CHAMPION (אִֽישׁ־הַבֵּנַ֨יִמ׃֙, the man of the middle/midst [1 Sam 17:4, 23]; Jerusalem Bible, SHOCK-TROOPER [1 Sam 17:51], גִּבּﯴר, H1475, hero, NEB). The word “champion,” literally “middleman,” in 1 Samuel 17:4, 23 refers to Goliath who fought David between the two armies that watched. It was common for individual champions from either side to decide conflicts because the bloodshed of a full-scale war could be avoided. An example of single combat in Homer’s Iliad (3:69, cf. 7:65ff.) is Paris’ request to Hector to set him “in the midst” to fight Menelaus to decide the issue.