The tale of David and Goliath is among the most well-known in the Bible, second only to the account of Jesus’ ascension. A young David faces off against a nine-foot giant in 1 Samuel 17 and uses just a sling and a stone to defeat the powerful Philistine champion in this dramatic scene. What do we know about David, though? David killed Goliath when he was how old?
Was David the Youngest Son of Jesse?
David initially appears to us in 1 Samuel 16. God sends the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem in search of Jesse after rejecting Saul as king (1 Samuel 16:1). Jesse presents Samuel with all of his boys because the Lord promised to select one of Jesse’s sons to succeed him as king of Israel.
Samuel is presented with seven of Jesse’s sons, but none are chosen. There is still the youngest, but he is minding the sheep, Jesse responds when Samuel asks if he has any further sons (1 Samuel 16:11).
The Bible tells that Jesse had a total of eight boys and two daughters. We learn a little more about the family in 1 Chronicles 2:13–17, but only seven boys are mentioned, with David being referred to as the seventh son. The eighth son’s name and place in the birth order are not disclosed to us. The First Book of Samuel, a commentary by David Tsumura, states the following:
“… the Samuel passages, here and in 17:12, probably adopt the practise of epic writing, explaining the number of Jesse’s sons as climactically “eight,” even though the actual number was seven, while the Chronicle passage follows the custom of listing the actual number of sons, which in this case is seven, by name.”
David is referred to as Jesse’s youngest in 1 Samuel 16:11. Some evidence suggests that David is being referred to in this sentence as the “runt” (MSG) or the least of Jesse’s sons. Even the Hebrew term employed in this context, qatan, denotes youth and diminutiveness as well as insignificance. In his commentary on 1 Samuel 16, Bible scholar Thomas L. Constable writes as follows:
“The absence of David from Jesse’s visit with Samuel, in contrast to his other sons, may indicate that Jesse did not value David as highly as he did his other sons… Was David an abandoned or possibly abused youngster whose father treated him more like hired labour than a son?
The majority of commentators are split on this issue. In some of his resources, pastor and therapist Ted Roberts makes the claim that David’s later contacts with polygamists may have been the result of an unstable relationship between Jesse and David. Editor of Crosswalk G. Connor Salter offers the following summary of Roberts’ concept:
It’s possible that David was caught in a cycle of “sexual bondage.” David had a difficult relationship with his father, who referred to him as his “youngest son” in Hebrew, a word that also indicates “unimportant,” much like many men who battle sexual or pornographic disorders.
David’s status as the “last son” may or may not imply that he was also the youngest son. Is there anything we may infer about David’s age from his service to Saul?
Why Did Saul Think David Couldn’t Fight Goliath?
We reach the part of the David and Goliath story where David is standing before Saul. You are not able to go out against this Philistine and battle him; you are only a lad, and he has been a fighting man from his youth, King Saul says after glancing at David and the assurance he exhibits in 1 Samuel 17:32.
Again, it is uncertain whether Saul already knows David from his duty as Saul’s harpist given the vagueness of the order of events in 1 Samuel 16 and 17. (1 Samuel 16:21). However, the Hebrew word na’ar, which is translated as “youth” in verse 33, actually refers to an older adolescent.
David is referred to as “…a brave man and a warrior” in 1 Samuel 16:18. He looks good and has good speech. What then caused Saul to hesitate?
When David remarked, “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?” even Goliath believed he was little and frail. (17:43) 1 Samuel
He was he too little? Saul was able to get solace from the harpist, but did he not want to lose her? Or did Saul lack faith because he was afraid of losing the battle? Saul had already fallen from the Lord’s good graces. Did he now fear losing the trust of his army and populace? We might never be certain.
However, some later evidence provides us with the knowledge we need to establish a reliable assumption regarding David’s age at the time of his offer to slay Goliath.
Read More:
- Biblically Speaking, How Old Was Methuselah When He Died? – The Whistler News
- Gladys Presley, Elvis Presley’s Mother: How Old Was She When Passed? – The Whistler News
How Old Was David When He Slay Goliath?
According to 2 Samuel 5:4, David was 30 years old when he ascended to the throne of Israel. We may determine David’s age at the time of his victory over Goliath by performing some simple backward math.
According to historians, David’s coronation took place in the year 1010 B.C. We can estimate that David was born in 1040 B.C. if we add 30 years to that date.
David spent a year and a half at Zilgag in Philistine territory before Saul’s death (1 Samuel 27:7), making him 28 in the year 1011 BC. Between 1 Samuel 21 and 1 Samuel 30, David’s wanderings are only briefly described at this precise moment in time.
“Traditional Christian scholarship, then, has placed the period in which Saul sought David’s life and David fled from Saul at roughly seven years,” writes author and translator Lee Woofenden.
According to 2 Samuel 5:4, David was 30 years old when he ascended to the throne of Israel. We may determine David’s age at the time of his victory over Goliath by performing some simple backward math.
According to historians, David’s coronation took place in the year 1010 B.C. We can estimate that David was born in 1040 B.C. if we add 30 years to that date.
David spent a year and a half at Zilgag in Philistine territory before Saul’s death (1 Samuel 27:7), making him 28 in the year 1011 BC. Between 1 Samuel 21 and 1 Samuel 30, David’s wanderings are only briefly described at this precise moment in time.
“Traditional Christian scholarship, then, has placed the period in which Saul sought David’s life and David fled from Saul at roughly seven years,” writes author and translator Lee Woofenden.
We can assume that David was between the ages of 13 and 15 when he faced Goliath based on this information as well as the data from all of Jesse’s sons. David’s sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail, whose placement in the sibling hierarchy would reveal his age, are unknown to us.
However, even if we believe that Jesse’s wife had one child per year and that Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah were of fighting age (over 20), David would still have been at least 15 years old (at the very least 13) when he famously faced off against Goliath.
