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GIANTS
ji'-ants The word appears in the King James Version as the translation
of the Hebrew words nephilim (
Gen 6:4; Num 13:33
); repha'im (
Deut 2:11,20; 3:11,13; Jos 12:4
, etc.); rapha' (
1Chron 20:4,6,8
), or raphah (
2Sam 21:16, 18, 20, 22
); in one instance of gibbor, literally, "mighty one" (
Job 16:14
).
In the first two cases the Revised Version (British and American)
changes "giants" into the Hebrew words "Nephilim,"
nephilim, and "Rephaim," repha'im, respectively. The "Nephilim
of
Gen 6:4
are not to be confounded with the "mighty men" subsequently
described as the offspring of the unlawful marriages, of "the sons
of God" and "the daughters of men." It is told that they
overspread the earth prior to these unhallowed unions. That the word,
whatever its etymology, bears the sense of men of immense stature is
evident from the later passages;
Num 13:33
. The same is true of the "Rephaim," as shown by the instance
of Og (
Deut 3:11; Jos 12:4
). There is no doubt about the meaning of the word in the ease of the
giants mentioned in
2Sam 21
and
1Chron 20
.
When did Giants live?
Anthropologists have found evidence of humanoid giants existing into the
far distant past, over 1 million years ago (see Gigantopithecus). Since
then it is possible that numerous civilizations, troupes and tribes of
human and human-like giants lived and perished across planet earth.
Those mentioned in the Bible, Nephilim, Emim and Anakim, may have been a
tiny element of a once expansive human giant civilization, especially
before the Great Flood of the Bible, and other sources.
Giants (1.) Heb. nephilim , meaning
"violent" or "causing to fall" (Gen
6:4). These were the violent tyrants of those days, those who fell
upon others. The word may also be derived from a root signifying
"wonder," and hence "monsters" or
"prodigies." In Num
13:33 this name is given to a Canaanitish tribe, a race of large
stature, "the sons of Anak." The Revised Version, in these
passages, simply transliterates the original, and reads "Nephilim."
(2.) Heb. rephaim , a race of giants (Deu
3:11) who lived on the east of Jordan, from whom was descended. They
were probably the original inhabitants of the land before the
immigration of the Canaanites. They were conquered by Chedorlaomer (Gen
14:5), and their territories were promised as a possession to
Abraham (Gen
15:20). The Anakim, Zuzim, and Emim were branches of this stock. In Job
26:5 (R.V., "they that are deceased;" marg., "the
shades," the "Rephaim") and Isa
14:9 this Hebrew word is rendered (A.V.) "dead." It means
here "the shades," the departed spirits in Sheol. In Sam2
21:16, Sam2
21:18, Sam2
21:20, 33, "the giant" is (A.V.) the rendering of the
singular form ha raphah, which may possibly be the name of the father of
the four giants referred to here, or of the founder of the Rephaim. The
Vulgate here reads "Arapha," whence Milton (in Samson
Agonistes) has borrowed the name "Harapha." (See also Ch1
20:5, Ch1
20:6, Ch1
20:8; Deu
2:11, Deu
2:20; Deu
3:13; Jos
15:8, etc., where the word is similarly rendered "giant.")
It is rendered "dead" in (A.V.) Psa
88:10; Pro
2:18; Pro
9:18; Pro
21:16 : in all these places the Revised Version marg. has "the
shades." (See also Isa
26:14.) (3.) Heb. 'Anakim (Deu
2:10, Deu
2:11, Deu
2:21; Jos
11:21, Jos
11:22; Jos
14:12, Jos
14:15; called "sons of Anak," Num
13:33; "children of Anak," Num
13:22; Jos
15:14), a nomad race of giants descended from Arba (Jos
14:15), the father of Anak, that dwelt in the south of Palestine
near Hebron (Gen
23:2; Jos
15:13). They were a Cushite tribe of the same race as the
Philistines and the Egyptian shepherd kings. David on several occasions
encountered them (Sam2
21:15). From this race sprung Goliath (Sa1
17:4). (4.) Heb. 'emin , a warlike tribe of the ancient Canaanites.
