II SAMUEL 21:19; I CHRONICLES 20:5: WHO KILLED GOLIATH?

Who Killed Goliath? Was it David or Elhanan (2 Sam. 21:19)?  

Here we must admit that there may be some problems in the transmission of the text.

1. The parallel passage in I Chronicles 20:5 says that Elhanan killed Goliath's brother so “brother” may have dropped out of the Samuel text.

2. Elhanan may have been David's original name. Remember that Solomon had two names, and the father's names Jair and Jesse could have been easily confused for one another by a scribe.

3. Elhanan killed Oregim the Bethlemite who was with Goliath. This translation is possible by attaching different vowels to the consonants and looking at the grammar of the sentence in a little different way.

4. The name “Goliath” means “champion” or “strongman” so it may be just a generic designation, not an actual name.

5. This Goliath may have been the son of the original one. Archeology has found the name Goliath as a common one recurring over several generations. (Dictionary of the OT Historical Books, p. 356.)