A rare disease that strikes three out of every million persons annually, may explain how David beat Goliath, says Ben-Gurion University neurologist, Professor Vladimir Berginer.

 

by Daniella Ashkenazy

 

The young David's victory over Goliath - felled with a stone to the forehead, then slain with his own sword and decapitated - has become not only a symbol of the triumph of the small over the mighty, but the subject of endless works of art. But the secret behind Goliath's downfall may be slightly more down-to-earth: severely impaired peripheral vision.

 

In Samuel I, Chapter 17 it is written: "And there went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span." This is approximately three meters or 9'10" in today's measurements. "Such extreme height stems from only one malady - acromegaly," says Professor Vladimir Berginer of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

 

Acromegaly is a disorder that results in the production of excess growth hormone. The name "acromegaly" comes from the Greek words for "extremities" and "enlargement", and the disorder is often manifested in the abnormal growth of the hands and feet. Those afflicted with the disease before the normal growth spurts of childhood and adolescence, if not treated by medication, surgery or radiation, can grow unusually tall - a condition known as "gigantism". Adults who develop acromegaly can suffer from internal and external growth if left untreated.

 

But it was one of acromegaly's "side effects" that was the subject of lively media attention of late, including a four-page spread in the weekend magazine of the Hebrew daily Ha'aretz, after Professor Berginer suggested that Goliath suffered from the disease.

 

Professor Berginer, who has treated a number of patients with acromegaly, explains that it is a neuro-endecrinological ailment tied to the pituitary gland, which produces several important hormones controlling body functions such as reproduction and metabolism, as well as growth and development. Large benign tumors cause the gland to release large amounts of growth hormone, causing abnormal growth of the skeleton and other tissues. The malady can also trigger a host of other serious pathological symptoms - from hypertension to diabetes, enlarged organs, and even death - but impaired peripheral vision, better known as "tunnel vision", is one of acromegaly's outstanding traits.

 

If Goliath did indeed have acromegaly and suffered from tunnel vision, and young David approached the Philistine from the side - "in his blind spot" - he would not have been observed, Berginer theorizes. In short, David may have slung his shot at the giant Philistine before Goliath saw what hit him.

 

Professor Berginer's theory received substantiation from another source, of which the neurologist was unaware. Last year, The Times of London published a piece on advances in the treatment of acromegaly. The article also hypothesized that Goliath suffered from the disease, but added that beside "tunnel vision making it difficult for Goliath to see the stone coming from David's slingshot... in common with other sufferers of the condition, [Goliath] was probably abnormally weak and more likely to be felled by a single stone. As he was probably sweating and feeling nauseous - other symptoms of acromegaly - he would anyway have been in poor shape for a hand-to-hand combat," wrote The Times.

 

Professor Berginer emphasizes that his research does not diminish the heroic feat of David, who probably was not cognizant of Goliath's illness when he went forth to "face the Philistine". However, it does explain the outcome of the battle in the light of contemporary medical hindsight.

Source: the Times of London

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Bro Gill:

   Have you seen evidence from the DSS, Josephus & LXX that Goliath was only 6 1/2 feet tall?  The MT exaggerated Goliath's height.
   The average Hebrew of that day was only 5' therefore a bulked out 6 1/2' man would be considered a giant.

I wasn't aware of this, but I've never been as comfortable trusting the Septuagint over the Masoretic text when there is a discrepancy in the manuscripts. We know the Septuagint is far removed from the original autographs (it is a translation from Hebrew to Greek). That alone makes it more suspect, in my opinion. Moreover, since Josephus and the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls were writing in Greek, might they have relied on the Septuagint with its questionable translation of this section?

 

 

I know bible translations get more flak than did the Tuskegee Airmen fighter planes, but I haven't heard much criticism of the NIV's or the ESV's translations of the Old Testament. Most of these skirmishes are over the New Testament, aren't they? 

Without Goliath's corpse to examine, this is necessarily medical conjecture. I'm pretty sure Professor Berginer would admit the same. However, it is worth acknowledging that a condition like "tunnel vision" might not have been recognized by the ancient Philistines; looking straight ahead the giant could have exhibited normal, healthy sightedness. Or they might have not cared much about his lack of periferal vision, reckoning the fearsome effect of his monstrous height was more than compensatory.

 

The supposition that Goliath felt "abnormally weak," and that other symptoms like nausea may have contributed to his being felled by a single stone, is however extremely fanciful, given the biblical record. It is interesting to me that those comments were not Professor Berginer's. The writer of this article cited an earlier Times of London article that also speculated on the giant having acromegaly and exhibiting all the known symptoms at once, making him unfit for "hand to hand combat." That conclusion strains all credibility, and has no scientific sourcing, I noticed. Professor Berginer, an Israeli researcher and clinician, has a theory that fits the details of the biblical story (unlike the Times journalists).

 

 

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