{"id":93101,"date":"2026-08-05T09:09:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T13:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/?p=93101"},"modified":"2026-08-05T09:09:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T13:09:20","slug":"giants-in-the-bible-after-goliath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/bible-resources\/bible-characters\/giants-in-the-bible-after-goliath\/","title":{"rendered":"Goliath Wasn&#8217;t the Last Giant in the Bible \u2014 Meet the Four Who Came After"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='booster-block booster-read-block'>\n                <div class=\"twp-read-time\">\n                \t<i class=\"booster-icon twp-clock\"><\/i> <span>Read Time:<\/span>7 Minute, 55 Second                <\/div>\n\n            <\/div><p>Ask almost anyone who defeated Goliath, and they&#8217;ll answer without blinking: David. One shepherd boy, one sling, one giant, face-down in the dust. It&#8217;s the story we tell kids first because it&#8217;s the story that sticks \u2014 the ultimate underdog moment. But here&#8217;s what most people never hear: Goliath wasn&#8217;t the last giant in the Bible. Four more show up later, in a battlefield report tucked into 2 Samuel 21, and here&#8217;s the part that changes everything \u2014 David isn&#8217;t the one who defeats any of them. Four different soldiers do. Four different people, four different giants, four different ways of winning.<\/p>\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve ever sat across from someone else&#8217;s incredible testimony and quietly wondered why your story doesn&#8217;t look anything like theirs, this passage was written for you.<\/p>\n\n<h2>The Other Giants in the Bible Nobody Talks About<\/h2>\n\n<p>2 Samuel 21:15-22 reads almost like a military after-action report, not a sermon illustration. Israel is at war with the Philistines again, and David \u2014 the same David who once ran toward Goliath without armor \u2014 goes down to fight alongside his men. And then something surprising happens: &#8220;David waxed faint&#8221; (2 Samuel 21:15). The giant-killer gets tired. A Philistine descendant of the giants named Ishbi-benob, carrying a spear that weighed nearly eight pounds in bronze alone, corners David and comes within one swing of ending him.<\/p>\n\n<p>David doesn&#8217;t save himself. Abishai does \u2014 one of his commanders, stepping in and striking the giant down before he can finish the blow. Afterward, David&#8217;s own men make him swear an oath: &#8220;Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel&#8221; (2 Samuel 21:17). The man who killed Goliath gets pulled from the front lines by the people who love him. That alone is worth sitting with \u2014 but it&#8217;s only the first of four giants in this passage, and David personally handles none of the other three.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"convertkit-form wp-block-convertkit-form\" style=\"\"><script async data-uid=\"6491fb8269\" src=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.kit.com\/6491fb8269\/index.js\" data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" data-no-defer=\"1\" data-no-optimize=\"1\" nowprocket><\/script><\/div>\n\n\n<h2>Three More Giants, Three Soldiers Who Weren&#8217;t David<\/h2>\n\n<p>The text moves fast, almost like a list, but each name deserves a second look:<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Saph<\/strong>, killed at Gob by <strong>Sibbechai the Hushathite<\/strong> \u2014 a soldier whose name shows up nowhere else in David&#8217;s famous &#8220;mighty men&#8221; stories, and who gets exactly one verse to do what he did (2 Samuel 21:18).<\/li>\n<li><strong>The brother of Goliath<\/strong> \u2014 &#8220;the staff of whose spear was like a weaver&#8217;s beam,&#8221; the exact same detail once used to describe Goliath&#8217;s own spear \u2014 killed by <strong>Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim<\/strong>, a Bethlehemite (2 Samuel 21:19). A parallel account in 1 Chronicles 20:5 fills in the name most historians believe got compressed in the retelling: &#8220;Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite.&#8221; Two brothers. Two different soldiers. Two different battles, years apart.<\/li>\n<li>A giant with twelve fingers and twelve toes total \u2014 &#8220;six fingers, and on every foot six toes&#8221; \u2014 defeated at Gath by <strong>Jonathan<\/strong>, David&#8217;s own nephew, the son of his brother Shimeah (2 Samuel 21:20-21).