Goliath was a Philistine warrior of giant stature who plays a pivotal role within the Biblical story's legendary account of King David in the Book of Samuel. According to 1 Samuel, Goliath challenges the Israelites to beat him in single combat. David, then a young shepherd, takes up the challenge. He fells Goliath with a stone slung from a sling and beheads the fallen giant with his own sword. The narrative signifies King Saul's unfitness to rule for not taking up the giant's challenge himself.