Champion
Champion (גַּבּוֹר, gibbor', 1Sa 17:51; elsewhere "mighty man"). The Hebrews phrase אַישׁאּהִבֵּנִיַם, ish hab-bena´ yim, rendered "champion" in 1Sa 17:4,23, literally signifies a man between the two, that is, a go-between, an arbiter, or one who offers a challenge, and appropriately denotes the position of Goliath when he stood up between the Hebrew and Philistine armies. Single combats at the head of armies were not unusual in ancient times, and in many cases it was a condition that the result should determine the national quarrel. An example of this kind is the combat between Paris and Menelaus, described by Homer. A similar practice obtains in the present day among the Bedouin Arabs. SEE SINGLE COMBAT.
