Goliath is a Biblical figure so gargantuan that his very name has become a byword for immense size.
In the famous story, he was a Philistine warrior who towered above his fellow soldiers and battled with the future King David.
Estimates based on the Bible’s account vary from a fairly unimpressive six feet to a monstrous height of nine feet and nine inches.
But just how big was this biblical giant in reality?
Although it might seem strange, scientists say there was nothing supernatural about Goliath’s towering stature.
Archaeologists have found the remains of other ‘giants’ dating back as far as 2700 BC – around the time of the biblical battle.
If he really did exist, these huge humans likely suffered from a rare genetic condition which caused them to grow to seemingly impossible sizes.
And, unfortunately for the Philistines, this condition might also explain why Goliath ultimately proved so easy to slay.
Goliath was a biblical warrior said to be of gigantic proportions – but just how big was the Philistine champion? (artist’s impression)
How tall does the Bible say Goliath was?
In the Bible, the book of Samuel recounts the story of the great battle between the Philistine and Israelite forces.
We are told that the Philistine champion is a warrior named Goliath who challenges the Israelites to single combat.
Interestingly, this section also gives an extremely detailed description of Goliath’s physical appearance.
The Bible says that his height is ‘six cubits and a span’ and that he wears bronze armour weighing ‘five thousand shekels’.
However, most archaeologists believe that this estimate is much larger than the Bible intended.
Even though the measurement of six cubits and a span became standard translation, older versions of the Bible show a different measurement.
For example, the Greek Septuagint, a translation of the Old Testament into Greek written between the first and third century BC, gives Goliath’s height as four cubits and a span.
Goliath was considered to be a giant by the ancient Israelites, with some estimates putting his height between nine and ten feet tall. However, his height might have been exaggerated in portrayals like this painting by Caravaggio
According to some measurements, Goliath was nine feet and nine inches tall which would make him a foot and a half taller than the current world’s tallest man Sultan Kosen (pictured)
This is the version of Goliath’s height which biblical scholars generally believe is correct.
What do these ancient measures mean?
While this is far more information than we get about any other biblical figure, the exact conversions for these ancient units are unclear.
Clyde Billington, a biblical scholar and executive director of the Institute for Biblical Archaeology, told MailOnline: ‘The ancient cubit was the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. A span is the width of the hand, for example, like the way that the height of a horse is measured today.
‘This varied from individual to individual and only in Egypt was the cubit standardised at 20.66 inches (52.5 cm).’
Taking the Egyptian units, at six cubits and a span, Goliath would have measured an absolutely absurd 10ft and 9 inches (3.28m).
Even using the more accurate four cubits and a span measurement, this would still make Goliath about 7ft and 5 inches (2.26m).
However, archaeologists now believe that the ancient Israelites would have used a different measurement system.
This map shows Tell es-Safi in modern Israel, widely believed to be the site of Goliath’s hometown, Gath. Excavations suggest that there really was a battle between the Israelites and the people of Gath as the Bible suggests
Although researchers haven’t found any remains belonging to Goliath, the giant’s hometown of Gath is definitely a real place.
Now known by its Arabic name of Tell es-Safi, Gath was continuously occupied from about 5000 BC until its population were driven out during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
The discovery of arrowheads and evidence of weapons production at the site aligns with the Biblical account of the Israelite invasion of Gath in the ninth century BC.
However, it was the excavation of the town’s walls which could be the key to understanding Goliath’s height.
By measuring hundreds of architectural features, researchers led by Professor Jeff Chadwick, of Brigham Young University, worked out the units used by the ancient architects.
This revealed that the ancient cubit was equivalent to 54cm (21.65 inches) while a span was 22cm (8.66 inches).
Using those units, Goliath’s height comes out as seven feet 10 inches (2.38m).
Given that the average height of a Bronze Age man was five feet three inches (160cm), Goliath would have seemed like a true giant to his contemporaries.
Archaeologists found that Gath (pictured) was built according to set units consisting of a 54cm (21.65 inch) cubit and a 22cm (8.66 inch) span. Based on that, Goliath’s height would be 2.38m (seven feet 10 inches)
The only issue is that there is no evidence that this really was Goliath’s true height beyond the single biblical source.
In fact, Professor Chadwick believes that this measurement might function more as a literary device than an accurate description.
In a presentation to the American Schools of Oriental Research, Professor Chadwick pointed out that 2.38 metres, or four cubits and a span, also happens to be the exact thickness of the walls of Gath.
Professor Chadwick said: ‘It seems like an appropriate literary device, to characterize Goliath as being as big as a city wall.’
If that is the case, then the Bible’s authors might have been trying to say that Goliath was extremely tall rather than give his exact height.
Do giants really exist?
Even if this isn’t a precise measurement, it does suggest that Goliath was tall enough to be considered a literal giant by the ancient Israelites.
And scientists now believe there is good reason to think they were right.
