I visited a Bible discussion on campus at a nearby university. The topic was the life of David. The leader mentioned (commenting on 1 Samuel 29) that since David fled to Gath, and Goliath was from Gath, David temporarily served under a giant -- king Achish of Gath! The leader said that Gath was a city of giants, where Goliath was of average height. I cannot find any biblical truth in the notion that Gath was a land of giants and that David was a bodyguard to a giant. Is this farfetched? -- Elliott Quinones (Jacksonville, Florida)
Yes, I think it is very farfetched. If Goliath was of average height for a Gittite, I believe we would read about a number of other giants in the Bible. Very few are actually mentioned (Goliath, his brother, and possibly a couple of others in the O.T.).
Another quick question: during the time David spent in Gath with king Achish, did Achish become a believer -- was David evangelizing to Achish? In the latter part of chapter 29, Achish says David was pleasant, like an angel of God, and that as surely as the Lord lives he has been reliable. Gath was monotheistic, so what does this mean?
I seriously doubt David was evangelizing Achish! Comparing a person to an angel, in appearance or in wisdom, does not necessarily entail a certain religious perspective. (See 2 Samuel 14:20 and Acts 6:15 for examples of this fact.) In fact, one of the gods worshipped by the Philistines was Dagon ("little fish" -- a god depicted with the body of a fish and the head and hands of a man)! The other two major deities were Ashtoreth and Beelzebub. Your Bible mentions them a number of times (especially Dagon and Ashtoreth).
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