Did David Bring a Gun to a Knife Fight? Literary and Historical Considerations in Interpreting David’s Victory over Goliath

Abstract

Though the story of David and Goliath is unmatched in its iconic status, it is capable of being interpreted as either a story of David’s faith or a story of David’s cunning. These various portraits of David largely hinge on how the reader understands David’s sling. Is it a shepherd’s weapon that would be useless against the armored giant? Or is it a deadly long range weapon, the equivalent of bringing a gun to a knife fight? This essay examines the literary and historical considerations in interpreting this aspect of the biblical story and suggests that while David may have cunningly chosen a weapon that gave him an outside chance of victory, it is by no means a weapon that gave him an advantage, and so his faith in Yhwh must be considered the deciding factor.