The Mystery of Biblical Giants, From Goliath to the Nephilim| National Catholic Register

Are giants just legends? The Bible offers surprising insights into their existence and spiritual symbolism.

Fictional giants have appeared in popular entertainment for centuries, from old fairy tales to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. But many who are entertained by these unique creatures may be unaware that the Old Testament contains several mysterious references to “giants,” and serves as a source for the fictional stories.

Goliath

For many of us, the most famous giant from the Bible is Goliath. Goliath, who hailed from the city of Gath, was the Philistine fighter who was slain by the young David who would eventually become King of Israel.

In some Bible versions, Goliath is listed as being 6 cubits tall, which is about 9 feet. Writings recovered from the Dead Sea Scrolls listed Goliath’s height as only 4 cubits, which would have made him about 6 feet 9 inches tall. In the New American Bible (NAB), Goliath is specifically identified as being “6 and a half feet tall” (1 Samuel 17:4). Thus, as it turns out, while he certainly may have been large, the most famous giant in the Bible does not appear to have been gigantic (in the same way that most people have historically understood this term).

Anakim/Anakites

The first mention of the Anakim in the Bible appears in Genesis 6. A note in the NAB describes them as “tall aboriginals” whom the Israelites likened to the Nephilim (mentioned below).

Numbers 13:33 refers to them as “a race of giants.” Another note in this same chapter describes them in more detail as “an aboriginal race in southern Palestine, largely absorbed by the Canaanites before the Israelite invasion. Either because of their tall stature or because of the massive stone structures left by them the Israelites regarded them as giants.”

Numbers 13 also tells of twelve scouts who were sent by Moses to reconnoiter the land of Canaan. What they reported back was having observed huge men who were so large that they felt like “mere grasshoppers” compared to them (Numbers 13:33).

Rephaim

The word Rephaim is a Hebrew word for “giants.” According to the Bible, they were a people who were said to be tall, like the Anakim. They were known as the Emim by the Moabites (Deuteronomy 2:11) and the Zamzummim by the Ammonites (Deuteronomy 2:20). While their exact height is not certain, a strange passage from 2 Samuel 21:20 describes one of them as having “six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.” King Og of Bashan was the last of these “giants,” who was said to have slept in a bed that was 9 cubits in length (Deuteronomy 3:11), or possibly as much as 13 cubits long, according to other Bible translations.

Nephilim

The Nephilim, a term of uncertain meaning that is found in Genesis 6, may have been giants. In the NAB, Chapter 6 is entitled “Origin of the Nephilim,” but the passage does not go very far in explaining their origin or describing them with any degree of certainty. This group may perhaps be the most mysterious of all of the giants mentioned in the Bible. However, it should be noted that the NAB only makes use of the term “Nephilim,” and does not specifically label them as giants in the main Bible passages. Rather, their potential status as giants is only alluded to in several of the footnotes from Chapter 6.

Part of the mystery surrounding the Nephilim comes from the generic reference in Genesis 6:4, which called them “the heroes of old, the men of renown.” An NAB footnote goes on to suggest that the Nephilim may have been a “race of giants” whose “superhuman strength was attributed to semi-divine origin” and who were thought to have built huge megalithic structures in Palestine. Additional confusion results from the Bible’s description of them as appearing on the earth as a result of “sons of heaven” having intimate relations with the “daughters of men.”

While other Bible versions translate the word Nephilim as “giants,” it is entirely possible the name might merely have been a reference to the name of their tribe. Other scholars have translated the Nephilim as “tyrants” and believe that they were normal mortal men (albeit heroes) descended from famous rulers, outstanding leaders and mighty warriors who lived before the Flood.

Some scholars have suggested that the “sons of heaven” referenced in Genesis 6:2 and 6:4 may refer to something that is much less conventional, thereby making the Nephilim a bit more curious. Add to this the fact that their placement in the Bible comes immediately before the description of the Great Flood, and one is left with a lot of potential questions.

So who exactly were the Nephilim? The world may never know, making the origin of the Nephilim one of the great mysteries of the Bible.

So Do Giants Exist?

While references to giants are found throughout the pages of the Old Testament, there is no specific mention of giants occurring anywhere within the books and letters of the New Testament.

But there is one giant who appears in both the Old and New Testaments and can’t be overlooked. He’s a giant who is still with us today and is not only real, but towers above all others. 

His name? Jesus Christ — our Lord, savior and redeemer.

A giant indeed.