Dravonk wrote on Nov 4^th, 2007 at 7:11am:

nobody called them liers directly, but claiming that they deliberately wrote what they didn't know is just about the same, so i just had to read between the lines. The bible is not fully scientificy correct, i know, but god made the entire world and as science is part of it he obviously made it and has the means to manipulate and controll it, i belive god made science on the first day because he made time and light on that day, some language value may have been lost in translation, or because the ancient peoples had very little idea of science, god simply did not mention it because they would find it complicating.

Yes

Goliath wasn't really a giant. He was a relly tall man at that ages standards. The Dead Sea Scrolls say that he was little over 2 meters tall (that's about 6'7"). Average height of males in those days was about 165cm-170cm (5'5") so man over 180cm (6') was already big man. Dead Sea Scroll were written about 100CE. The size of Goliath must have grown because people grow. Nowadays man who is 6'5" tall ain't a giant but he is a relly tall man.

Nakki,

"Giant" is one of those words that have to be carefully defined.  The word means different things to different people.  My own idea of what a giant is, was formed from reading fairy tales when I was a child.  "Fifty Famous Fairy Tales" was the title of the volume, and the giants mentioned therein were truly colossal: human in form, but thirty feet or more in height, able to pick up and carry a normal man in one hand.  On the other hand, in modern medicine, someone as little as seven feet in height may be regarded as a giant; but then, doctors are looking not just at the height, but at hormonal abnormalities (overproduction of growth hormone, for instance).

What was meant in the Bible is less clear to me.  I have not found, so far, any measure of the usual height of people.  I do know that lengths were measured in cubits, which is an anthropocentric measure, being the distance from one's elbow to the tips of one's outstretched fingers.  It is commonly understood to be about 18 inches these days.  I can reason from current measurements as follows: if a cubit be the modern 18 inches, then the normal range of heights (five feet and some inches to six feet) would be three-and-a-half to four cubits.  If people were shorter a few thousand years ago, then likewise would their cubits (measured by their own arms) be shorter.  So three-and-a-half to four cubits remains a decent educated guess about how tall people were.

Now, it is recorded that Goliath stood six cubits and a span (or six-and-a-half cubits) in height.  So, Goliath would be half again as tall, to almost twice as tall, as most people around him.  By way of comparison, there are professional basketball players today that are half again as tall as some of us.

The weight of his armor and his weapons is also recorded.  It is apparent that Goliath was not just a very tall man, he was BIG.  He had thickness of body, arms, and legs in proportion to his height.  He would have to be quite strong to wield his weapons.

Certainly Goliath was not one of my fairy-tale giants.  But he was much larger than normal men, enough so perhaps to warrant being called a giant and not just a very big man.

Search results show the cubit to be between 18" and 22", so I think that Dale is accurate in saying the length of ones forearm is a cubit...Six cubits and a span.

   I think it's not that unbelievable, disregarding the fact whether the Bible is true or not (I'm a Christian, so I regard it as a History book and God's Word). Aren't there people out there who trained for years as a slinger and can sling pretty well? A forehead won't be a super challenging target for a slinger like David, because if he was a shepherd he would've been slinging since he was a child, probably trained in his art by his father or other shepherd friends. If you don't believe it, then you can just stick a piece of cardboard the size of your forehead, stick it to a 8-9ft tall stick, and try shooting it once a day. If you hit it, this story (not meaning the imagined story-book stories, but history-story) can be possible. Right?

Quote:



Many also believe that Yahshua, Jesus Christ, could have died for all man's sins. 


There is a great and powerful difference between knowing what could be and what is, truth.  Ultimately, that difference is the large chasm between finite and forever. 


Forgiven and forgotten.


The prophecies of the Holy Bible are being borne out the world over, and soon, what IS will take a commanding precedence over what could be and what could have been.


http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/cgi-bin/tw/booklets/tw-bk.cgi?category=Booklets1&i...



Blessings from Yahweh in Yahshau, Jesus Christ be upon us,



TS

just over 2 meters hey wait a moment
no wonder i feel the need to always carry a sling for self defence lol