The Bible in the News

The Philistine champion Goliath is well known to the press. Recently, the most widely reported Goliath-related story by far has been the discovery in the region where the Philistines once dwelt of a pottery sherd bearing the name “Goliath.”a Literally dozens of stories on this find appeared, almost all of which were appropriately restrained in their claims as to what this inscription could—or could not—prove. As it turns out, no such restraint was exhibited by the headline writers, who produced such winning and clever phrases as “Goliath’s Still a Bit Shattered,” “Giant Israeli Find” and “Goliath Find Just Slays […]