The Mocking - Scholarly Article

The story appears in the Qur’an, not in the Bible.
A similar test exists in Judges, but it is linked to Gideon, not Saul.
The most likely explanation is that the Qur’anic account reflects a conflation of earlier traditions.

The story of Saul (Talut) testing his army at a river appears in Qur’an 2:249, but it is not part of the biblical narrative. Since The Legacy of Adam follows the biblical account, this episode is not included.

Interestingly, there is a closely parallel story in the Old Testament, but it involves Gideon, not Saul. In Judges 7:4–8, God tests Gideon’s army by observing how the men drink water, reducing the army to a small, chosen group. The similarity between the two accounts is striking.

It is theoretically possible that two similar events occurred independently. However, from a historical-critical perspective, this is considered less likely. The Qur’an was written in the 7th century C.E., over a thousand years after the events it describes, whereas the biblical texts are much closer in time to the period they portray.

For scholars who do not assume the Qur’an to be divine revelation, the simplest explanation, following Occam’s razor, is that the Qur’anic account reflects a blending or adaptation of earlier biblical traditions, particularly the Gideon narrative.

There are also additional differences between the Qur’anic and biblical accounts of Saul that raise historical questions. For example, the Qur’an presents the Israelites as requesting a king in order to fight their enemies, whereas the Bible describes them as already engaged in ongoing conflicts under leaders like the Judges (1 Samuel 7–8).

Similarly, the Qur’an links Saul’s kingship with the return of the Ark, while in the biblical account, the Ark had already been returned prior to Saul’s rise to power (1 Samuel 6–7).

Another notable detail is that in the Qur’anic version, Saul explains the terms of the test beforehand. As Jochen Katz points out, this removes the element of genuine testing seen in Judges, where the behavior of the soldiers reveals their character without prior instruction.

In summary, the river test is excluded because it is not part of the biblical tradition and is best understood, from a historical perspective, as a later adaptation of an earlier narrative about Gideon rather than a separate historical event involving Saul.

The story about Saul giving his army a drinking test at a river is not from the Biblical tradition, but is a story that appears in Sura 2:249 of the Qur’an, which is probably based on a different Old Testament narrative about Gideon.

According to the Qur’an (2:249):

When Saul marched forth with his army, he cautioned: “Allah will test you with a river. So whoever drinks ˹his fill˺ from it is not with me, and whoever does not taste it - except a sip from the hollow of his hands - is definitely with me.” They all drank ˹their fill˺ except for a few! When he and the ˹remaining˺ faithful with him crossed the river, they said, “Now we are no match for Goliath and his warriors.” But those ˹believers˺ who were certain they would meet Allah reasoned, “How many times has a small force vanquished a mighty army by the Will of Allah! And Allah is ˹always˺ with the steadfast.”[359]

The Legacy of Adam does not depict this story because it is not part of the Biblical account.

There is a very similar story in the Old Testament book of Judges 7:4-5, which recounts an event under the leadership of Gideon several generations before Saul’s day. It is of course possible for two similar events to happen in history, and a mere absence of evidence in one historical source does not contradict evidence in another historical source. However, the seventh century C.E. Qur’an cannot reasonably be accepted as “a historical source” for events in the eleventh century B.C.E. by anyone who doesn’t presuppose that it is a divine revelation. Occam’s razor will lead anyone who doesn’t presuppose the revelatory status of Qur’an to suspect that the Qur’an’s story about Saul giving his army a drinking test is probably based on a conflation with the Old Testament narrative about Gideon.

This conclusion also follows from the fact that the much later Qur’an contradicts numerous aspects of the Old Testament’s account of Saul’s reign. In the Qur’an the Israelites “asked him to appoint a king over them so that they could fight their enemies under his command”[360] (see Sura 2:246), but under the leaderships of Moses, Joshua and then the Judges, they had already been fighting their enemies (especially the Midianites and the Philistines) long before requested a king (See the book of Joshua, the book of Judges and 1 Samuel 7, the chapter right before they ask for a king, where Samuel leads them in a victorious battle against the Philistines). Again, the Qur'an says the return of the Ark to the Israelites signalled Allah’s election of Saul as king. While the Ark was captured at some time by the Philistines (1 Samuel 5), it had been returned before Saul became king (see (1 Samuel 6 & 10). According to 1 Samuel 7:2, the Ark had returned years before the events of chapter 7, and only afterwards do Israel ask for a king (1 Samuel 8:1-5).

Indeed, when one thinks through the narrative offered by Sura 2:249, it seems odd that Saul explains to his troops the conditions of the test he puts them through! As Jochen Katz comments:

the Qur’an loses the whole point of the testing and separating of men, when Talut supposedly tells his men the terms of the test before they drink. As such it becomes an act of open disobedience instead of means of separating out the soldiers chosen by God . . . as in Judges 7:4-8.[361]

Goliath was likely between about 7 and 9 feet tall.
Different ancient manuscripts give different heights.
Most modern scholars favor a height around 6’9” to 7’8”, though taller is possible.

The height of Goliath depends on which ancient textual tradition one follows. In the Masoretic Text (the traditional Hebrew Bible), 1 Samuel 17:4 describes Goliath as “six cubits and a span,” which would place him roughly between 8.5 and 10 feet tall, depending on how the cubit is calculated.

However, earlier textual witnesses tell a different story. The Septuagint (Greek translation) and the Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript 4QSama both record Goliath’s height as “four cubits and a span.” This would place him closer to 6’9” to 7’0” using standard estimates.

As J. Daniel Hays notes, these earlier sources are often considered more reliable in this case, leading many modern scholars to favor the shorter reading.

Even so, the exact height remains uncertain because the length of a “cubit” was not standardized. Estimates vary, but around 18 inches is often used as an average, with some shorter or longer variants.

