How big was Goliath’s spear?
I Samuel 17:7 “…The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron…”
The spear head weighed 600 shekels. The Hebrew word shekel is based on the verbal root for "weighing”. A shekel was a unit of weight used in transactions before the wide use of coins. A Shekel = .445oz. This means the spear head’s weight is 16lbs 11oz. It can be difficult to pinpoint an exact weight because ancient units varied. The value of a shekel varied between regions, time eras and governments. Weights were known to vary anywhere from 7 to 17 grams. We have chosen to use a conservative weight of .445 grams or 12.9 oz.
The spear head is 26 in long and 7.8 in wide, weighing 16 lbs 11 oz.
The oak shaft is 10 feet long, weighing 10 lbs 9.8 oz.
The counterweight is 6 lbs, 1.2 oz
Total Size:
12 ft. 7 in.
33lbs. 12 oz.
For the physics of our Goliath’s spear to work properly with a 16lb 11oz spear head and the height of Goliath, we choose a 10’ length 2in diameter pole, including a 6lb 1.2oz counterweight, giving our spear a total length of 12 ft 7in. This is not to say the spear could not have been even longer. The Bible doesn’t give us the exact length. However, the length we calculated for our replica would allow Goliath to have a center of balance to hold the spear easily with one hand about 62 inches from the tip. This would allow him to thrust it directly at the enemy to achieve the best leverage and killing force. A spear of much longer length would cause the weight of the head to become overwhelming to wield and it would bend the shaft making it too flexible and cumbersome for effective hand to hand battle.
