Goliath(copy/paste): he was six cubits and a span tall…the armor weighing five thousand copper shekels…On his legs were copper shields and between his shoulders, a copper guard…The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam and his spearhead weighed six hundred iron shekels; the shield bearer walked in front of him…Dovid was the youngest…Shaul said to Dovid, “You cannot go to fight this Philistine, for you are a lad, while he has been a warrior from his childhood…” Shaul dressed Dovid in his own battle garments, and put a copper helmet on his head and dressed him in armor…Dovid girded his sword over his battle garments. But he did not want to go out [in Shaul’s battle garments], for he was not accustomed [to them]; so Dovid said to Shaul, “I am unable to walk with these, for I am not accustomed [to them],” and Dovid removed them from himself…He took his staff in his hand and picked out five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; he then approached the Philistine…Dovid reached into the bag, took a stone from there and slung it, and struck the Philistine in the forehead; the stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell face down upon the ground…Thus Dovid overpowered the Philistine with the sling and stone; he smote the Philistine and killed him, though there was no sword in Dovid’s hand…
Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.
It’s pertinent because Saul was anointed by Samuel specifically to be the physically imposing king on the battlefield against the Philistines to rival men like Goliath.
But he pussied out and didn’t fight for Israel when it came down to it, and sent David out instead. David is what Saul was anointed to be. A large, physically imposing man, anointed by God to be the king of all the tribes of Israel.
11-15 He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward a welcome awakening…
Nothing was meant to be taken literally. Ever. But you know how people who get power can be. 😋
Goliath(copy/paste): he was six cubits and a span tall…the armor weighing five thousand copper shekels…On his legs were copper shields and between his shoulders, a copper guard…The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam and his spearhead weighed six hundred iron shekels; the shield bearer walked in front of him…Dovid was the youngest…Shaul said to Dovid, “You cannot go to fight this Philistine, for you are a lad, while he has been a warrior from his childhood…” Shaul dressed Dovid in his own battle garments, and put a copper helmet on his head and dressed him in armor…Dovid girded his sword over his battle garments. But he did not want to go out [in Shaul’s battle garments], for he was not accustomed [to them]; so Dovid said to Shaul, “I am unable to walk with these, for I am not accustomed [to them],” and Dovid removed them from himself…He took his staff in his hand and picked out five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; he then approached the Philistine…Dovid reached into the bag, took a stone from there and slung it, and struck the Philistine in the forehead; the stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell face down upon the ground…Thus Dovid overpowered the Philistine with the sling and stone; he smote the Philistine and killed him, though there was no sword in Dovid’s hand…
https://www.sefaria.org/I_Samuel.17.5?ven=english|The_Metsudah_Tanach_series,_Lakewood,_N.J&lang=bi. I don’t know. Pretty impressive tale, regardless, imo.
What is the conversion rate from copper shekels to Stanley nikels?
Dunno. Brief search found this: https://testamentpress.com/ancient-money-calculator.html but it’s a horrible website and doesn’t have that time frame or specific currency.
Important to note, Saul put his own battle garments on David.
Saul is noted as being extremely physically imposing and larger than any other man in the kingdom. And his armor fit David.
Nowhere does the storyOk earlier in the book say that. And it’s not pertinent, anyway.1st Samuel 9:2
It’s pertinent because Saul was anointed by Samuel specifically to be the physically imposing king on the battlefield against the Philistines to rival men like Goliath.
But he pussied out and didn’t fight for Israel when it came down to it, and sent David out instead. David is what Saul was anointed to be. A large, physically imposing man, anointed by God to be the king of all the tribes of Israel.