Goliath's Head at Jerusalem

After David killed Goliath and the Israelite army routed the Philistines, he plundered Goliath's armor and took Goliath's head to Jerusalem.

And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent. (1 Samuel 17:54, ESV)

Some have considered the curious statement about Jerusalem to be an anachronism. Although Jerusalem was in the hands of the Jebusites, the display of Goliath's head at Jerusalem fit a pattern of victory celebrations in that era. The pattern is described in more detail when the Philistines killed King Saul on Mt. Gilboa.

So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. (1 Samuel 31:9-10, ESV)

Here, the post-victory events included 1) plundering the battleground, 2) putting Saul's armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and 3) fastening his body to the wall of Beth-shan. Although most of the plunder probably went to the soldiers, Saul's armor became a trophy displayed in the temple of one of their gods, and his body was hung on the wall of Beth-shan to threaten any Israelites still in the area.

The missing part in the aftermath of David's victory over Goliath appears to be the placement of a trophy in the temple of the Lord. However, we learn in the story of David that Goliath's sword was being kept among the sacred things with the priests at Nob.

And the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here." And David said, "There is none like that; give it to me." (1 Samuel 21:9, ESV)

With this information in place, it appears that David followed a predictable pattern after he killed Goliath. He plundered Goliath's armor, deposited Goliath's sword as a trophy with the priests at Nob, and displayed Goliath's head at Jerusalem.

The display of a fallen hero served as an intimidating threat to one's enemies, so why was it displayed at Jerusalem rather than one of the Philistine cities? David had particular hatred for the Jebusites of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:8). Perhaps they were allied with the Philistines or had invited the Philistines to invade the land. The head of Goliath served notice to the Jebusites that the Israelites had defeated the stronger Philistines and that the Jebusites could no longer trust their walls for protection.