Scientists say that the enormous size of Goliath and other giants like the French Hugo Brothers (pictured) is due to a condition affecting the pituitary gland. In some cases, a tumour on this gland means that there is nothing to stop the production of human growth hormone
Giantism causes extremely rapid growth especially during puberty. Jayson (pictured) is 10-years-old and measures a whopping six-foot-three-inches thanks to this rare condition
Professor Patrick Morrison, a geneticist from Belfast City Hospital, told MailOnline that Goliath and other historical giants likely suffered from a rare genetic condition which affects the pituitary gland.
Professor Morrison says: ‘The pituitary gland produces about six hormones, and one of those is human growth hormone.
‘That’s something which kicks in around puberty to make you grow and then it shuts off again.’
However, in some people, tumours disrupt the normal control circuits leaving the pituitary gland ‘like a thermostat that’s stuck in the on position’.
With nothing to stop the production of human growth hormone, the body just keeps growing, eventually leading to a condition called acromegalic gigantism.
If this kicks in during adulthood, the growth is typically restricted to the hands, feet, and head.
But, if the tumours occur while someone is going through puberty before their bones have stopped growing, it can lead to giantism.
Normally that growth would be stopped by the release of sex hormones at the end of puberty.
But because these are also released by the pituitary gland there is nothing to stop someone with acromegalic giantism from getting taller – so long as they have food to eat and remain healthy.
Looking back through the historical record there are numerous examples of individuals of gigantic stature.
The oldest proven example is Sa-Nakht, an ancient Egyptian pharaoh from 2700 BC, who is believed to have been 6 feet 1.6 inches (1.987m).
Similarly, researchers have confirmed that a 6 feet 8 inches tall (2.02m) skeleton from the third century AD Rome suffered from gigantism.
In his research, Professor Morrison has found that about 10 per cent of cases of giantism are caused by a specific gene called AIP.
This is particularly common in the west of the British Isles where about one in 1,000 people carry the AIP gene.
In Northern Ireland, everyone with this gene gets it from a shared common ancestor who lived about 2,500 years ago.
That includes the so-called ‘Irish Giant’ Charles Byrne, who lived in London during the 1780s and was 7 feet 7 inches (2.31m).
Scientists believe that about 10 per cent of acromegalic gigantism cases are caused by a gene called AIP. The ‘Irish Giant’ Charles Byrne lived in London during the 1780s and was 7 feet 7 inches (2.31m). Research into his skeleton (pictured) shows that he also carried the AIP gene
Using DNA taken from one of Byrne’s teeth, Professor Morrison showed that he carried the AIP gene which was responsible for his prodigious height.
Professor Morrison says that the biblical account is full of signs that Goliath very likely had this condition as well.
In a paper published in 2014, Professor Morrison points out that the books of Samuel and Chronicles suggest that Goliath’s brother and his three sons were all gigantic in stature.
‘When we looked into it, we found that there is a whole family here,’ says Professor Morrison.
This suggests that Goliath’s giantism was passed on genetically; just as we find today in families carrying the AIP gene.
If he did have acromegalic giantism, Professor Morrison says that Goliath was probably around seven feet tall.
If he was much taller than that, Goliath would likely have died of heart failure long before he got to the battlefield.
Did Goliath’s height hold him back?
Additionally, if Goliath really did have a pituitary gland tumour caused by the AIP gene, this would explain why he proved so easy for David to kill.
The earliest confirmed case of giantism is Sa-Nakht (pictured), an ancient Egyptian pharaoh from 2700 BC, who is believed to have been 6 feet 1.6 inches (1.987m)
‘The disadvantage with a lot of these pituitary giants is that the pituitary gland is right in the base of your brain, pretty much between your two eyes,’ says Professor Morrison.
‘If that gets bigger it compresses the nerves for your eyesight, so your side vision goes. Often the first time patients notice this is when they twang a cyclist while driving because they don’t see them on the side of the road.’
If Goliath was in his late 20s, this tumour could have been very advanced, leaving him with very little peripheral vision at all.
In the Bible, Goliath is described as being led out to battle by a shield bearer who may have been required to point him in the direction of the enemy.
Pituitary gland giants also frequently suffer from serious health conditions and struggle to hold up the weight of their massive limbs.
The sheer volume of blood needed to keep their muscles working means blood vessels burst under the pressure leading to varicose ulcers which are extremely prone to infection.
That extra blood volume also places a huge strain on the heart, meaning most acromegalic giants are killed by heart failure.
Even in the 1960s, with far more advanced medical care than Goliath would have received, one 2010 study estimates that 50 per cent of giants died before the age of 50 and 89 per cent before turning 60.
The current world’s tallest man, Sultan Kosen (pictured) has grown to a height of 8 feet 1 inch (236.5cm). Without modern medical care it’s unlikely that Goliath could have become this big, but he likely could have grown to about seven feet
Professor Morrison points out that many giants struggle to lift their arms above their heads, let alone wield a massive spear.
To make matters worse, the tumour would also have caused weakening of the skull, making the impact of a well-placed stone all the more deadly.
So, while Goliath might have looked like a formidable enemy, in reality, he would have been pretty frail.
‘We suspect what David did with his sling is that he went around to where Goliath couldn’t see him and got him in the side of the head.
‘Then while he was scrambling about trying to see what happened David probably just lopped off his head – so it really is a matter of brains vs brawn.’
