Newsflash! Goliath May Have Been Slain by Someone Other than David?
by Anonymous

INDIANAPOLIS, IN February 24, 2004–-David slew Goliath with his trusty sling. The Bible tells us so. Perhaps not, according to Bible history expert C. Jack Trickler in his new book A Layman’s Guide to Who Wrote the Books of the Bible: When? Why? from Cork Hill Press.

“Perhaps Goliath was slain by someone other than David,” said Trickler. “In one passage of scripture the Bible says Goliath was slain by David, but in another passage the deed was done by someone else."

With that in mind we would like to present:

Did You Know? Ten Interesting Facts About the Bible

10.    One man’s Bible…
Not all Bibles contain the same books. Those known as the books of The Apocrypha, or as Deuterocanonical Books are included in the Old Testament of Catholic Bibles without differentiation from other books of the Old Testament. In the British Protestant Bible known as the Authorized Version they are in a section called The Apocrypha. They are not yet included in most American Protestant Bibles, although there is an ecumenical trend toward their inclusion. They are not in the Jewish Bible, the Tanakh.
9.    Heaven and Hell.
The concepts of heaven, and of a hell with Satan, probably originated in Persian Zoroastrianism and entered Judaic thinking during the exile of Jews in Babylon. Persian Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and permitted the Jews to return to Judah. Zoroastrianism had concepts of heaven, and of a hell dominated by an evil force known as Shaiton.
8.    Torah! Torah! Torah!
Toward the end of the time the Jews were in captivity in Babylon, the leader known as Ezra led a task force that collected stories of the origins of the Hebrews. Ezra did that to produce The Law, the first books of the Bible, known as The Pentateuch or Torah.
7.    In the beginning…
The authors of the first books of the Jewish Bible, the Tanakh, blended together two versions of many of the major stories, such as those about creation and about the Great Flood.
6.    How many people lived in Bethlehem?
Mary and Joseph did not travel to Bethlehem to register for a Roman census. There was no such census. Besides, what government would ask people to register where their direct-line paternal ancestor of a thousand years earlier had been born? Do you know where your direct male ancestor of a thousand years ago was born? (Jesus was born about a thousand years after David.)
5.    Hollywood didn’t invent ghostwriters.
At the time the books of the New Testament were written it was considered quite proper for authors to attribute their work to respected people. Doing so was a compliment to the person to whom the work was attributed. About half the letters attributed to Paul are thought to have been written by other people and then attributed to Paul.
4.    A woman’s work….
The Gospel of Luke may have been written by a woman.
3.    The origin of the soul.
The concept of humans having souls was offered by Greek philosophers in the Fourth Century B.C.
2.    Who invented Mondays?
We go to church on Sunday because that is the day pre-Christian Romans worshipped the sun as god. (Sun day is followed by Moon day, now known as Monday.)
1.    So, who else does the Bible say slew Goliath?
2 Samuel 21:19 says that Goliath was slain by Elhanan the Bethlehemite. The more detailed and familiar passage about David slaying Goliath is in 1 Samuel 17.

- The above is free to quote with attribution.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
LaPorte, Indiana native Jack Trickler is a Christian layman with an interest in history, particularly in the history of Christianity. After military service in World War II he completed his degree in Mechanical Engineering and went to work for a manufacturer of industrial air-moving equipment. (Think of such as the control of air pollution from chemical plants.) He worked his way up through research to engineering management, to manufacturing management, and retired as vice president of corporate development, all with the same company.

After retirement Trickler found time to delve more deeply into his interest in the history of Christianity. What began simply as reading for personal enjoyment led to making notes, and then to arranging those notes so as to put his conclusions in logical order. That led to thoughts of putting his work together to make it available for his children and grandchildren. The people who reviewed and commented on the book suggested making it available to the public.

PURCHASE INFORMATION:
A Layman’s Guide to Who Wrote the Books of the Bible: When? Why? is priced at $29.95 for the hardcover (ISBN: 1-59408-512-9) and $22.95 for the trade paperback (ISBN: 1-59408-175-1). Through Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com or from the publisher, Cork Hill Press at Toll-Free (866) 688-BOOK (2665) or at www.corkhillpress.com.

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