They were "great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims" (Gen
14:5; Deu
2:10, Deu
2:11). (5.) Heb. Zamzummim (q.v.), Deu
2:20 so called by the Amorites. (6.) Heb. gibbor (Job
16:14), a mighty one, i.e., a champion or hero. In its plural form (gibborim)
it is rendered "mighty men" (2 Sam. 23:8-39; Kg1
1:8; 1 Chr. 11:9-47; Ch1
29:24.) The band of six hundred whom David gathered around him when
he was a fugitive were so designated. They were divided into three
divisions of two hundred each, and thirty divisions of twenty each. The
captains of the thirty divisions were called "the thirty," the
captains of the two hundred "the three," and the captain over
the whole was called "chief among the captains" (Sam2
23:8). The sons born of the marriages mentioned in Gen
6:4 are also called by this Hebrew name.
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| Rephaim, or Giants:
There Were Giants in
the Earth in Those Days
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the
earth, and daughters were born unto them,
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and
they took them wives of all which they chose.
And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for
that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty
years.
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that,
when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare
children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of
renown.
-- Genesis 6: 1-4 (KJV)
The phrase 'and also afterwards' is a later addition in an attempt
to harmonize the Genesis account with the book of Numbers and Samuel,
for reasons which will become obvious. These giants appear to be an
ancient Hebrew equivalent to the Greek myth of Hercules or Cyclops.
Shortly thereafter everyone on earth, including all the giants, called
Nephilim, perish in the flood, with the exception of Noah and his
family.
"And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, birds, cattle,
beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm upon the earth, and every
man; everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of
life died. He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of
the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the air;
they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those
that were with him in the ark." (Genesis
Chapter 7 verse 21)
Since Noah was of a stock of smaller people, most of his
descendants were of his stature. However, some of the genes to produce
giants survived through the wife of Ham, one of Noah's sons.
Therefore, a number of the sons of Canaan (one of Ham's sons) were
giants (Numbers
13:1-2, 32-33). In Deuteronomy
2:19-21, Moses records that God destroyed the giants who dwelt in
Ammon so that the children of Lot could possess the land. Those
giants—who apparently descended from Canaan through a man named Anak—eventually
became extinct. King Og of Bashan was the last of them to inhabit
Palestine east of Jordan (Deuteronomy
3:11).
- Subdued by Chedorlaomer
(Genesis
14:5)
Genesis 14
5 In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings
allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth
Karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh Kiriathaim 6
and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as El Paran near
the desert. 7 Then they turned back and went to En
Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of
the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who were living in Hazazon
Tamar. The
War of Sodom and Gomorrah
"In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were
with him came and subdued the Rephaim" (Genesis 14:5 RSV)
Emim
The Emim were a warrior tribe of giants who were defeated by
Chedorlaomer and his allies. Around the time of Abraham,
they lived east of the Jordan.
"In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were
with him came and subdued the Rephaim in Ashterothkarnaim, the
Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shavehkiriathaim" (Genesis 14:5
RSV)
-
Anakim
The Anakim lived in the south, near Hebron. They were defeated by
the Israelites under Joshua.
Joshua 11
6 The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, because
by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain.
You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots."
7 So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly
at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, 8 and the LORD
gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued
them all the way to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth Maim, and to the
Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left. 9
Joshua did to them as the LORD had directed: He hamstrung their
horses and burned their chariots.
10 At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and
put its king to the sword. (Hazor had been the head of all these
kingdoms.) 11 Everyone in it they put to the sword. They
totally destroyed [2]
them, not sparing anything that breathed, and he burned up Hazor
itself.
"And Joshua came at that time, and wiped out the Anakim
from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and
from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country
of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities."
(Joshua 11:21 RSV)
21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the
Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir and Anab, from
all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of
Israel. Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns.
The
Lord tells Joshua to Kill the Enemy
Joshua.12:4
"And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which was of the remnant
of the giants."
1 These are the kings of the land whom the
Israelites had defeated and whose territory they took over east of
the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon, including all
the eastern side of the Arabah:
2 Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.
