“Showdown at High Noon”

Summary: Archaeological evidence confirms that the sling was a formidable weapon in the ancient world. The data also gives us more to consider regarding the battle between David and Goliath.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. – 1 Samuel 17:50 (ESV)

Slings as Lethal Weapons in Ancient Times

The barbaric brute had insulted the army and taunted it to send someone out for a showdown. Everyone feared the challenger; he was a huge, vicious soldier. No one rose to the occasion, until the country boy arrived—the boy with no name. He accepted the challenge at high noon. A hushed crowd watched as the two figures drew face to face. Who was this newcomer? How could he, with his quaint farm boy weapon, possibly defeat the career military giant with his armor?

With some embellishment, the above describes the confrontation between David and Goliath. Our imaginations usually see David and Goliath as only about ten yards apart— likely the distance was much greater.

The sling was an ancient and formidable weapon, regularly used in military contexts. Four examples have been retrieved in archaeological settings in the Middle East—all from Egypt. One dates to ca. [approximately] 1900 BC, and a second to ca. 800 BC—both from Lahun. Two were among Tutankhamun’s grave goods (ca. 14th century BC).¹ 

We tend to think of these as antiquated weapons, but they still appear in occasional news clips from Middle Eastern conflicts. While David is the best known stone slinger of the Bible, there were others as well. When Israel was executing justice against Gibeah for their rank immorality, Benjamin mustered 700 left- handed men all who “could sling a stone at a hair and not miss” (Jdg. 20:16). Later, when David was eluding Saul, his ragtag army included several ambidextrous stone slingers from Benjamin (1 Chr. 12:1-2).

The weapon consisted of a “pouch” usually of woven fabric which cradled the stone (see photo above). To the pouch, cords were attached. As the thrower would sling the stone around a few times, the centrifugal force would pull against the strands. At the appropriate time the slinger would release one of the cords he was holding, permitting the projectile to fly toward its target. The length of the cords would factor into how far and with what speed the projectile could travel (notice how long the extension is in the photograph of the slinger below).

The Confrontation Between David and Goliath

David’s and Goliath’s confrontation reflected two radically different military tactics. Goliath was a heavily armed and trained infantry soldier —sometimes referred to as a hoplite. To protect his intimidating frame (ca. 9.5 feet tall, according to the Hebrew text; 1 Sam. 17:4), he wore armor consisting of a bronze helmet, a coat of scale armor weighing about 125 pounds, and greaves to protect his shins. His weapons included a bronze javelin, a heavy jabbing spear with a spearhead which weighed about fifteen pounds, a sword, and then he had a shield-bearer in front of him (1 Sam. 17:4-7, 51). Saul apparently had been similarly protected and had tried to persuade David to protect himself with his own armor. David, however, was more accustomed to his shepherd’s staff and the sling. (See archaeological evidence related to the valley where David and Goliath battled.)

Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. – 1 Sam 17:38-39 (ESV)

The sling was much more threatening than we often assume. The Lachish reliefs, with which Sennacherib decorated his palace, depict the siege and capture of the Judahite city of Lachish (in 701 BC). The sling throwers appear in formation behind the archers. Ancient sources indicate that accomplished slingers had comparable ranges if not greater than archers. While they do not specify the distances, both Xenophon (ca. 430-355 BC) in Anabasis (3.3; 3.4), and Thucydides (ca. 460-400 BC) in his History of the Peloponnesian War (2.81) refer to such comparative ranges. Hasel states that a sling thrower could attain distances of ca. 300 m.²

The Bible mentions that David picked up five “smooth stones from the brook” (1 Sam. 17:40). Ideally, the stones (often called missiles) should be of a suitable design and weight. Just as the stitches on a baseball contribute to the pitcher’s curveball, so imperfections and angles could affect the accuracy of the stone slinger. Hence, David would want stones that were relatively free of surface imperfections which might affect his accuracy. Sling stones from the excavations at Lachish measure on average ca. 6 cm (= ca. 2.4 inches) and weigh about 250 grams (= ca. 0.55 pounds).³ 

Given the depiction on the Lachish reliefs, one may infer that the Assyrians used slings as general heavy artillery and not necessarily for pin-point accuracy. Smaller stones would generally be more manageable and probably be the size that David would have chosen. Bi-conical sling stones have been found in some contexts⁴ and this shape could contribute further to accuracy (much as a football) as well as enhance its penetration.

