Did Goliath have four brothers

Answer 1

This question relates to an interpretation as to why David chose 5 smooth stones when challenging Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17:40). However, there is no biblical basis for emphatically stating Goliath had 4 other brothers. It appears, below, that Goliath had at least 1 brother here:

2 Samuel 21:19

19And 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, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

In 2 Samuel 21, the term 'giants' comes from the Hebrew term 'Rephaim' who were a people living in Canaan who were noted for their large size (see Genesis 15:19-21; Numbers 13:33; and Deuteronomy 2:11).

Answer 2

Yes. Goliath had 4 sons. David killed them all - David had collected 5 stones - one for Goliath and each of his sons knowing one day they would seek revenge for their father. Found in 2 Samuel

Answer 3

Not in the Books of Samuel, which form part of what is now known as the Deuteronomic History.

1 Samuel 17:19ff says that Saul and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting the Philistines, then David offered to fight Goliath, whom no one else dared face. However, there is biblical evidence that this was not a historical account. 2 Samuel 21:19 says that it was Elhanan who killed Goliath (Hebrew Bible in English [JPS 1917 Edition]* ): "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 author of Chronicles, which was a post-Exilic revision of the Deuteronomic History, realised the difficulty in the Books of Samuel. He entirely omitted the battle between David and Goliath, and at 20:5 said that Lahmi (presumably Elhanan) killed the brother of Goliath.

Footnote:

* The King James (KJV) translation amends 2 Samuel 21:19, adding "the brother of" (in italics to indicate that this was not an exact translation), but most other English translations seem to have continued with the Hebrew Bible version.

Answer 4

More archaeologists have spent more time in Palestine than probably any other area on earth, yet they have found no evidence that Goliath or any other giants ever existed. Not just skeletal remains- no pottery or artefacts appropriate for a super-sized person, no houses or temples. Nothing.

If Goliath did not exist outside The Bible, we can only answer the question from the Bible itself, and it does not say whether Goliath had any sons or daughters.

Answer 5

3 brothers 2samuel 18-21