He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge-from the middle
of the gorge-to the Jabbok River, which is the border of the
Ammonites. This included half of Gilead. 3 He also
ruled over the eastern Arabah from the Sea of Kinnereth [1]
to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea [2]
), to Beth Jeshimoth, and then southward below the slopes of
Pisgah.
4 And the territory of Og king of Bashan, one of the
last of the Rephaites, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. 5
He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all of Bashan to the border
of the people of Geshur and Maacah, and half of Gilead to the
border of Sihon king of Heshbon.
6 Moses, the servant of the LORD , and the Israelites
conquered them. And Moses the servant of the LORD gave their land
to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh to
be their possession.
7 These are the kings of the land that Joshua and the
Israelites conquered on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal Gad
in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir
(their lands Joshua gave as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel
according to their tribal divisions- 8 the hill
country, the western foothills, the Arabah, the mountain slopes,
the desert and the Negev-the lands of the Hittites, Amorites,
Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites):
The
Battles of Moses and Joshua
Og the king of Bashan had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and had
survived as one of the last of the Rephaites. Moses had defeated
them and taken over their land. 13 But the Israelites did
not drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah, so they continue to
live among the Israelites to this day.
(Joshua
13:12)
The
Land that was given by the Lord to the Israelites
- THE VALLEY OF THE GIANTS - Joshuah's
allotment
- A border of Judah
(Joshua
15:8)
- Then it ran up the Valley of Ben Hinnom along the southern
slope of the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem). From there it
climbed to the top of the hill west of the Hinnom Valley at the
northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. 9 From the
hilltop the boundary headed toward the spring of the waters of
Nephtoah, came out at the towns of Mount Ephron and went down
toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath Jearim).
Dwelt in Canaan - Manneseh's
Allotment
(Joshua
17:15)
(Said to Joseph) 15 "If you are
so numerous," Joshua answered, "and if the hill country of
Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land
for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites."
- Jos.18:16
"The valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the
valley of the giants."
16 The boundary went down to the foot of the hill
facing the Valley of Ben Hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim.
It continued down the Hinnom Valley along the southern slope of
the Jebusite city and so to En Rogel.
(Isaiah
17:5)
It will be as when a reaper gathers the standing grain and
harvests the grain with his arm-
as when a man gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.
David &
Goliath: 1 Sam.17:4 "Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six
cubits and a span....."
4 A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of
the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet [1]
tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of
scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels [2]
; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin
was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver's
rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. [3]
His shield bearer went ahead of him.
- The last of, destroyed by David and his warriors
(1
Samuel 17:4,49,50; 2 Samuel 21:15-22)
- 48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David
ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49
Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck
the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead,
and he fell facedown on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling
and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the
Philistine and killed him.
"And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion
named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span [i.e.
about 9 feet / 3 meters]. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he
was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five
thousand shekels [i.e. about 125 pounds / 57 kilograms] of bronze. And
he had greaves of bronze upon his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung
between his shoulders. And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's
beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels [i.e. about 15
pounds / 7 kilograms] of iron; and his shield-bearer went before
him." (1 Samuel 17:4-7 RSV) (see David
And Goliath)
The biblical giant Goliath of Gath (or "the Gittite"), whom
the teenage David killed with a sling stone (I Samuel 17). Goliath's
brother and sons were also men of great stature, and the Bible
explicitly mentions that David and his men killed them all (II
Samuel 21:15-22; I
Chronicles 20:4-8).
Both before and after the Flood, God was directly involved in the
destruction of those giant men. The reason for their destruction is not
stated directly, but like Goliath, those men seemed always to be in
opposition to God and to His people Israel.
- David obtained victories over the Philistines in
(2
Samuel 5:18,25)
18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the
Valley of Rephaim; 19 so David inquired of the LORD ,
"Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them
over to me?"
The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will surely hand the
Philistines over to you."
20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he
defeated them. He said, "As waters break out, the LORD has
broken out against my enemies before me." So that place was
called Baal Perazim. [4]
21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and
David and his men carried them off.
