Evidence of giants in the Bible?

[steve]

 

[Asforme&myhouse]

I love archeological evidence for the Bible! Also, that guy has some great videos I really like the one he did about Jericho.

 

[steve]

I really like the one he did about Jericho

I looked it up, you are right it’s great.

 

[frederick]

That's a great link thanks @steve. Kids love stories of giants so we'll use this to teach them the truth about the biblical history of giants. Another great opportunity to demonstrate the accuracy of the biblical record.

 

[MeganC]

The Monash spears may have been more intended as a symbol of leadership or perhaps they were used mostly for signaling. In a pinch they could have been used in combat but the fact that they were found on a battlefield would support the observation that they were impractical as combat weapons...weapons being lost on a battlefield are usually the weapons that belonged to dead people.

 

[steve]

weapons being lost on a battlefield are usually the weapons that belonged to dead people.

If they fought other giants, or those pesky little Davids, then they would have dropped them from their cooling fingers.
The point was made that one of them showed obvious signs of having been used. Unless the signaling involved dismantling bodies, “use” would seem to be combat related.

 

[MeganC]

The use of the weapons would be combat related. But the fact that their owners left them on the battlefield would to me indicate who lost the battle.

Victors always hang onto their weapons. The dead give them up easily.

 

[steve]

I’m trying to understand your point.
It seems to be that if they were giants, they couldn’t have lost on the battlefield.

 

[julieb]

Couldn't it be possible that it was a stock pile of weapons? Is there any evidence of a village being in that area?

 

[ABlessedMan]

Thanks for a great link. It makes me wish I had more time to do more study. It does show how the assumptions held by academics effects their conclusions. There are a number of things I wish he had talked about. First, most other spear heads seem to be socketed, where these blades are tanged. I found a few parallels in some Bronze age weapons (apparently coming from Persia). It would be interesting to see what parallels there are in cultures/groups that produced tanged spear heads.
Another thing that would have been helpful is about the surroundings of the find. If the surrounding location had been under cultivation for some time it makes sense that evidence of a battle would have long since been removed. However, since there is no mention of human remains and the find is described as a "horde" it seems that this is NOT simply a fallen giant. That raises questions about who got it, when, where and why it was hidden/abandoned where it was. The connection to Gath as a possible point of origin is interesting.
Finally, against ceremonial use . . . why rib a ceremonial weapon? or for that matter why provide such a hefty tang? In addition to the evidence of actual use it seems that it was constructed for actual use.

 

[MeganC]

I’m trying to understand your point.
It seems to be that if they were giants, they couldn’t have lost on the battlefield.

1. The giants were defeated. In one case by a little boy with a rock.
2. Dead giants leave their giant weapons where they fall.

 

[frederick]

1. The giants were defeated. In one case by a little boy with a rock.
2. Dead giants leave their giant weapons where they fall.

Living victors plundered the defeated foes possessions. 1 Sam. 17:51, 53-54 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it...Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

 

[PeteR]

Certainly, the Biblical record is that there were giants in the Land at the time Israel crossed the Jordan. 400 years later, David kills a giant who had the entire opposing army quaking. To Megan's point, David used unconventional means that showed others how to defeat other giants... (ALL enemies and weapon systems have weaknesses, just a matter of finding them and exploiting them.)

Guessing this was a weapons cache hidden for the trophy or bronze value that Divine Providence further hid for 3000+ years to evidence Scripture's veracity.