How many brothers did Goliath have?

Answer 1

(1 Sam 17:40) And he [David] took his staff [rod, (hand) staff] in his hand, and chose him [selected (indicating discernment)] five smooth stones out of the brook ...

Answer 2

Goliath was from Gath, and Goliath had four sons -the name of one son is unknown, but the others were Ishbibenob, Saph, and Lahmi,

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1Sa 17:4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

2Sa 21:22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

Ishbibenob:-

2Sa 21:16-17 And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, ...thought to have slain David. (v.17) But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him....

Saph:-

2Sa 21:18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.

Name Unknown :-

2Sa 21:20-21 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature,... and he also was born to the giant.[that is, he was Goliath's son] (v.21) And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.

Lahmi:-

2Sa 21:19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite [that is, 'Lahmi'- see 1Chron 20:5],...1Ch 20:5 There was again war with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

In the King James [KJV] of The Bible 2Sam 21:22 says Goliath had 4 sons, and other verses state specifically they were each killed in battle. This means the four killed were not 3 out of four of his own sons and also his brother Lahmi. Lahmi is called the 'brother' of Goliath in both 2Sa 21:19 and 1Ch 20:5 . However, the word 'brother'is in italics, meaning it was not in the original Hebrew text but was added by the KJV translators to help non-Hebrews understand the meaning. In this particular case they got it wrong: it should have been "son" and not "brother".

The word "brother" is Strong's H251 meaning ''A primitive word; a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance ..."

For example, although it may help to think of Lahmi as Goliath's brother warrior, he was not the brother of Goliath, that is, not Goliath's sibling.

However, the Bible does not specifically say whether or not Goliath was an only child, had any other brothers at all, or if some were alive and some dead. In short, we simply don't know how many brothers Goliath had.

Answer 3

The Hebrew Bible only mentions one brother of Goliath, in 1 Chronicles 20:5, when it says Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam.

However, there were two biblical traditions about the death of Goliath. The famous story of David slaying the Philistine giant, Goliath, is to be found in 1 Samuel chapter 17. Another episode, at 2 Samuel 21:19 has a different, and perhaps older tradition that Elhanan killed Goliath. The Hebrew Bible in English (JPS 1917 Edition) says:
And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Beth-lehemite slew Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

The King James (KJV) translation has adopted the Chronicler solution for 2 Samuel 21:19, so that we do not have two different traditions for killing the same opponent, adding 'the brother of' [in italics to indicate that this was not an exact translation], but most other English translations of the Book of Samuel seem to have continued with the Hebrew Bible version. This brother is not named, so in the KJV and certain other translations, there could have been one or two brothers.

Answer 4

Four

Answer 5

Four