Some scholars, such as Jeff Chadwick, calculate a height of around 7 feet 8 inches based on detailed research into ancient measurement systems. Others, like Clyde E. Billington, suggest that even the taller reading could place Goliath just under 9 feet when using smaller cubits.

Importantly, individuals of comparable size have existed in modern history. Robert Wadlow reached 8 feet 11 inches, demonstrating that such stature, while rare, is possible.

Claims that Goliath suffered from severe visual impairment are more speculative. For example, interpretations that he was “seeing double” are not well supported linguistically, as the biblical text likely uses a figure of speech.

In summary, while older interpretations imagined Goliath as nearly 10 feet tall, current scholarship tends to place him more conservatively between about 7 and 9 feet, still making him an exceptionally large and intimidating warrior.

Goliath (whom the Qur’an calls “Jalut”) probably stood either about seven foot tall, or somewhere between eight and nine foot tall.

According to 1 Samuel 17:4: “there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.” Older commentaries on this verse reckon Goliath’s height at between some eight foot five inches and ten and a half foot tall, with most concluding Goliath was about nine foot, nine inches tall. More recent research on the lengths of different types of “cubit” in the ancient world suggests Goliath was either about seven foot tall, or somewhere between eight and nine foot tall.

Theologian J. Daniel Hays points out that:

in the major Septuagint (LXX) manuscripts Goliath’s height is given as “four cubits and a span,” which puts him at [about] 6’9”. . . . only one large substantial manuscript of 1-2 Samuel was discovered [at Qumran], referred to as 4QSama . . . . and in this manuscript, by far our oldest Hebrew manuscript of this text, Goliath is listed as four cubits and a span …[362]

Hays notes that “defining the precise modern equivalent of the biblical cubit with certainty is difficult because of the lack of standardization in the ancient world . . . . most of the serious discussions regarding the length of the cubit underscore that 18 inches is our best approximate average, but that the precise length represented by the term ‘cubit’ throughout the ancient world varied.”[363] Jeff Chadwick (of BYU): “accepts the reading of four cubits and a span. Using the measurements for the cubit and span that he has determined in seven years of intensive on-the-spot research, that comes out to 7 feet 8 inches.”[364]

Clyde E. Billington harmonizes the MT and LXX heights by distinguishing between royal and common cubits: “Assuming a 16 1/2 inch cubit . . . would indicate that, according to the 6-cubit [Masoretic Text] Goliath was about 8 feet 11 inches tall . . .”[365] Taking Goliath’s reported stature as a round figure (the use of round figures is a common practice in the biblical text), Billington reckons: “It is nearly certain that [Goliath] was not 9 feet tall. But, it is likely that he was over 8 feet tall, and he may have been as tall as 8 feet 7 inches.”[366] Moreover, Billington suggests that “David may have measured Goliath with his helmet still on, and this would shrink Goliath’s height some.”[367]

Medical geneticists Deirdre E. Donnelly and Patrick J. Morrison argue that: “The biblical giant Goliath has an identifiable family tree suggestive of autosomal dominant inheritance. We suggest that he had a hereditary pituitary disorder possibly due to the AIP gene, causing early onset and familial acromegaly or gigantism.”[368] They note the possibility that a pituitary tumour could end up pressing on Goliath’s optic chiasm, resulting in “visual disturbance due to pressure on his optic nerve,” making it “difficult for him to see the stone in his lateral vision.”[369] They also note that: “Pituitary giants look impressive in terms of stature, but may not have speed and agility to match their perceived strength.”[370] However, it seems unlikely that Goliath suffered from such side-effects.

Malcolm Gladwell suggests that Goliath’s taunt, “Am I a dog that you should come to me with sticks?” (1 Samuel 17:43) is evidence he was seeing double. However, the Hebrew of this verse is probably “a plural of contempt”:

Some English translations say “sticks,” because that is how the sentence works best in English [though some English translations do use the singular]. French translations use the singular “stick.” It’s a figure of speech, not a sign Goliath was cross eyed and seeing double.[371]

1 Samuel 17 presents Goliath as an experienced, “champion” warrior (1 Samuel 17:4 & 33), equipped with an impressive array of weaponry and armour (including a helmet and large shield), upon whom the Philistine’s are willing to place their bet for success through one-on-one “representative warfare.”

According to Guinness World Records, the tallest human in modern history was Robert Wadlow of the United States (1918–1940), who stood at 8 foot 11.1 inches (272 cm) when he died (with no sign he’d stopped growing): “His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone . . .”[372]

Fig. Robert Wadlow (1918 – 1940).[373]

James M. Rochford observes that:

Several people throughout history have grown to extreme heights as a result of gigantism (e.g. Potsdam Giants [i.e. 18^th century Prussian infantry regiment], [18^th century Swedish/Finnish giant] Daniel Cajanus [c. 7 foot 8], [wrestler and actor] Andre the Giant [7 foot 2], Robert Wadlow [8 foot 11.1], John Middleton [a 17^th century English bodyguard who probably 7 foot 9]). While gigantism and acromegaly often lead to clumsy and uncoordinated people (e.g. Robert Wadlow), this is not always the case. The soldiers in the Potsdam Giants, Andre the Giant, and [wrestler] Big Show [7 foot] are all examples of incredibly strong and coordinated men who were highly athletic.[13]

Likewise, Olivier Rioux (b. 2006) is a Canadian college basketball player. In 2024, Rioux stood at 7 foot 9 inches (2.36 m) tall.[374] American sideshow performer Willie Camper (1924-1943) was 8 foot 7 (262 cm) at his death.

Fig. Willie Camper (1924-1943)[375]

In short (!), contemporary scholarship suggests a height for Goliath of either about seven foot tall, or somewhere between about eight and nine foot tall.