Among the many stories of warfarethat are describedin the Hebrew Bible, perhaps the most famous is the epic battle betweenDavid and Goliath (1 Samuel chapter 17). David, still ashepherd boy living in Bethlehem, is able to fell the greatest Philistine warrior with a mere stone. Most readers of this story have focused on the fascinating physical detailsof the victory: Just how largewas Goliath? What did his armor look like? Is it possible to kill a man of this size with a small stone between the eyes? In this post, I would like to set aside these intriguingquestions in order to examine another aspect of this story: the location of the battle.
Why the Valley of Elah? (2024)
