Editing Goliath (section)

==Later traditions==
===Judaism===
[[File:Peter Paul Rubens David Slaying Goliath.jpg|thumb|''David and Goliath'' (1616) by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]]]
[[File: David and Goliath -1700s.jpg|thumb|''David Giving Thanks to God'' (18th century) by  [[Charles Errard]]]]

According to the [[Babylonian Talmud]] ([[Sotah (Talmud)|Sotah]] 42b), Goliath was a son of [[Orpah]], the sister-in-law of [[Ruth (biblical figure)|Ruth]], David's own great-grandmother (Ruth → [[Obed (biblical figure)|Obed]] → [[Jesse (biblical figure)|Jesse]] → David). [[Ruth Rabbah]], a haggadic and homiletic interpretation of the [[Book of Ruth]], makes the blood relationship even closer, considering Orpah and Ruth to have been full sisters. Orpah was said to have made a pretense of accompanying Ruth but after forty paces left her. Thereafter she led a dissolute life. According to the [[Jerusalem Talmud]], Goliath was born by [[polyspermy]], and had about one hundred fathers.<ref>[[Jerusalem Talmud]] Yebamoth, 24b.</ref>

The Talmud stresses Goliath's ungodliness: his taunts before the Israelites included the boast that it was he who had captured the [[Ark of the Covenant]] and brought it to the temple of [[Dagon]], and his challenges to combat were made at morning and evening to disturb the Israelites in their prayers. His armor weighed 60 tons, according to rabbi [[Hanina]]; 120, according to rabbi [[Abba bar Kahana]]; and his sword, which became the sword of David, had marvelous powers. On his death it was found that his heart carried the image of Dagon, who thereby also came to a shameful downfall.<ref>For a brief overview of Talmudic traditions on Goliath, see [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=336&letter=G Jewish Encyclopedia, "Goliath"].</ref>

In [[Pseudo-Philo]], believed to have been composed between 135&nbsp;BCE and 70&nbsp;CE, David picks up seven stones and writes on them his father's name, his own name, and the name of God, one name per stone; then, speaking to Goliath, he says: {{quote|"Hear this word before you die: were not the two woman from whom you and I were born, sisters? And your mother was Orpah and my mother Ruth&nbsp;..."}} After David strikes Goliath with the stone he runs to Goliath before he dies, and Goliath says: "Hurry and kill me and rejoice." David replies: "Before you die, open your eyes and see your slayer." Goliath sees an angel and tells David that it is not he who has killed him but the angel. Pseudo-Philo then goes on to say that the angel of the Lord changes David's appearance so that no one recognizes him, and thus Saul asks who he is.<ref>Charlesworth, James H. 1983. ''The Old Testament pseudepigrapha'' vol 2. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. {{ISBN|0-385-18813-7}} p. 374.</ref>

===Islam===
Goliath appears in chapter 2 of the [[Quran]] (2: 247–252), in the narrative of David and Saul's battle against the Philistines.<ref name="autogenerated1">''Encyclopedia of Islam'', G. Vajda, ''Djalut''</ref> Called {{transliteration|ar|Jalut}} in Arabic ({{lang|ar|جالوت}}), Goliath's mention in the Quran is concise, although it remains a parallel to the account in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. Muslim scholars have tried to trace Goliath's origins, most commonly with the [[Amalek]]ites.<ref name="autogenerated3">''Hughes Dictionary of Islam'', T.P. Hughes, ''Goliath''</ref> Goliath, in early scholarly tradition, became a kind of byword or collective name for the oppressors of the [[Israelite]] nation before [[David]].<ref name="autogenerated1"/> Muslim tradition sees the battle with Goliath as a prefiguration of [[Muhammad]]'s [[battle of Badr]], and sees Goliath as parallel to the enemies that Muhammad faced.<ref name="autogenerated3"/>