The Giants of the Bible
Throughout human history giants have been worshipped, reviled, ostracized, and celebrated. Giants fascinate us even today.
But what is the history of giants and what constitutes a giant?
Giants and their reality comes to us from the bible.
In the Bible, there are numerous references to giants called Nephilim who were offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" before the Great Flood.
Then the Rephaim, another group of giants are described as "a mighty people with tall stature who lived in Canaan."
The word Nephilim was used In Genesis 6:4, which was before The Flood. The Nephilim is also mentioned in Numbers13:32-33, which was after the Flood.
Archeological evidence is lacking so the reality of giants is disputed.
However we must realize if the Word of God states something it is fact and reality.
Lets take a closer look at giants.
For further study:
An interpretation from The Torah:
Og, King of Bashan: Underworld Ruler or Ancient Giant?
"The victory against King Og of Bashan by the Israelites is mentioned several times in biblical literature alongside the defeat of King Sihon of the Amorites.[1] Evoking these victories reminds the Israelite readers of past glories and military successes.
When Moses narrates the Og account in Deuteronomy 3, he adds: Deut 3:11 Only King Og of Bashan was left of the remaining Rephaʾim…
A similar notice appears in Joshua, in the description of the Transjordanian borders:
Josh 12:4 Also the territory of King Og of Bashan—one of the last of the Rephaʾim—who resided in Ashtaroth and in Edrei..." from the article: Og, King of Bashan: Underworld Ruler or Ancient Giant?
The Giants of the Bible - Dr. Larry Ollison (November 13, 2022)
Video from WOW Faith Church
"Walk on the Water Faith Church (WOW Faith Church) is located at the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. Sunday Worship Service is at 10 am and Thursday Worship Service is at 7 pm. Walk on the Water Faith Church PO Box 880 959 Nichols Road Osage Beach, MO 65065 USA http://www.walkonthewater.org" from video introduction
Is There Any Evidence for the Giants Mentioned in the Bible?
Giants are mentioned in the Bible in several places (e.g., Genesis 6:4; Joshua 12:4). Og, king of Bashan (Deuteronomy 3:11); the giant people in Canaan that Moses’ spies reported (Numbers 13:30–33); Goliath (2 Samuel 21:19); and the Anakites (Deuteronomy 9:1–2) are all examples of giants in Scripture. We should keep in mind that the “giants” of the Bible were not forty-foot colossi who sat on houses and picked their teeth with elm trees. The giants of the Bible were tall—Goliath was maybe nine or ten feet tall—and they were powerful, but they were human. In addition to the biblical accounts of giants, there is other evidence for giants: written accounts outside of the Bible, archaeology and eyewitness accounts of archaeological finds, graphic depictions of giants found in ancient art, and recent historical records.
First, we should deal with archaeological evidence for giants. There are many accounts of archaeologists finding very large bones and weaponry or other artifacts that only a giant could have used. Stonehenge, it is postulated, was set up by giants because the stones involved are far too large and heavy for normal-sized men to move and manipulate without the aid of machinery. Similar examples exist in many cultures—structures that could not have reasonably been erected without cranes or other machines that the ancients did not have access to. These archaeological arguments should be treated with skepticism. We may not know how Stonehenge was built, but our lack of knowledge does not automatically prove that giants did it. Some giant-sized artifacts exist in museums, but the large majority of them (especially the largest and most striking examples) do not exist except in eyewitness accounts that cannot be verified. Many of the supposed finders explain the lack of hard evidence with stories of government cover-ups or flash floods or other equally convenient circumstances.
Second, there is the argument that the visual depictions of very large people, such as found on Egyptian jars and tombs, are pictures of giants. Art historians usually conclude that these giant figures are simply representations of gods or kings and that their larger size was a way to show their importance or their high rank in comparison to other figures near them. Another explanation is that the smaller people are depictions of children, not lower-ranking men. True-to-life anatomical art did not exist in any culture until the Renaissance, and, up until then, children were often depicted as proportionally exact to adults, just smaller. These arguments are valid and logical. We know that Egyptian art was highly emblematic. The fact that the Egyptians depicted the god Anubis as a man with a dog’s head is no reason to assume there was an actual man with a dog’s head whom they worshiped. That said, there is no way to prove the actual intention of the ancient artists. Historians form theories based on what they feel is the most likely, most reasonable explanation for what they are seeing in ancient artifacts.
