There have been discussions about the Goliath killed by David & the one killed by Elhanan. I believe we can examine the name "Goliath" & perhaps end the controversy.
The name "Goliath" is a HEBREW word, meaning "splendor". A 9-foot-tall man would certainly be a 'splendor' no matter if he was enemy or not. And the Israelis used nicknames & handles, same as we do. For instance, "Jude, Judas", etc. are all handles for "Judah". So "Goliath" could be a handle for a giant.
Elhanan's victim was also called "Lahmi", another Hebrew name meaning "my bread". That giant was likely considered to be a Philistine "breadwinner" by the Israelis.
Furthermore, the Philistines used a language unfamiliar to most Israelis. When they conversed, it was usually in Aramaic, the "lingua franca" of that time/place. There are no sources I know of that give the actual name of the giants in their own language. The Israelis might not have known them, either.
Therefore, it's quite-possible the Israelis called the 2nd giant "Goliath" at times, same as they did the first one. But I don't believe there should be any argument that they were different men, a Dave was still a teenager when he whacked the first one, & had been king for some time when Elhanan offed the 2nd one.
We see this Elhanan was one of David's 30 elite warriors, & Elhanan's father Dodo was, or had been, one of the 3 captains of those 30. And they were "Ahoites", that is, descendants of Benjamin's son, Ahoah. (This Dodo was also called "Jair" in some accounts.)
These events are recorded in both 2 Samuel 21 & in 1 Chron. 20. But we must remember that the boox of Samuel & Kings were written at the beginning of the exile of the Jews to Babylon, & that Chronicles was written at the end of that exile, when the Jews had returned to their own land. Thus, Chronicles deals mostly with Judah. Some of the details of the reigns of the rules of Saul, David, & Solomon were changed or omitted in Chronicles, while other details, missing in Samuel & Kings, were added. And in 2 Samuel 21, we see david was approaching death, as he grew faint in battle & was saved from being killed by Abishai, who had been with david from the beginning of his reign. (I believe Dave had CHF, which eventually killed him. His life was shortened due to his great sin of having Uriah slain. As a paramedic, I saw many people suffering from CHF, & Dave's symptoms appear similar.)
I hope this settles any controversy anyone on this board mighta had concerning a perceived Scriptural error. That perception is simply wrong. In the USA, more than one man has 2 sons both nicknamed "Bubba" or similar, so the old Israelis could easily have called both giants "Goliath". And in that time when men often had several wives, it would be easy for brothers to have had a some-35-year age difference, as the two giants apparently had. Remember, 2 Samuel says all 4 giants slain in those later battles were all descendants of Rapha of Gath, as was the first Goliath. (The giants were collectively called the Raphaim.)
The name "Goliath" is a HEBREW word, meaning "splendor". A 9-foot-tall man would certainly be a 'splendor' no matter if he was enemy or not. And the Israelis used nicknames & handles, same as we do. For instance, "Jude, Judas", etc. are all handles for "Judah". So "Goliath" could be a handle for a giant.
Elhanan's victim was also called "Lahmi", another Hebrew name meaning "my bread". That giant was likely considered to be a Philistine "breadwinner" by the Israelis.
Furthermore, the Philistines used a language unfamiliar to most Israelis. When they conversed, it was usually in Aramaic, the "lingua franca" of that time/place. There are no sources I know of that give the actual name of the giants in their own language. The Israelis might not have known them, either.
Therefore, it's quite-possible the Israelis called the 2nd giant "Goliath" at times, same as they did the first one. But I don't believe there should be any argument that they were different men, a Dave was still a teenager when he whacked the first one, & had been king for some time when Elhanan offed the 2nd one.
We see this Elhanan was one of David's 30 elite warriors, & Elhanan's father Dodo was, or had been, one of the 3 captains of those 30. And they were "Ahoites", that is, descendants of Benjamin's son, Ahoah. (This Dodo was also called "Jair" in some accounts.)
These events are recorded in both 2 Samuel 21 & in 1 Chron. 20. But we must remember that the boox of Samuel & Kings were written at the beginning of the exile of the Jews to Babylon, & that Chronicles was written at the end of that exile, when the Jews had returned to their own land. Thus, Chronicles deals mostly with Judah. Some of the details of the reigns of the rules of Saul, David, & Solomon were changed or omitted in Chronicles, while other details, missing in Samuel & Kings, were added. And in 2 Samuel 21, we see david was approaching death, as he grew faint in battle & was saved from being killed by Abishai, who had been with david from the beginning of his reign. (I believe Dave had CHF, which eventually killed him. His life was shortened due to his great sin of having Uriah slain. As a paramedic, I saw many people suffering from CHF, & Dave's symptoms appear similar.)
I hope this settles any controversy anyone on this board mighta had concerning a perceived Scriptural error. That perception is simply wrong. In the USA, more than one man has 2 sons both nicknamed "Bubba" or similar, so the old Israelis could easily have called both giants "Goliath". And in that time when men often had several wives, it would be easy for brothers to have had a some-35-year age difference, as the two giants apparently had. Remember, 2 Samuel says all 4 giants slain in those later battles were all descendants of Rapha of Gath, as was the first Goliath. (The giants were collectively called the Raphaim.)