22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out
in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the
LORD , and he answered, "Do not go straight up, but circle
around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.
24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the
tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean
the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine
army." 25 So David did as the LORD commanded
him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon [5]
to Gezer.
Nephilim
Although their origin has been interpreted various ways, the Nephilim
existed very early in human history. Independent Egyptian records of
about 2000 BC also record their existence.
"The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also
afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and
they bore children to them. These were the mighty men that were of
old, the men of renown." (Genesis 6:4 RSV)
"‘And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come
from the Nephilim); and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and
so we seemed to them.' Then all the congregation raised a loud cry;
and the people wept that night." (Numbers
Chapter 13 verse 33)
SEE: NEPHILIM
Rephaim
The Rephaim occupied the land prior to the Canaanites, but were
eventually defeated. The Anakim, Zuzim, and Emim people were related.
"The Emim formerly lived there, a people great and many, and
tall as the Anakim." (Deuteronomy 2:10 RSV)
Dt.2:10-11
"The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many,
and tall, as the Anakims; Which also were accounted giants."
Dt.2:20-21
"That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in
old time.... A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the
LORD destroyed them."
"For only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the
Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in
Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits [i.e. about 13 feet / 4 meters] was
its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the common
cubit." (Deuteronomy 3:11 RSV)
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Giant (mythology)
Giants are humanoid creatures of prodigious size
and strength, a type of legendary
monster
that appear in the tales of many different races
and cultures.
They are often stupid or violent and are frequently said to eat
humans, especially children; others, however, like Oscar
Wilde's giants, are intelligent and friendly.
The Cyclopes
of Homer's
Odyssey
were giants, as was Goliath
who strove with King David
in the Bible.
The Bible also records a race of giants called "Nephilim".
Genesis
states that "There were giants in the earth in those days; and
also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of
men and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men who
were of old, men of renown." (Gen. 6:4 KJV);
here "giants" is a translation of the Hebrew "Nephilim".
Post-biblical tradition holds that Nimrod
was a member of this race.
In Germanic
mythologies (see Norse
mythology), giants (Jotuns)
are often opposed to the gods. In particular, the Wodin/Odin-derived
mythologies of Northern Europe feature frost giants, who are
eternally opposed to the Aesir.
The Aesir themselves emerged from the race of giants, and in the
eventual, apocalyptic battle of Ragnarok
the frost giants will storm Asgard,
home of the gods, and defeat the gods in war, bringing about the end
of the world. In the mature form of this mythology recorded in the Edda
poetry and prose, giants inter-marry with the gods and are the origin
of most of the monsters in Nordic mythology (e.g., the Fenris
Wolf), so relations between the Aesir and the giants are sometimes
cordial and sometimes adversarial.
Tales of combat with giants were a common feature in the folklore
of Wales
and Ireland.
From here, giants got into Breton
and Arthurian
romances, and from this source they spread into the heroic tales of Torquato
Tasso, Ludovico
Ariosto, and their follower Edmund
Spenser. The giant Despair appears in John
Bunyan's Pilgrim's
Progress. Norse
and Anglo-Saxon
mythology are also rich in tales of giants, which seem there to be
a separate race akin to the gods,
and strove often with Thor.
Ogres and
trolls
are giant-like humanoid creatures that occur in various sorts of European
folklore.
In Basque
mythology, giants appear as jentilak (Gentiles)
and mairuak (Moors).
They are who made dolmens
and menhirs.
After Christianization,
the giants were driven away. The only remaining one is Olentzero,
a coalmaker
that brings gifts on Christmas
Eve.
Giants figure in a great many fairy tales and folklore stories,
such as Jack
and the Beanstalk and Paul
Bunyan.
[
Examples of giants
Origin of the belief in giants
It is possible that tales of giants derive from the remains of
previous civilizations. Saxo
Grammaticus, for example, argues that giants had to exist, because
nothing else would explain the large walls, stone monuments, and
statues that we know were the remains of Roman
construction. Similarly, the Anglo-Saxon "Seafarer"
speaks of the high stone walls that were the work of giants. Giants
provided the least complicated explanation for such artifacts.
