There’s a story in the Old Testament that isn’t translated correctly in our English bibles. When I read it “right” for the first time, it changed everything about the way I think about God, and the way I think about the way God thinks about me – and ultimately the way I engage the difficult things of my life.
Our bibles tell a story of an underestimated, highly skilled underdog defeating a giant. If you’ll let me, I’d like to tell you a different story. The following interpretation is taken directly from a collection of Hebrew manuscripts commonly used in the creation of our modern bibles.
The armies of the Philistines and the Israelites face each other but won’t engage. King Saul, who’s described as the most qualified soldier in the army, shudders in his tent, afraid to face the giant who has walked onto the field with a challenge. “Send someone out to fight me. If your man wins we’ll be your slaves, If I win you’ll be ours.”
The author of this story has alot to say about the giant. He’s really big, covered from head to toe in about 120 pounds of armor, carries a spear that most of us couldn’t heft, much less throw, and is so important/experienced in battle that he has someone to go before him to protect him with a shield. He’s large, strong, experienced, and impenetrable.
David shows up and is so small and young that he’s ripped to shreds for even showing up on the scene. He somehow weasles his way into Saul’s tent and claims that he can kill Goliath. In a very sick moment, Saul places his armor on David. David removes the armor and engages the giant.
Goliath says, “Am I a dog that you come at me with a stick (later manuscripts have “sticks” but it seems the original (older) writing is “stick”)?” David reaches down and grabs 5 sling stones and a stick, probably thinking something akin to “I have no idea how this is going to go down. If five rocks don’t work, maybe I can beat him with a stick. Let’s do this.”
As Goliath moves in for the easy kill, David lets fly with a baseball sized rock travelling about 90 mph and hits Goliath in the….
This is where the story gets really interesting in my opinion. The Hebrew word for “forehead” and the Hebrew word for “shinguard” or “greave” is the same. Long ago, interpreters had to figure out which one it would be. “Greave” never appears in the Old Testament in the singular form, but “Forehead” does, many times. So, interpreters went with precedence and gave us the story we now have – David issued a shot with pinpoint accuracy.
But let’s go with “greave,” ie, Goliath was hit in the leg. If he was hit in the forehead with a rock that big travelling that fast, he would have been thrown backwards. The author goes out of his way to tell us that Goliath fell forward. If you’re hit in the leg with a baseball sized rock travelling 90 miles an hour, you’ll at least lose your balance. If you lose your balance wearing 120 pounds of armor, you’re going down – doesn’t matter how big and strong you are.
Either way, Goliath’s now face down in the sand and has to get up, which is a little tricky when you’re bearing so much weight. His enemy is an almost naked boy running at speed. Goliath has dropped his sword and is now struggling to get up – take a guess who’ll get to the weapon first. What this story really tells us is that David’s not that good with a slingshot, and that Goliath’s trust in his armor actually decided the battle.
The most difficult thing about our English translation of this story is that the biblical authors, whether you agree with them or not, didn’t write stories about people entering the battlefield and deciding the outcome with their great skill. The Bible, over and over again, ad-nauseum, gives us stories of losers, ill-equipped and outnumbered, winning because God is on their side. You might be an atheist, or someone not interested in the Bible, and that’s fine, but when interpreting this particular ancient text, we have to understand that our white, Western, kick-ass-and-take-names, Evangelical interpretation doesn’t fit in this ancient Hebrew Bible.
David didn’t win the battle because of his skill, but because of his willingness to simply walk onto the field and face a giant – he believed that there was something that would fight for him – but nothing would happen until David engaged.
A very powerful truth when we apply this to our lives.
Here’s an example of how this story has changed my life. Over the past 7 years, I’ve adopted 3 kids who were all abandoned, spent too much time in institutionalized care, and who now deal with a significant amount of PTSD. Parenting them is the hardest thing I’ve ever done – my own personal “Goliath.” I’m ill-equipped for this, naked, and armed with little more than a few rocks and maybe a stick. But I also believe that God is on my side, unconditionally and without reservation. Even when I’m acting like a jackass, He’ll help me here – taking care of the things I can’t handle.