Third, we have written accounts outside of the Bible. Three books that are particularly noteworthy are the Book of Enoch, the Book of Jasher, and the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus. All three of these books mention the existence of giants. Outside of the Bible, this is the most compelling argument for the existence of giants. These books all present stories of actual people encountering giants, and the stories are presented as historical, non-fictional accounts. Josephus, in a passage about the Israelites moving their camp to Hebron, mentions that the Jews encountered the inhabitants of that land, including “the race of giants, who had bodies so large, and countenances so entirely different from other men, that they were surprising to the sight, and terrible to the hearing. The bones of these men are still shown to this very day.”
The Book of Jasher, mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18, is one of three books, along with the Book of Jubilees and the Book of Enoch, which give an account of the antediluvian world. These books tell essentially the same story found in Genesis: that fallen angels impregnated human women and their offspring were the Nephilim, a race of giants (Genesis 6:1–4). The Book of Jasher and the others provide more details about the world at that time, saying that the giants were cruel and violent, ruling over mankind as gods. The Genesis account of the flood is preceded by a passage that mentions the Nephilim. The Bible calls Noah “blameless in his generation” (Genesis 6:9). This could be a reference to Noah’s character, but it also could be that Noah was “blameless” in the sense that his bloodline had not been polluted by the fallen angels, so God saved him and his family to be the beginning of a new, genetically clean human race.
However, the Bible mentions the Anakim and the Rephaim after the flood, so either the “giant” bloodline remained, or it is also possible that the fallen angels made a second attempt to pollute mankind after the flood. Whatever the case, the Anakim were “strong and tall” (Deuteronomy 9:2).
In addition to the above evidence are people in recent history documented to be very tall: Robert Wadlow measured in June 1940 at 8 ft, 11.1 in. tall; John Carroll in 1966 was 8 ft, 7.5 in.; and Sultan Kösen in 2011 measured 8 ft, 2.8 in. tall (www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-man-ever, accessed 1/3/22). Both in the Bible and outside of it, there is the biblical evidence that giants did exist." from the article: Is There Any Evidence for the Giants Mentioned in the Bible?
"It is not commonly known that Goliath is not the only giant in the Bibleor that he was certainly not the tallest! For those who know their Bible, the Bible is full of giants! As early as Genesis 6:4 we see the Nephilim or race of giants coming on the scene. Since we see man, fresh from the Creator’s hand, averaging more than nine hundred (900) years in longevity, we can naturally assume that man in those days was much stronger and taller than he is today. For giants to be giants in those early days they had to be really, really tall. But while we see whole armies of giants in the Bible called Nephilim, Rephaims, Emims (Zanzummims or Zuzims), Anakim or children of Anak, the purpose of this article is to point out only those for which we have some details, those who are by and large singled out by name. The following is not necessarily in order of height since the Bible does not give all the details concerning height.
(1) Og, the King of Bashan
Deut. 3:11 says of Og:
“For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.”
While we are not given his height, the length of his bed was longer than Goliath’s height by three cubits.
(2) Goliath of Gath
Goliath is the most famous giant in recorded history partly because of the engaging, inspiring story of him boasting and blaspheming against God for days and a young boy, David, who believes God can do all things, steps up and kills him with a stone and sling while King Saul and his army are trembling in their boots due to Goliath. How tall was Goliath?
1 Sam. 17:4 says “And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.”
Let us consult John Gill’s Commentary concerning this. Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, referred to John Gill as the most able expert on Hebrew and Jewish customs in his day. John Gill’s Commentary says that Goliath was about eleven feet four inches taking a cubit to be twenty-one inches and a span to be approximately half of a cubit. Some say he was closer to twelve feet. Some try to say that he was only about nine feet but when you look at the weight of his armor you have to agree with Gill’s Commentary.
Verse 5 says of his armor:
“And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and theweight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.”
Gill’s Commentary states that the weight given here is over one hundred and fifty-six (156) pounds! That is not giant. That is a monster!
Four Children Of Goliath – Ishbenob, Saph, Lahmi and an unnamed giant.
Goliath left behind him a legacy. Four giants are recorded in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles and they all are sons of Goliath. (See 2 Sam. 21:22)
(3) Ishbibenob, a son of Goliath (2 Sam. 21:16,17)
This giant almost got revenge for his father’s death by almost killing David in battle when the latter felt faint, but fortunately for David, his valiant nephew Abishai, killed him. We do not have any record of his height. We do know that his spear was half the weight of Goliath’s spear which would have been very heavy.
