title: Three head injuries: the Biblical account of the deaths of Sisera, Abimelech and Goliath.
abstract: Three head injuries are described in the Bible: the death of Sisera at the hands of Jael, the skull fractures inflicted on Abimelech near the walls of Thebez, and the slaying of Goliath by David. The various attempts to understand the mechanisms of these head injuries are reviewed. We shall try to identify the site of the mortal blow on Sisera's head, to understand why Abimelech, still conscious, asked to die, and to clarify whether the Philistine giant from Gat was a rugged warrior or just an endocrinological cripple.
authors.affiliation: Department Neurosurgery, Rambam (Maimonides) Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feinsod
mesh_terms: D001633:Bible; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000266:history*; D003643:Death; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D008091:Literature / Q000266:history*; D008877:Middle East; D012068:Religion and Medicine