Of Nephilim, the Kirban Reference Bible notes:
They are: (1) “Giants in the earth.’—The Hebrew word is nephalim, which many trace to the root nephal, “to fall,” hence, “fallen ones; rebels, apostates” (Gesenius).
In Numbers 13:33 nephalim is used twice, both times referring to the “giants” of Canaan, who were much larger physically than the Hebrews. Are these “giants” or “fallen ones” (a) huge animals, such as the dinosaurs; or (b) large, perhaps Neanderthal-like humans who were the product of a sinful cohabitation of fallen angels. and humans; or (c) very large people, such as Goliath of Gath and the “giants” of Canaan mentioned in Numbers 13:33?
It’s odd that it takes the “evil report” by 10 unreliable guys whom God rebuked recorded in Num 13:32-33 as if it’s factual. Within the tall-tale, “nephalim is used twice, both times referring to the” Nephilim.
My standard key questions are:
What’s the usage of the vague, generic, subjective, multi-usage and modern English word “giants” in English Bibles?
What’s your usage of the vague, generic, subjective, multi-usage and modern English word “giants”?
Well, the last answer is, “No” since Kirban’s usage is something subjective about “much larger physically”—and much and larger and very and large are just as vague, generic, subjective, and multi-usage as giants. In this case, it’s subjective to the average Israelite male who was 5.0-5.3 ft. in those days.
It doesn’t agree with the English Bibles which employ it since therein, it merely renders (doesn’t even translate) Nephilim in 2 verses or Repha/im in 98% of all others and so never even hints at anything to do with any sort of height whatsoever.
As for Nephilim, it’s literally impossible that they saw Nephilim since that was centuries post-flood and, of course, Nephilim didn’t make it past the flood in any way, shape, or form. That may be why Kirban noted something as generic as that, “nephalim is used twice, both times referring to the ‘giants’ of Canaan”—whatever that means—just in case, see my article Were “all the people” in Cannan “of great height”?
The 10 unreliable rebuked guys referred to seven people groups: not to “huge animals” and there’s zero indication that “the product of a sinful cohabitation of fallen angels. and humans” were “large, perhaps Neanderthal-like.”
As for, “very large people, such as Goliath” well, the Masoretic text has him at just shy of 10 ft. Yet, the earlier LXX and the earlier Dead Sea Scrolls and the earlier Flavius Josephus all have him at just shy of 7 ft. (compared to the average Israelite male who was 5.0-5.3 ft. in those days) so that’s the preponderance of the earliest data.
Once it gets to it, Kirban notes, “It was the majority (10 leaders) who did not want to possess the Promised Land because of the giants. It was the minority (2 leaders) who urged the march into the land knowing God would lead and protect.” Indeed, that shows that an argumentum ad populum can fail. And biblically contextually, the majority/10 did not want to possess the land because they were unfaithful and disloyal (as well as contradictory and embellishers) but also because the six people groups reliably mentioned in Num 13 were stronger than the Israelites and so they made up a fear-mongering scare-tactic tall-tale.
When it comes to Deut 2, the notes are, “…accounted giants, as the An’-a-kims; but the Moabites call them E’-mim…That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt there…” But what the Bible is actually recording is, “…accounted [Rephaim], as the An’-a-kims; but the Moabites call them E’-mim…That also was accounted a land of [Rephaim]: [Rephaim] dwelt there…”
Likewise with, “Og was an Amorite king of Bashan. He was a giant. The people of Israel had a fear of giants” it may be less exciting but that reads “Og was an Amorite king of Bashan. He was a [Repha]. The people of Israel had a fear of [Rephaim—et al.].”
It’s odder still to merely assert something about “much larger…very large” about Og since we’ve no physical description of him—see my book The King, Og of Bashan, is Dead: The Man, the Myth, the Legend—of a Nephilim Giant?
We’re also told, “Joshua…killed all the giants, descendants of Anak” which refers to Anakim who were a clan of the Rephaim tribe so what we’re told were, “giants” should read Rephaim or Ankaim.
It’s also telling that even within the notes of this Bible the vague, generic, subjective, and multi-usage nature of the modern English word “giants” is exampled when it notes, “Caleb had a giant faith that enabled him to expel giants (14:15)” so that even within one sentence one usage if symbolic and one is something generic about subjectively unusual height.”
Moreover, “Og…remained of the remnant of the giants [Rephaim]…the valley of the giants [Rephaim]…unnamed giants [Rephaim] mentioned in 2 Samuel 21:16-22…giants [Rephaim] were destroyed by Moses…seem all to have been from one line of Canaanite genetic giants [Rephaim]…the land of the Pé-riz’-zites and of the giants [Rephaim],” etc., etc., etc. (etc., etc., etc. [etc., etc., etc.]).
We’re then told, “Eight giants are mentioned in the Bible: Nephilim (Genesis 6:4), Rephaim and Emim (Genesis 14:5), Anakim (Numbers 13:28-33), Zamzummim (Deuteronomy 2:20), Og (Deuteronomy 3:11,13).”
This, either on purpose or accidentally (due to lack of discernment) is a plumped up list since We’re then told, “Eight giants are mentioned in the Bible: Emim, Anakim, Zamzummim, Og are all Rephaim. Emim and Anakim were Rephaim clans, Zamzummim (aka Zuzim) is just an aka for Rephaim and Og was a Repha. That leaves Nephilim and they were strictly pre-flood hybrids, Rephaim were strictly post-flood humans, and there’s zero correlation between them.
We even get an obligatory sermonizing, “How To Win Over Giants In Your Life!…What are the giants in your life? A broken home? A troubled marriage? catastrophic illness? A fear of living? A fear of dying? Are these your giants?”
Nave’s Study Bible falls into the same linguistic vagueness starting with quoting Gen 6 as, “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…”
A note has it that, “Descendants of Canaan, Were giants, Amos 2:9” which says, “the Amorite…whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.” He was clearly just saying they were big and strong and not implying conducting a one-to-one ratio based mathematical calculation. In fact, people who do measure cedars and claim Amorites were that tall never get around to a calculation correlating the strength of oaks—since they’re only interested in tall-tales. Plus, if they take it that incoherently literal then they have to conclude that Amorites had fruits and roots growing right out of their bodies.
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