(4) Saph (also called Sippai) (2 Sam. 21:18; 1 Chron. 20:6)
Saph was also a son of Goliath of Gath. His very name “Saph” means “tall” while “Sippai” means “threshold” coming from a Hebrew word that means “door” since he was tall (or taller) than a door in those days.
(5) Lahmi (2 Sam. 21:20; 1 Chron. 20:6)
2 Sam. 21:20 does not give his name but 1 Chron. 20:6 does. Let me preface my statement on him by first saying that in the King James Version whenever there is a word or words in italics those words are not in the original Hebrew or Greek but were supplied by translators to make the sentence run more smoothly. 2 Sam. 21:20 tells us that he was “the brother of Goliath the Gittite.” The words “the brother” are not in the original text. It should read that he was “of Goliath the Gittite” meaning that he was Goliath’s son as 2 Sam. 21:22 says:
“These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of hisservants.”
(6) An unusual anonymous giant
This unnamed giant was also a son of Goliath. Again we are not told his height but this giant still “stands out” among the rest since he had twenty-four digits!
2 Sam. 21:20 says “And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.”
Way back then he could have started the “digital” age.
(7) Anak
Anak was the father of the Anakim. Any man who engendered a race of giants had to have been quite a giant himself. His very name “Anak” means “long necked” a tribute to his height, since he himself was the son of giant. His descendants were called the “Anakims” or “the children of “Anak,” that fearsome race of giants that Israel encountered on their way to the promised land. From the available evidence e can assume that Goliath of Gath, himself was a descendant of Anak. Josh. 11:22 tells us “There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.”
When Moses sent out twelve spies to spy out the land of Canaan ten of them came back saying in Num. 13:33:
“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
The children of Anak
The following are the only names we have for known Anakims – three sons of Anak. All we know about them is their name and that they were giants.
(8) Ahiman
(See Num. 13:22; Josh. 15:14; Judges 1:10)
(9) Sheshai, a son of Anak
(See Num. 13:22; Josh. 15:14; Judges 1:10)
(10) Talmai, son of Anak
His name means “ridge.” I would not be surprised if “mountain ridge’ is being alluded too as an exaggeration of the height of a would-be giant.
(See Num. 13:22; Josh. 15:14; Judges 1:10)
(11) Number 11?
Well, I did say “Top 10” but how could I leave out Arba, the father of Anak. “Top 11” is not as catchy as “Top 10.”
Arba, the father of Anak
Little is known about Arba except that he was the father of Anak who was the father of that giant race called the Anakim. (See Josh. 15:13; Josh. 21:11). Josh. 14:15 adds:
“And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims ….”
The Hebrew word for ‘great” here can also men “large” or “high.” This same word “great” was used to talk about Anakims as giants.
Deut. 2:10,21 “The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;
A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead.”
Deut. 9:2 “A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak!”
In conclusion, Samson, notwithstanding his great strength, had to have been a brave man to have been wandering around and sleeping around in Gath which was known for its giants. The tallest men today would have felt like grasshoppers like Israel next to these giants. Maybe we would feel like ants in front of giants." article from: The Top Ten Giants In The Bible
Giants in Literature
"Giants loom large in world mythology, frequently representing the most ominous of foes. Their huge size immediately evokes ideas of superhuman strength and formidable abilities, and yet in many legends the giant is in fact a tragic character, often suffering an incongruous death. The giants below are a weird and wonderful sample from folklore around the world.
1. ATLAS: THE GIANT WHO HOLDS UP THE SKY In Greek mythology, Atlas was one of the Titans who went to war against Zeus’s gods of Olympus. When the Titans lost, Zeus condemned Atlas to hold up the sky for all eternity. During the 12 labors of Heracles, one of his famous quests was to find the golden apples of Hesperides. Atlas offered to go and fetch the apples for Heracles if he would take his place holding up the sky. Atlas duly retrieved the apples and was about to take them to Eurystheus when Heracles asked if Atlas would mind just holding the sky again for a minute while he got comfortable. Of course, as soon as Atlas had re-shouldered his heavy burden, Heracles made off with the apples and continued with his tasks, leaving Atlas with his interminable duty.
Another legend involving Atlas featured the hero Perseus, who encountered Atlas in the northwest region of Africa. Atlas tried to scare Perseus away, and so Perseus took Medusa’s severed head from his bag. When Atlas saw the terrible Gorgon he turned to stone—becoming the Atlas mountain range..." from the article: 10 Mythical Giants From Around the World