But if I disengage, bad things will happen. As weak as I am, my presence is required here. We all have battles to fight, giants to face, most of them we can’t handle – that’s a fact regardless of what you believe. The only thing we have in our power, the only thing we can control is whether or not we stay on the field.
I’ll close with something that might sound really cheesy, but I need to write it – not for you, but for me.
Sohpia, Amara, and Hannah – my life is yours. I gladly left my career for you and would do the same over and again (thanx mommy for making that possible by the way). I’m sorry for the hurt and fear that you carry inside, and for the ways I’ve added to it in my weaker moments. I know that you’ll lash out at me so many times, and that I’ll be paying someone else’s bill for years to come. As ill-equipped as I am, the only thing I can promise you is that I won’t disengage. I’ll face your giants, and mine, until God throws them to the ground.
Elaine, same goes for you. I’ll be a jackass of a husband at times, playing the victim, feeling cheated, sorry for myself, betrayed, etc. But this is my pledge to you and to the rest of the interweb that I’ll never leave the field. There are so many beautiful things about you and about our life together that I don’t want to miss. But when I’m blind to that, when I feel like marriage is some giant, insurmountable thing, I’ll simply stay put until my eyes are open again.
I love you guys so much. God help me.
What a refreshing and encouraging view of that familiar but over-told story. We are of those who do not “shrink back” (give up). I do have a question however …
Why is it “revisionist” to take a fresh look at scripture and arrive at a different interpretation than everyone else? Unless of course it’s revisionist to challenge tradition?
BTW, at the checkout stand some 20 years ago, I remember seeing a photo of Goliath’s skull on the cover of the Weekly World News. The photo clearly showed the stone still embedded in the forehead, all these years later. I did some Googling and came up with the photo I remember seeing:
(It’s a hoax, of course … 😉 )
Jack
Hey – great to hear from you again, thanx for your thoughts, and for ending my life-long journey to find Goliath’s head 🙂 You’re right, it’s not revisionist, and maybe a bit manipulative. It’s a win for me if I have a voice with people outside my camp, especially with non-churchy follk, hence a title that implies the un-doing of traditional religious things…
I’d say your family is lucky to have you around to support them and help them slay their giants. 🙂
Hi Judy – thanx for reading and for your encouragement.
What an inspirational post! 😊 X
Thanx! Appreciate you reading.
Mark, this is really fine. I’d never made the connection between the two uses of the word and never asked why Goliaith isn’t described as falling backward. So little David hit him in the leg, Goliath flinched, and fell forward. I like that. Still not real big on the de-captation and parading around with the giant’s head on a stick, but, hey, it’s best to ignore or throw out parts that read like ISIL! The Bible’s still my book!
Your application – becoming engaged and staying engaged on the battlefield of everyday life in the name of love with your wounded children and with your loving wife – is splendid. It’ll preach, as we old preachers are wont to say. Thanks for the piece.
Thanx Gordon, always a pleasure to hear from you.
As I sit at the library helping my son with autism do his homework, all I can say is ditto – I am a weakling, but I promise to not disengage. Thanks for the profound encouragement.
You bet Heather – thanx for reading
Thank you for this message. It’s exactly what I need right now – encouragement to stay on the field. Blessings.
Awesome – thank you for reading and for stopping by to comment.
Awesome!! I also love the fact that David didn’t think of himself the way Saul did – insignificant with no source of help…David knew he was insufficient but he knew his source of help and had complete trust and confidence in God, I mean, who drops ‘the king’s armour’ and goes head on with a stick and stones as inexperienced as he was! Awesome post and thanks for the insight…say me hi to the family, 🙂 .
Thanx! Will do. Also interesting that “Goliath” derives from a verb that means to “uncover” or “reveal,” which is what happened to both David and Saul…
Thank you for this post. It feels like a much needed prayer to me. Christ is with you and your family.
You bet. I’m glad that it’s helped you.
Teary. Thank you for sharing. Just when I thought Children’ Ministry demands more than I can give…
It does actually;)
Wow. This hit me. Thanks for being so transparent.
My parents took in a foster kid through our church as I started college. He had a record, had been abused in profound ways in our foster system, and once he ended up in our home, had a paralyzing nightmare. In that nightmare, he kept saying “Please”, “thank you” and I’m sorry” so often, it drove us crazy and we put him back in the system.
