Gob

Biblical Text

Gob appears in the Bible in only two verses, 2 Samuel 21:18-19. The passage belongs to a brief collection of episodes (2 Samuel 21:15-22) in which Israelite warriors struck down descendants of "the giant" during the wars with the Philistines in the reign of David.

• 2 Samuel 21:18: During a battle with the Philistines at Gob, Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, one of the sons of the giant.
• 2 Samuel 21:19: In another battle at Gob, Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, killed a Gittite, the shaft of whose spear is described as being like a weaver's beam.

The episodes at Gob are followed by an account of a battle at Gath (2 Samuel 21:20-22).

Background

The text does not say where Gob was located. It is thought to have been near Israel's western border with Philistia, but no site has been confirmed archaeologically.

In 1 Chronicles 20:4, which reports the same event, the place where Sibbechai fought is given as Gezer rather than Gob. For this reason, some regard Gob as a small locality near Gezer. Others hold that the place name was altered in the course of scribal transmission. Ancient translations such as the Septuagint, along with some manuscripts, are also known to read the name differently.

Significance in the Bible as a Whole

Gob itself is not mentioned elsewhere. The episodes at Gob, however, illustrate how David's kingdom overcame the Philistine threat. They also show that the victories were won not by David alone but by his servants fighting alongside him. The New Testament makes no reference to Gob.

Interpretation and Issues

Gob is discussed frequently, less because of the place itself than because of the content of 2 Samuel 21:19. The Masoretic Text states that Elhanan killed "Goliath the Gittite." Yet 1 Samuel 17 tells the story of David defeating Goliath, and 1 Chronicles 20:5 identifies the man Elhanan killed as "Lahmi the brother of Goliath." How to read these three texts together has therefore long been debated. The principal views are as follows.

• Scribal error view: "Lahmi" in Chronicles is the original reading, and the text of 2 Samuel was altered in the course of copying.
• Different persons view: The Goliath killed by David and the man Elhanan killed at Gob were different individuals who bore the same name.
• Same person view: Elhanan was another name for David.
• Critical view: A story that originally recounted Elhanan's exploit was later attributed to David. This view is advanced chiefly within historical-critical scholarship.

Conservative traditions that emphasize biblical inerrancy generally follow the first or second view, while critical scholarship also advances the fourth. Among Korean translations of the Bible, some render this verse as "the brother of Goliath" in harmony with Chronicles, while others render it simply as "Goliath," following the Hebrew text.