How tall were the biblical giants? The only measurement for a giant that exists in the biblical text is that of Goliath.16 The traditional (Masoretic) Hebrew text has him at “six cubits and a span” (1 Sam 17:4), roughly 9 feet, 9 inches. The Dead Sea Scroll reading of 1 Sam 17:4 disagrees and has Goliath at four cubits and a span, or 6 feet 6 inches. Virtually all scholars consider the Dead Sea Scrolls reading superior and authentic.17 Archaeological work across the ancient Near East confirms that six and one-half feet tall was, by the standards of the day, a giant.18 One scholar of Israelite
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