyclopedia of Bible = Difficulties (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).

Barnes, Albert (1998 reprint), Barnes=92s Notes: = Exodus to=20 Esther (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker).

Clarke, Adam (no date), Commentary and Critical = Notes on=20 the Old Testament: Joshua to Esther (New York, NY: = Abingdon).

Keil, C.F., and F. Delitzsch (1996), Commentary = on the=20 Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 = Samuel=20 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson).

Spence, H.D.M., and Joseph S. Exell, Eds. (1978), = The=20 Pulpit Commentary: Ruth, I & II Samuel (Grand = Rapids,=20 MI: Eerdmans).

We are happy to grant permission for items in the = =93Alleged=20 Bible Discrepancies=94 section to be reproduced in = their=20 entirety, as long as the following stipulations are = observed:=20 (1) Apologetics Press must be designated as the = original=20 publisher; (2) the specific Apologetics Press Web site = URL must be noted; (3) the author=92s = name must=20 remain attached to the materials; (4) any references,=20 footnotes, or endnotes that accompany the article must = be=20 included with any written reproduction of the article; = (5)=20 alterations of any kind are strictly forbidden (e.g.,=20 photographs, charts, graphics, quotations, etc. must = be=20 reproduced exactly as they appear in the original); = (6)=20 serialization of written material (e.g., running an = article in=20 several parts) is permitted, as long as the whole of = the=20 material is made available, without editing, in a = reasonable=20 length of time; (7) articles, in whole or in part, may = not be=20 offered for sale or included in items offered for = sale; and=20 (8) articles may not be reproduced in electronic form = for=20 posting on Web sites (although links to articles on = the=20 Apologetics Press Web site are permitted).

For catalog, samples, or further information, = contact:

Apologetics Press
230 Landmark = Drive
Montgomery,=20 Alabama 36117
U.S.A.
Phone (334)=20 = 272-8558
http://www.apologeticspress.org

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