Cyclopes may be originated in antique
elephant skulls found in Sicily.
If one does not know what an elephant looks like, the place where the
trunk is placed on the skull can be mistaken for a giant eyesocket.
"Giant" is also colloquially used for a human who is
unusually tall, or afflicted with one of the several forms of gigantism.
Gigantes
y cabezudos ("Giants and big-heads") are figures
from street processions at Spanish fiestas.
See also
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| Gigantopithecus and Meganthropus are names given to giant
hominids found by paleontologists, but since they don't fit too well in
the imaginary evolutionary chain, they don't get much attention.
Meganthropus is the giant Java man who inhabited Southeast Asia over a
million years ago. He stood12 feet tall and weighed several hundred
pounds. Java man was found with stone implements consisting of hand
axes, clubs, pounders, adzes, knives, and other tools often ranging in
weight from 8 to 36 lbs or more. Artifacts, identical to those used by
Meganthropus, have been found in Australia. Gigantopithecus is often
suspected of being the elusive Bigfoot or Yeti.
There are a number of skeletons, skulls, and footprints of giants as
tall as 30 feet. They appear in almost every culture's folklore and
legend, most of them the "big bully" variety, and a hero
dispatches almost all. Theories about the builders of pyramids, stone
circles, and other monolithic examples of ancient construction find
giants as a possible answer. Big blocks mean big builders.
Icon of St.
Chistopher (249-251). Church of St. George Cegelkoy.
Tradition relates that the saint came from a country of cannibals and
that his face was disfigured. When he became a Christian, he was
martyred for his faith. Jacques de Voragine, in The Golden Legend, wrote
of St. Christopher: "He was of gigantic stature, had a terrifying
mien, was twelve coudees tall.” A coudee is equal to or larger than
the English foot. According to this ancient account, St. Christopher
stood from 12 to 18 feet tall, a fact that was erased from church
history.
St. Christopher was a member of the north African tribe of the
Marmaritae. He was captured by Roman forces during the emperor
Diocletian's campaign against the Marmaritae in late 301/early 302 and
was transported for service in a Roman garrison in or near Antioch in
Syria. He was baptised by the refugee bishop Peter of Alexandria and was
martyred on 9 July 308. Bishop Peter arranged for the transport of his
remains back to Marmarica in 311. He is really identifiable with the
Egyptian martyr known as St. Menas. In so far as the author of the lost,
original acts of St. Christopher seems both to have been based at
Antioch and to have wanted to encourage missionary activity, he is
probably identifiable if not as bishop Theophilus the Indian himself,
present at Antioch c.351-54, then as one of his circle.
The Greek tradition came to interpret this passage absolutely
literally, and this is why Byzantine icons often depicted St.
Christopher with a dog's head. In time, of course, this led to a
reaction against St. Christopher. The Latin tradition developed along
different lines, however, since early Latin translations did not always
render a literal translation of the original Greek term
"dog-headed" (kunokephalos), and some seem to have
translated it as "dog-like" (canineus). This was
amended to read "Canaanite" (Cananeus) as time
progressed since it was obvious that he could not really have been
"dog-like".7 It is
important at this point to emphasize that the description of Christopher
as from the land of the dog-headed has absolutely nothing to do with the
Egyptian cult of the jackal-headed god Anubis.8
The real explanation is rather more prosaic. In brief, the civilised
inhabitants of the Greco-Roman world had long been accustomed to
describe those who lived on the edge of their world and beyond as the
strange inhabitants of stranger lands, cannibals, dog-headed peoples and
worse.9 So when the author
of the original account of the martyrdom of St. Christopher described
his origin from the land of cannibals and dog-headed peoples he was
merely signifying that he came from the edge of the civilised world as
the inhabitants of the Roman empire saw it, and the Marmaritae did
indeed inhabit such a peripheral region.10
He was not to realize that later generations would misinterpret this
common cultural metaphor in an entirely literal fashion.
FROM: http://www.ucc.ie/milmart/chrsorig.html
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