427 GOLIATH’S DEATH TESTAMENT JUDAH AND THE OF someone burdened with so much excess weight, it should not take much to make him stumble. And once he fell on his face, it would be very hard to get up quickly. It is thus entirely plausible that David, unencumbered with similar combat gear, could run quickly and reach his opponent before his opponent’s shield bearer, who happened to be carrying a large shield, could reach his master to offer help 9. As for the issue Bergen raises, that Goliath’s knees were obviously protected, so that it would be illogical for David’s primary offensive effort to be directed against his opponent’s armoured portion, this again needs not be a problem 10. If David was able to size up the situation quickly and see the openings above the greaves as a point of vulnerability that would cause his opponent to stumble and fall, it is not illogical that he would aim for that precise spot. Beside, who is to say that the forehead is necessarily less protected than the knees? After all, as Deem has pointed out, the feathered helmets worn by the Philistines already seem to offer some protection to the forehead 11. But the bronze helmet worn by Goliath is likely even more substantial than the feathered ones depicted in reliefs of Ramses III 12. In fact, that the LXX has “through the helmet (dia thv ù˜ perikeφalaıav) ” added to v. 49 to read, “The stone sunk into his ¥ forehead through the helmet and he fell facedown on the ground” suggests that, at least to certain LXX translators, Goliath’s helmet was understood as offering some protection to his forehead. Thus, the objection that David would not have targeted his opponent’s armoured portion could just as well have applied to the traditional reading that understands jxm in v. 49 as “forehead”. But there is yet a second and much weightier objection to Deem’s proposal, and it concerns the absence of external support for her alternative reading. As Bergen points out, Deem’s reading of jxm in v. 49 as “greave” is supported neither by ancient translations nor modern versions 13. But while there is admittedly no direct external support for Deem’s reading, this author believes that a piece of indirect evidence may the coat of armor to weigh approximately 126 lbs. (or 57 kg.) and the tip of the spear, approximately 15 lbs. (or 6.8 kg). K. GALLING, “Goliath und seine Rüstung”, Volume Du Congrès. Genève 9 1965 (Leiden 1966) 157-158, n. 3, thinks that the hnx referred to in v. 7 is likely not the Canaanite small square shield but either a larger round shield or a standing shield. TSUMURA, Samuel, 444, likewise points out that according to HALOT, the hnx is a large standing shield covering the whole body. R.D. BERGEN 1, 2 Samuel (NAC 7; Nashville, TN 1996) 197, n. 61. 10 DEEM, “A Short Note”, 349. 11 See GALLING, “Goliath”, 161-162. 12 BERGEN, Samuel, 197, n. 61. 13