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Four giants. Four different people. The chapter closes with a single line that ties them together: &#8220;These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants&#8221; (2 Samuel 21:22). Not by the hand of David alone. By the hand of David <em>and<\/em> his servants \u2014 together, each one fighting a battle that was actually theirs. (If giant stories are your thing, <a href=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/bible-resources\/bible-characters\/caleb-85-mountain-giants-joshua-14\/\">Caleb was 85 and still asking for the mountain with giants on it<\/a> \u2014 a different kind of courage entirely.)<\/p>\n\n<h2>You Don&#8217;t Have to Fight Your Giant the Way Someone Else Fought Theirs<\/h2>\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s what&#8217;s easy to miss the first ten times you read this passage: none of these four men copied David&#8217;s method. David used a sling and five stones because that&#8217;s what he knew \u2014 a shepherd&#8217;s tools, tested on lions and bears long before Goliath ever showed up. Abishai used a sword, up close, in the exact moment David couldn&#8217;t save himself. Sibbechai and Elhanan fought giants in completely different battles, on completely different days, with no sling in sight. Jonathan didn&#8217;t need a famous weapon at all \u2014 just a willingness to stand and &#8220;defy&#8221; a giant everyone else in the field was avoiding.<\/p>\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve ever compared your quiet, unremarkable faith to someone else&#8217;s dramatic testimony \u2014 the addiction they overcame, the ministry they built, the giant they slew in front of everyone \u2014 and felt like your story came up short, this is the correction. <a href=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/personal-growth-and-life-skills\/bible-envy-disease-of-the-bones-proverbs-14-30\/\">Comparison has a way of quietly eating at you<\/a> long after the moment passes. But God didn&#8217;t ask Sibbechai to pick up a sling. God didn&#8217;t ask Elhanan to face Goliath himself, years after David already had. Each person was equipped for the specific giant standing in front of <em>them<\/em>, with whatever was actually in their hand \u2014 not a repeat of somebody else&#8217;s victory. That&#8217;s not a lesser story. That&#8217;s the design.<\/p>\n\n<h2>What This Looks Like on an Ordinary Tuesday<\/h2>\n\n<p>The giant in front of you right now probably doesn&#8217;t look like a nine-foot Philistine. It might look like a habit you can&#8217;t shake, a conversation you keep avoiding, a decision you&#8217;ve been circling for months, or a season that&#8217;s simply worn you down the way it wore David down in verse 15. The question this passage actually asks isn&#8217;t &#8220;why isn&#8217;t your battle as famous as David&#8217;s?&#8221; It&#8217;s: what has God already put in your hand for the fight that&#8217;s actually yours?<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Three things you can do with that today:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Name your giant in one sentence.<\/strong> Not the vague version \u2014 the specific one. Write it down.<\/li>\n<li><strong>List one thing you already have for this exact fight<\/strong> \u2014 a skill, a relationship, a past scar that turned into wisdom, an hour in your schedule you keep avoiding using. It won&#8217;t look like anyone else&#8217;s weapon. That&#8217;s the point.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Text one person today<\/strong> and ask them directly: &#8220;What do you think I&#8217;m actually equipped to handle right now?&#8221; Sometimes Abishai has to tell you the giant is closer than you think \u2014 and that you&#8217;re not meant to face it completely alone.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p>If you want to go deeper on what God has actually equipped you for, our free <a href=\"https:\/\/chatgpt.com\/g\/g-Y4GOQf5LW-spiritual-gifts-discover-yours-in-scripture\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spiritual Gifts GPT assistant<\/a> can help you explore it (opens free in ChatGPT).<\/p>\n\n<h2>A Prayer for When You Feel Outmatched<\/h2>\n\n<p>God, I keep measuring my fight against someone else&#8217;s \u2014 their courage, their story, their giant that fell so publicly. Help me stop comparing and start looking at what&#8217;s actually in my hand right now. I don&#8217;t need David&#8217;s sling. I need whatever You&#8217;ve already given me for the battle that&#8217;s mine. Give me the courage to use it today, even if no one&#8217;s watching, even if it never becomes a story anyone else tells.<\/p>\n\n<h2>Something to Think About<\/h2>\n\n<p>If four different people fought four different giants using four completely different strengths, what do you think that says about how God actually equips people for the battles they&#8217;re facing right now? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"convertkit-form wp-block-convertkit-form\" style=\"\"><script async data-uid=\"6491fb8269\" src=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.kit.com\/6491fb8269\/index.js\" data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" data-no-defer=\"1\" data-no-optimize=\"1\" nowprocket><\/script><\/div>\n\n\n<h2>Share This<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;I just learned Goliath wasn&#8217;t the last giant in the Bible. Four more show up in 2 Samuel 21, and David doesn&#8217;t defeat a single one of them. Four different people, four different battles. Maybe stop comparing your fight to someone else&#8217;s.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;TIL the Bible has more than one giant story. 2 Samuel 21 lists four giants after Goliath, each one defeated by a different soldier, not David. Maybe your battle isn&#8217;t supposed to look like anyone else&#8217;s either.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Growing up in church I only ever heard about David and Goliath. Turns out that&#8217;s not where the giant stories end. 2 Samuel 21 lists four more, each one defeated by someone completely different: a commander, a soldier nobody talks about, a Bethlehemite, and David&#8217;s own nephew. None of them used David&#8217;s sling. None of them needed to.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2>Quick Questions About the Giants in the Bible<\/h2>\n\n<p><strong>Was Goliath the only giant David fought?<\/strong><br>\nNo. David fought and killed Goliath directly, but 2 Samuel 21:15-22 records four more giants defeated in later battles, and David personally defeats none of them. His commander Abishai actually saves David&#8217;s life during the first encounter.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Who were the four giants after Goliath?<\/strong><br>\nIshbi-benob (killed by Abishai), Saph (killed by Sibbechai the Hushathite), an unnamed brother of Goliath later identified in 1 Chronicles 20:5 as Lahmi (killed by Elhanan), and an unnamed giant with twelve fingers and twelve toes total (killed by Jonathan, David&#8217;s nephew).<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Who killed the brother of Goliath?<\/strong><br>\nAccording to 2 Samuel 21:19, Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, killed &#8220;the brother of Goliath the Gittite.&#8221; 1 Chronicles 20:5 names him specifically as Lahmi.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Why did David&#8217;s men tell him to stop fighting?<\/strong><br>\nAfter Ishbi-benob nearly killed David in battle, David&#8217;s soldiers made him swear an oath never to go out to battle with them again, &#8220;that thou quench not the light of Israel&#8221; (2 Samuel 21:17). They valued his life and leadership too much to risk losing him.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>What does 2 Samuel 21 teach about how God equips people?<\/strong><br>\nIt shows God doesn&#8217;t require everyone to fight the same way. David used a sling, Abishai used a sword in close combat, and others fought entirely different battles with different means. Each person was equipped for the specific fight in front of them, a pattern worth remembering anytime you&#8217;re comparing your own calling to someone else&#8217;s story.<\/p>        <div class=\"booster-block booster-reactions-block\">\n            <div class=\"twp-reactions-icons\">\n                \n                <div class=\"twp-reacts-wrap\">\n                    <a react-data=\"be-react-1\" post-id=\"93101\" class=\"be-face-icons un-reacted\" href=\"javascript:void(0)\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/booster-extension\/\/assets\/icon\/happy.svg\" alt=\"Happy\" title=\"\">\n                    <\/a>\n                    <div class=\"twp-reaction-title\">\n                        Happy                    <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"twp-count-percent\">\n                                                    <span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"twp-react-count\">0<\/span>\n                    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Four more show up in 2 Samuel 21, and a different person defeated each one. Here&#8217;s what that reveals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-characters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93101"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93102,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93101\/revisions\/93102"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bgodinspired.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}