David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” *

—I SAMUEL 17:45–47

The Valley of Elah is today an agricultural zone southwest of Jerusalem, not far from the small town of Zekharia. Three thousand years ago, however, it was the setting for an iconic battle between a young shepherd and a giant.

The mighty Philistines had been trying to subdue the Israelites for years when the two armies faced off across the valley. Hoping to destroy their enemies once and for all, the Philistines proposed the Israelites send one champion out against their most formidable warrior, Goliath, to resolve the war through single combat. For the Israelites, the odds seemed hopeless. Goliath was a colossus of a man, and the Philistines’ skilled metalworkers had equipped him with bronze