Depending on various factors (e.g., the weight of the projectile, the length of the cords, the proficiency of the slinger), the projectiles could attain speeds of 160-240 kph (= ca. 100-150 mph).⁵ With such speed, in conjunction with the pounds per square inch point of impact, it is little wonder that the Bible describes that David’s sling stone “sank into his [Goliath’s] forehead” (1 Sam. 17:49). (David Battles Goliath: Is There Evidence?)

Celsus, a Roman author of the first century AD, wrote about medical procedures and describes how to extract lead (such as in photo above⁶) and stone missiles from soldiers’ wounds; among those, he refers to projectiles that were embedded in bone.⁷ Some have postulated that David’s sling stone did not kill Goliath, but that the beheading dispatched him. Likely the stone inflicted a lethal blow and perhaps the beheading was the victor’s graphic visual display to the two armies. (A huge hidden city emerges from under biblical Gath – Goliath’s hometown.)

Spiritual Lessons From David’s Battle

These data could change one’s perception of the showdown between David and Goliath— there was likely a much greater distance between the two combatants than we customarily imagine. By refusing Saul’s armor, David would remain unencumbered and fleet of foot. It is obvious that David’s battle tactics were unexpected and unusual.

God often uses the unexpected in his showdown with Satan. It is through the folly of the cross that God redeems people. We must be open to God’s simplicity and not be encumbered with the “wisdom of the world” or sin (1 Cor. 1-2; Heb. 12:1-2). With that, keep on thinking!

• 1 Nicholas Reeves, The Complete Tutankhamun (London: Thames & Hudson, 1990), 175-76. Cairo Museum #: 61572, 61573.
• 2 Michael G. Hasel, “War, Methods, Tactics, Weapons of (Bronze Age through Persian Period.” Pp. 805-10 in The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 5. Ed. K. D. Sakenfeld (Nashville: Abingdon, 2009), 807.
• 3 David Ussishkin, Biblical Lachish (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, Biblical Archaeology Society, 2014), 308.
• 4 Manfred Korfmann, “The Sling as a Weapon.” Scientific American 229.4 (1973): 38.
• 5 Philip J. King and Lawrence E. Stager, Life in Biblical Israel (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001), 229.
• 6 Lead missiles became fairly common during the Classical period (after ca. 8th century BC). They could be made smaller than stones as well as made to yield consistent weights; this would help the slingers with their accuracy. 
• 7 Celsus, De Medicina, 7.5.4.

Dr. Dale W. Manor is Professor Emeritus of Archaeology and Bible at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. He has worked on several excavations and since 2000 he has been the Field Director of the Tel Beth-Shemesh Excavation Project in Israel.  Manor served as an Assistant to the Editor of the Anchor Bible Dictionary in which he has several articles. He is also published in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, the Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible and the New Interpreters’ Dictionary of the Bible.  Manor holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Archaeology from the University of Arizona. In his teaching responsibilities at Harding University his areas of expertise are archaeology, Old Testament, ministry, Syro-Palestinian archaeology, and Hebrew history.

TOP PHOTO: Yaacov Heller’s famed sculpture of David and Goliath was presented to USA President Gerald Ford in September 1974 as a state gift by the Prime Minister of Israel, Yizthak Rabin. (Eric Kline, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons) [ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0 ]

NOTE: Not every view expressed by scholars contributing Thinker articles necessarily reflects the views of Patterns of Evidence. We include perspectives from various sides of debates on biblical matters so that readers can become familiar with the different arguments involved. – Keep Thinking!