Did David Really Kill Goliath? Challenging the Story of the Valley of Elah — Part I
The story of David rise to power is very political. The tale of the famous giant-slayer and second king of the Israelites, according to the Hebrew Bible, starts with the slaughter of a tribe – women and men, children and all. Afterwards, however, it gets convoluted. What happened during the events that transpired at Valley of Elah? But the main question is: did David really kill Goliath at Elah or was it just ancient propaganda?
In order to understand how David came to power one must focus on king Saul and the Amalekites.
A Prophet, a King, and a Deadly Plan
According to Biblical records, the Amalekites, a tribe who lived along the eastern border of Egypt, began making incursions into the southern territory of Israel. These were not small raids that the local militias could deal with but a razzias (great raid), which required a greater military presence. The story goes that because of this, the elders of the southern tribes sent messengers to the prophet Samuel requesting help. It’s written that after hearing their plea, the Samuel visited Saul, first king of the Israelites. Samuel said, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord.” It was Samuel’s way of reminding the king who was in charge.
Icon of the prophet Samuel from the collection of the Donetsk regional art museum. (Public Domain)
Samuel instructed Saul to “punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” This would be a holy war and the terms were nonnegotiable. Saul agreed and assembled his personal tribal levies along with Judean militia. Their destination was the city of Amalek.
King Saul with David, by Rembrandt, c. 1650 (Public Domain)
Once Saul and his forces arrived outside the city during the night, they set up an ambush in the ravine. Before attacking the city, Saul told the local Kenites to flee from the Amalekites, “so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.”
