What is a weaver’s beam?
I Samuel 17:7 “…The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam…”
In the time period of David and Goliath, the warp weighted loom was typically used to make woven materials. A weavers beam was a strong, long rounded wooden pole used at the top of a loom to hold the warp, or vertical threads. The warp threads were kept taut by means of weights tied to the bottom of them. The weaver’s beam kept the warp threads separated and could be turned to roll up the material as the weaving progressed. With the warp threads taut and in place, filling threads, called the weft, are woven through the warp threads from side to side. This was often done by two women. Weaving was typically done from the top of the loom to the bottom, and the strands of filling thread were beaten upwards. Looms were adapted to the size of the material being made. Based off the looms used in that time period, it would be common for a weaver’s beam to be 2 to 2 1/2" inches thick and more than 5 feet long.
The Biblical reference of a weaver’s beam is most likely in respect to the unusual thickness and strength of the shaft rather than the length. The weaver’s beam reference contrasts the normal smaller, thinner spear that would be handled by an average size man. There are 4 verses in scripture that mention a weaver’s beam like spear, 2 of which refer to Goliath’s Spear. One refers Goliath’s brother’s spear who was most likely close to Goliath’s size. The 4th verse refers to a giant size Egyptian in that day who would measure over 7 foot 6 in tall:
1 Sam 17:7- And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him
2 Sam 21:19- And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.
1 Chron 11:23- And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.
1 Chron 20:5- And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam.
For the physics of our Goliath’s spear beam 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 bend the shaft making it too flexible and cumbersome for effective hand to hand battle. At the time of David and Goliath, around 1020 BC, spears were a normal battle weapon. There was a known weapon that was too long to be used in hand to hand combat, the ancient Sarissa, that was 10-20 feet long. It would be used as a stationary defensive weapon, simply held in place to keep enemies from crossing battle lines. The head of the Sarissa was lighter and wasn’t known to be used widely until the Macedonian times around 359BC.
Check out these links for more research on a weaver’s beam:
https://www.internationalstandardbible.com/W/weaving.html
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25731/25731-h/25731-h.htm
https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/1-samuel-17-7.html
