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Error in the bible?
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Posted by: Frederik
Who killed Goliath, David or Elhanan?
1 Samuel 17:50 and 2 Samuel 21:19
David did (1 Samuel 17:50) - "Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand."
Elhanan did (2 Sam. 21:19)- "And there was war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam."
The answer lies in two areas. 1 Chronicles 20:5 says, "And there was war with the Philistines again, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam." This is the correct answer; namely, that Elhanan killed Goliath's brother.
Second, it appears there was a copyist error in 2 Samuel 21:19. According to Gleason Archer's Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties on page 179, it says,
The sign of the direct object, which in Chronicles comes just before "Lahmi," was '-t; the copyist mistook it for b-t or b-y-t ("Beth") and thus got Bet hal-Lahmi ("the Bethlehemite") out of it.
He misread the word for "brother" ('-h) as the sign of the direct object ('-t) right before g-l-y-t ("Goliath"). Thus he made "Goliath" the object of "killed" (wayyak), instead of the "brother" of Goliath (as the Chronicles passage does).
The copyist misplaced the word for "weavers" ('-r-g-ym) so as to put it right after "Elhanan" as his patronymic (ben Y-'-r-y'-r--g-ym, or ben ya 'arey 'ore -gim -- "the son of the forests of weavers" -- a most unlikely name for anyone's father!). In Chronicles the 'ore grim ("weavers") comes right after menor ("a beam of ") -- thus making perfectly good sense.
Therefore, we see that 2 Samuel 21:19 had a copyist error and 1 Chronicles 21:5 is the correct information.
Posted by: christythompson
I have no idea what you are reading or who you are quoting. I have never in all my years ever heard mention of this before so I would be careful what you look at and who you qoute for your own sake.
Posted by: StarChilde
David killed Goliath. Elhanan killed the BROTHER of Goliath.
2Sa 21:19 - And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines,.... Another battle with them in the same place: where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite; the word "brother" is rightly supplied from 1Ch_20:5; where his name is said to be Lahmi, for not Goliath himself was slain, though some so interpret it, and take Elhanan to be David; so Jarchi, and with which agrees the Targum; but he was slain not at Gob, but in the valley of Elah, nor had David any such name as Elhanan; he was one of David's worthies, 2Sa_23:24; where he is called the son of Dodo, and in 1Ch_20:5, the son of Jair; and Lahmi there may not be the name of Goliath's brother, but, as here, the country name of Elhanan; for the words (z) there may be rendered,"and Elhanan the son of Jair, the Lehemite (i.e. the Bethlehemite), slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite,''and so perfectly agrees, with this:
the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam; not of Goliath's brother, but of Goliath himself, 1Sa_17:7.
2Sa 21:19 - Elhanan: etc. Instead of את גלית יערי ארגיס בית הלחמי, of the text, we should certainly read, as in the parallel text, "and Elhanan the son of Jair, slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath." 1Ch_11:26
Jaareoregim: or, Jair, 1Ch_20:5
Goliath: 1Sa_17:4-11