Goliath
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Goliath was a Philistine warrior of giant stature who plays a pivotal role within the Biblical story's legendary account of King David in the Book of Samuel. According to 1 Samuel, Goliath challenges
David and Goliath (1888) by Osmar Schindler
David hoists the severed head of Goliath as illustrated by Gustave Doré (1866)
Head of Goliath (V&A, Casts room)
David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1635, by Andrea Vaccaro
Saul
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Saul was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh century
Goliath
…takes up the challenge. He fells Goliath with a stone slung from a sling and beheads the fallen giant with his own sword. The narrative signifies King Saul's unfitness to rule for not taking up the giant's challenge himself. The phrase "David and Goliath" has taken on a more popular meaning denoting an…
Saul depicted in a detail from an 1878 oil painting by Ernst Josephson
The Kingdom of Saul, according to the biblical account
David Plays the Harp for Saul, by Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1650
Saul threatening David, by José Leonardo, c. 1640s