Pastor Samuel Harris founder the Bible Queries site on which he posted the article How Tall Were the Giants in the Bible? Uncovering the Truth Behind Biblical Giants.
When it comes to, “the most intriguing and mysterious figures mentioned in the Bible, the giants immediately come to mind” and by the vague, generic, subjective, multi-usage and modern English word giants he means, “towering beings” which is also subjective so fortunately, the point of the article, as the title notes, is, “How tall were they, really?”
Now, since he continues by referencing Goliath and Nephilim we have to wonder about his usage of the key term and, straight away, he notes, “the term ‘giants’ is more than just a reference to physical size. The word often conjures up images of massive, towering figures, but in the context of the Bible, it can represent both literal and symbolic concepts.” Those are very important points. I can think of circa six meanings/definition and usages of the word and note that in the English Bibles which use the term, it never even once even hints at implying anything about height of any sort whatsoever: see my book Bible Encyclopedias and Dictionaries on Angels, Demons, Nephilim, and Giants: From 1851 to 2010.
Pastor Samuel Harris notes, “In biblical terms, the word ‘giants’ translates from several Hebrew words, most notably ‘Nephilim’ and ‘Rephaim.’” Technical notes: those aren’t translations but are renderings and it renders Nephilim in 2 verses or Repha/im in 98% of all others.
Now, when he goes on to say, “These terms are used to describe individuals or groups of people who were either of great physical stature or had significant power and influence. The most well-known of these are the Nephilim, mentioned in Genesis, and Goliath, who faced off against David” it’s tricky since we’ve no reliable physical description of Nephilim and Rephaim were just subjectively unusually tall on average (Deut 2)—and tall is just as vague, generic, subjective, multi-usage as giants, and massive, towering. And, they were tall subjective to the average Israelite male who was 5.0-5.3 ft. in those days.
See, the constant usage of the term giants keeps things too generic, people merely imagine to what they think it refers, people chase that English word around a Hebrew Bible and end up connecting dots that aren’t contextually connectable, and end up with fallacious tall-tales.
So, when Pastor Harris refers to, “literal giants” that’s either literally meaningless or merely tell us that he’s referring to literally being merely subjectively taller than average. Such is why a study such as he authored is important.
As for, “The Bible references giants in several places” the first up is, “The Nephilim (Genesis 6:4)” but that begs the question if by, “references giants” means references to subjectively unusually taller personages or to where that English word appears in the English Bibles which employ it.
Again, we’ve no reliable physical description of Nephilim and reading something about height into the word giants is a word-concept fallacy.
The next notable example he offers is, “Goliath (1 Samuel 17:4): Perhaps the most famous giant in the Bible…described as ‘six cubits and a span’” and importantly, “wasn’t just tall—he was a warrior.”
The last prime example is, “King Og of Bashan (Deuteronomy 3:11): Another giant” and yet, we’ve no physical description for him at all which is why Pastor Harris is forced to merely appeal to his bed, “a bed made of iron that measured over 13 feet long” about which he tells us, “This detail hints at his immense size and strength” but that is based on various mere assumptions. The bed was a ritual object, not something on which he slept—see my book The King, Og of Bashan, is Dead: The Man, the Myth, the Legend—of a Nephilim Giant?
So, if we’re fixating on height: that was only one example.
We’re then told about, “Cultural and Historical Context of Giants” regarding, “enormous beings” who might have, “symbolized something more than just physical size; they represented power, chaos, or the otherworldly. So, when the Bible mentions giants, it’s possible that these figures were intended to convey not just their literal size, but their symbolic importance as well.” Yet, again, when the English Bible mentions giants it never conveys anything about any size at all. And when the Hebrew Bible mentions what the English Bible has as giants it’s merely identifying people groups and not anything about height of any sort.
He then backs up to begin with that, “The term ‘Nephilim’ is often translated as ‘giants,’” which, again, isn’t a translation, “but it’s important to note that the exact meaning of the word is somewhat unclear” thought it’s generally agreed that it it’s the male plural of the root naphal which means fall/fallen/feller/to cause to fall, etc.
As for that, “Nephilim were either fallen angels or their offspring” they were offspring. As for, “with extraordinary physical…characteristics” again, we’ve no reliable indication of that. As Pastor Harris put it, “While Genesis doesn’t provide a specific height for the Nephilim, the reference to them as ‘heroes of old, men of renown’ implies they were both physically impressive and held a significant status in the ancient world. Their size and strength seem to have set them apart, creating an aura of awe and fear” which are presumptive arguments from silence: historically, many heroes of renown haven’t been taller than the subjective average.
We then go back to Goliath about which it’s refreshingly noted, “six cubits and a span…approximately 9 feet 9 inches tall…However, it’s worth noting that some ancient manuscripts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint” and I will add Flavius Josephus, “list Goliath’s height as four cubits and a span, which would be around 6 feet 9 inches” so that’s the preponderance of the earliest data since the taller option is from the Masoretic Text.
He then repeats his speculations about Og, “Og’s bed…suggests that Og himself must have been of enormous size” and admits, “although the exact height of Og is not specified in the text” well, not just the exact height but no height if provided.
He then comments on Anakim and does some vague writing at this point which is:
When the Israelite spies were sent to scout the land of Canaan, they reported:
We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them. (Numbers 13:33, NIV)
This passage doesn’t give an exact measurement but conveys the sheer size of these giants compared to the Israelites. The phrase “we seemed like grasshoppers” is likely hyperbolic, emphasizing the overwhelming presence and size of the Anakim.
