Goliath

Goliath, biblical giant of Gath, in Philistia, who, as representative of the Philistines, challenged the Israelites to send a champion against him so that the issue of the war between the two tribes might be settled by single combat. According to the account in 1 Samuel 17:50, Goliath was killed in the resulting contest by a stone shot from the sling of David, the youthful champion of the Israelites who later became their king. Elsewhere in the Old Testament, Goliath is killed by Elhanan, an Israelite warrior in the service of David, after the latter is made king; other versions of the story designate a brother of Goliath as the victim of Elhanan (see 2 Samuel 21:19).