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Podcast notes:

Hi my name is Dean Smith and in this podcast I want to discuss two odd fact about one of the Bible’s best known heroes, King David.

Shin or Forehead

My first odd fact, actually puts a bit of a different spin on one of the Bible’s more popular stories, David’s battle with the Philistine Giant, Goliath.

Many words in the English language have more than one meaning. “Bark” can refer to the outer layer of a tree, or the sound of a dog.

The same thing happens in Hebrew. 

Take the Hebrew word Mesah. Though most commonly translated forehead, it can also refer to a person’s shin area. This adds an interesting twist to David’s infamous battle with the Philistine giant Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. 

If historical records are any indication, the five stones that David selected from a nearby brook to battle Goliath would have been the size of baseballs.

Using his sling, David hurled a rock at Goliath burying it in his forehead in verse 49. The giant fell to the ground where David took Goliath’s sword and cut off his head.

But did David actually hit Goliath in the forehead?

Though in every other instance that “mesah” is used in the Old Testament, it refers to the forehead, Bible school professor Randy McCracken believes this one time it should refer to the shin.

First he points out that the feminine form of Mesah was used to describe the shin guards of Goliath’s armor which reads quote:

⁶ He also had bronze greaves (misha) on his legs (verse 6)

The bronze greaves stopped just below the knee joint to allow for movement.

Secondly, ballistic experts state that modern tests of slings, showed that these stones traveled at nearly 130 miles an hour

So if you were struck in the forehead with a baseball-sized rock at that speed which way would you fall?

Most would think that Goliath fell backwards and paintings often portray Goliath doing that or lying on his back.

However, verse 49 tells us Goliath fell forward, so his face hit the ground.

Thirdly, the Bible says the stone embedded in Goliath’s forehead. Images of Philistine soldiers show a helmet covering the forehead. So the rock needed to shatter the metal helmet before embedding in Goliath’s head.

All that is possible, but if we translate the word “mesah” as shin, a different picture emerges.

The hit to the knee would not only have taken the feet out from beneath Goliath causing him to fall forward, it would have embedded in his knee shattering bone preventing him from standing allowing David to quickly dispatch the Philistine giant.

Shin or forehead, it doesn’t really matter what you believe, but one makes more sense. 

Was King David a Red Head?

For my second odd fact, I want to talk about what King David actually looked like. Sure, we don’t have an official press photos of him, but the Bible provides a bit of a description.

Though most old paintings portray Israel’s King David with dark black hair, he was most likely a redhead. 

And along with red hair, he had movie star good looks and beautiful eyes:

Look at how David was described in when he was brought before the prophet Samuel to be anointed as Israel’s next king: 

¹² Now he [David] was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome.” (1 Samuel 16:12 ESV)

I am not sure what they meant by beautiful eyes, but ruddy means red, and though it can describe complexion, it often describes hair as it does in Genesis 25:24-15 describing Esau. 

In fact, even the Philistines acknowledge King David’s red hair and movie-star looks in 1 Samuel 17 verse 42.

In an article published in 2024, the Bible Archaeological Society reports that the only sample of ancient male human hair ever discovered in Israel was actually red. 

It was found in the ‘Talpiot Patio tomb’ in 2000. The tomb located just south of Jerusalem was dated to the first century and contained among others the body of man who probably died from leprosy, with what was described as ‘reddish’ hair.     

And even today, there are many Jews with red hair.

But like they say good things come in small packages. 

Nowhere does the Bible mention how tall David was. But there are references to other people’s height. 

The prophet Samuel thought that David’s oldest half brother, Eliab, was the next King of Israel, but God said, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him.”

When King Saul gave his armor to David to fight Goliath, it was so big, David couldn’t wear it. Now we do know that Saul was head taller than the average Jewish male at this time, but these two indirect references, suggest David was on the smaller size. 

But even if he wasn’t, the average size of an adult Jewish male at that time was 5’3” or 160 centimeters. 

While David stood out with his movie star good looks, Isaiah writes that Jesus had average looks, so that people would not be attracted to Him because of His physical qualities:

Isaiah said, “He [the Messiah, Jesus] had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him (Isaiah 53:2b).

Now admittedly Isaiah’s description of the the Messiah, seems to contradict modern depictions of Jesus that portray Him with flowing locks of hair and movie star good looks.

You will have to decide which one you want to believe.

Thanks for joining me on this podcast, and I will catch you again.

Sources:

• How David killed Goliath: Are you sure?
• Goliath: Wikipedia
• David and Goliath’: Understanding the dynamics in a power struggle
• The Only Ancient Jewish Male Hair Ever Found