It wasn’t, “the Israelite spies” in general, but the 10 unfaithful, disloyal, unreliable ones who “reported” an evil report and were rebuked by God: there’s literally zero reason to believe them—they also contradicted Caleb, Joshua, Moses, God, and the rest of the whole entire Bible—see my post Chapter sample: On the Post Flood Nephilim Proposal.
Since God didn’t fail, didn’t miss a loophole, the flood wasn’t much of a waste, etc., etc., etc., then it’s literally impossible that there were ever any post-flood Nephilim in any way, shape, or form.
Thus, it’s an unreliable tall-tale that they, “saw the Nephilim there” and an unreliable tall-tale that, “the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim” (which is missing from the LXX) and an unreliable very tall-tale that, “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” which is why we’ve no reliable physical description of them so their size is a non-issue.
So, when it comes to answering Pastor Samuel Harris’ question, “should we take these descriptions of height and size literally” the answer is that we’re only told two specific heights: Goliath’s along with the range issue and an Egyptian, 2 Sam 23.
We then get vague references such as Saul being head and shoulders taller than the subjective average.
And we get clearly metaphorical statement such as correlations to cedars (Amos 9 telling us that Amorites were big and strong), and the unreliable tall-tale about correlation to grasshoppers.
Biblically, subjectively unusual height is about a close to an utterly non-issue as one can get.
He notes, “historical and archaeological records from various cultures…Skeletal remains and historical accounts have documented people who were well over 7 feet tall…” but those are vague assertions and not citations: and I’m very well aware of them since I’ve written about such in books such as Nephilim and Giants: Believe It or Not!: Ancient and Neo-Theo-Sci-Fi Tall Tales.
As for, “Figurative Interpretation: Symbolism and Hyperbole” he examples, “Take, for example, the report of the [10 unreliable] Israelite spies in Numbers 13:33. The [10 unreliable] spies describe themselves as ‘grasshoppers’ in comparison to the Anakim. This language might be intended to convey their fear and sense of inadequacy rather than to provide a precise measurement of height. The giants, in this sense, could symbolize the enormous challenges that lay ahead for the Israelites in conquering the Promised Land.”
And what were those challenges? Well, contextually the unfaithful, disloyal, unreliable guys were clearly intimidated since as itinerate tent dwellers they were faced with confronting six strong people groups living in fortified and very large cities. This then led to them making up a fear-mongering, scare-tactic, “Don’t go in the woods…” style tall-tale.
Pastor Harris then has a section titled, “Scholarly Perspectives: Diverse Interpretations” and here we go again with my (pseudo) spam since I will say, see my book The Scholarly Academic Nephilim and Giants: What do Scholarly Academics Say About Nephilim Giants?
Then, when it comes to, “My Reflections on Literal vs. Figurative Interpretation” he does, “find value in both approaches. The literal interpretation” which yields virtually nothing and “The figurative interpretation” which leads to sermonizing about defeating the giants in your life type of stuff. But hey, that’s me.
The way he put it is, “Personally, I find value in both approaches. The literal interpretation highlights the physical reality of the challenges faced by God’s people, reminding us that sometimes, the obstacles we face are very real and tangible. The figurative interpretation, on the other hand, encourages us to look beyond the physical and consider the deeper spiritual truths that these stories convey.”
The article then basically re-repeats most of what I’ve covered—“Giants as Symbols of Opposition…Giants as Representations of Evil and Chaos”—so I will jump to, “the Flood wiping out the Nephilim” well, yeah so if we’re to accept the evil report: just how did they get past the flood, past God?
Well, that is left as one of those gigantic mysteries—since it’s un-biblical and all post-flood Nephilologists are forced, by definition, to make up fantasy tall-tales about how it happened all of which imply that God failed, that He missed a loophole, that the flood was much of a waste, etc., etc., etc.
He also makes some interesting points about, “Giants in Extrabiblical Literature and Mythology…Gilgamesh, the hero of the epic, is often described as a giant of immense strength and stature…Greek mythology is also replete with stories of giants, most notably the Gigantes, a race of giants born from Gaia (the Earth),” etc.
I do have a concern about going cross-cultural due to once we fixate on giants it’s too easy to water everything down—such as by referring to giants—in order to mash everything together. There’s also the sociological aspect upon which Pastor Samuel Harris touched that I will explain as that if you’re going to tell a tall-tale then well, you need someone who’s tall. If you’re going to write about your victories, you might as well claim you were victorious over giants. If you have to admit defeat then you might as well claim that, after all, you were defeated by giants.
He also has a section on, “Giants in Apocryphal and Pseudepigraphal Texts” so, here I go again, see my books The Apocryphal Nephilim and Giants: Encountering Nephilim and Giants in Extra-Biblical Textsand In Consideration of the Book(s) of Enoch plus my article How Nephilim Absconded from the Tanakh and Invaded Folkloric Territory.
1 Enoch is Bible contradicting folklore from centuries, if not millennia, after the Torah and has Nephilim having been MILES tall which is great folklore but poor reality—Pastor Harris has a, “300 cubits (about 450 feet!)” reading but it’s 3,000 ells.
Having written some dozen Nephilology books as well as hundreds of articles, may being reviews and discussions, I’ll call this one fair enough and only in need of some technical tweaks in terms of specifics and consistency.
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