I will never forget my dads words to my brother when that nightmare woke him up in tears. He said, “Tony, you’re my son. If you do bad things and drive us nuts, then you will be my son who does bad things and drives us nuts, but you will always be my son”.
Tony believed my dad, and became a different kid then he had ever been in the past. He is an exceptional man, married, with a child of his own now.
I saw how simply believing my dad changed everything for my brother at a time in my life when I was still trying to earn God’s favor through endless effort and performance. Watching my parents take on a “giant” in a kid’s life like Tony’s, inspired me to stop trying and start believing God would be with me too…..by simply believing that I am his son and that he is with me.
I am grateful God showed up for my mom and dad….and that he is there for me too as I face whatever giants come my way. Thanks again for sharing your journey of loving 3 awesome children with the help of God our Father. May God continue to honor your courage.
Thanx so much for sharing your story – amazing how other people are impacted when we stay put – doesn’t just affect us. I think that’s why Paul said perseverance leads to hope – hope for us and for others. Mark
A beautiful post. I heard someone ask once why the giant fell forward. Wish I could remember who it was so I could tell them! Reminds me of Petra’s song, “I Am Available.” I know that my ability is not Your main concern It’s my availability and willingness to learn
It’s interesting, there’s actually a few more things about the story that blatantly support Goliath getting hit in the leg. Great to hear from you. Mark
also – you’re the first one to mention Petra on this blog. Congratulations…
Oh, wow. What a fresh and interesting take on a classic story. I don’t know for sure where that stone may have landed but I am so very grateful that God does extraordinary things through the most unexpected people, if only we are willing to walk in faith. Thank you for sharing!
Thanx for reading – I’ll throw in an annoying speil for you… When Hebrew authors wrote narratives (and when most authors write), they wanted you to dig for the point they’re trying to make – if they do it right it really pulls you into the story, and ultimately into the truth they’re trying to impart. So, they would drop hints. Here are the things you want to look out for when you study Hebrew narrative in the Bible – ie the “hints”. 1) Descriptions – eg Goliath’s armor. Why do we need to know how heavy it is? 2) Comments – ie, Why do we need to know which direction Goliath fell? 2) repetition – eg why is “shield bearer” repeated? 3) “Law of final stress,” ie, what’s at the end of the story.
Look out for these when you study – the Bible is infinitely more interesting when we’ve worked to understand what the story meant to the author, before we decide what it means to us.
Good luck!
Thank you for those tips! I’m in a season of trying to study the Bible more faithfully so these are definitely helpful!
You bet. These days I’m never in short supply of unsolicited advice…. 🙂
You are amazing. I love your writing style and your perspective. Honest and refreshing writing!!!
Thank you – great to make a connection with you and your writing as well!
What a wonderful, refreshing post. Thank you!
Thanx!
Thanks for this. It is really encouraging and supportive given the trials we face.
Thanx – appreciate you reading and the new connection. Mark
Amazing and eye opening post. Thank you for your openness and knowledge. May God continue to bless you and your family.
Thank you!
What a beautiful post! And a great reminder that our best is all we have to give, and then we trust God to make our best good enough.
Even when our best completely sucks 🙂
A new take on an old story that changes everything. May we all have the courage to face our giants and trust in the lord. Truly a must read.
The best part of this post is what matters most — your love letter to your wife and children. They have beautiful names. Your infallibility is a strength. Your heartfelt expression was the best part of this whole story!
Beautifully said, Mark! I’m touched, thanks for the story and the sweet letter.
You bet – thanx for reading!
What a beautiful post! I’ve never heard that interpretation before but it makes sense. We all have our Goliaths to slay. I wish you the best. I am looking forward to following you on Twitter and WordPress. Thank you for enlightening me tonight.
An interesting perspective, well-written. Very helpful for me to hear just now, too. And thanks for the follow at lorinotes.WordPress.com–
Mark, thank you for writing this piece. It was eloquent, funny, truthful, and most of all real. I saw myself and my situation in your words. They inspired me to stay on the field and trudge on until help arrives. It is a compliment to a writer to know that ge has connected with the reader, and you did. I needed to read this. Trudge on.
Thank you – yeah, really cool to hear that it helped. Blessings to you as you continue forward, let me know if I can help.