GIANTS - THE NEPHILIM - IITB 03.04

 

Chapter 3.4

Giants

The Nephilim, The Sons of God

Goliath, Emims, Zamzummims,

Anakites, Sabeans and Rephaims

 

 

First Word

     We all bring BS baggage, a Belief System of things we already embrace or reject into a discussion of Bible topics; sometimes our mind is changed and sometimes we are just left confused.  To talk about Giants, we first should explore where they came from.  According to scripture; some Angels rebelled and left their assigned habitations and came to earth. 

     NOTE: Whenever angels are seen on earth, they are always seen in the form of a man.

 

Nephilim

     Nephilim; Wikipedia; The majority of ancient biblical versions, including the Septuagint, Theodotion, Latin Vulgate, Samaritan Targum, Targum Onkelos and Targum Neofiti interpret the word to mean "GIANTS".   Symmachus translates it as "the violent ones" and Aquila's translation has been interpreted to mean either "the fallen ones" or "the ones falling (upon their enemies.)"

     Scripture clearly states that some angels left their own habitations.[1]  “When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them”.[2]   This is a special passage when you realize that daughters of men had always been born to them; it seems at some point, a desire was awakened in the “sons of God” and they took “whoever they chose” to marry with no emphasis on character, but only on beauty, probably marring more than one.  

     These “Fallen” Devine beings had sexual intercourse with the earthly women resulting in a hybrid of GIANTS or Nephilim.   There is no marriage in heaven and since Devine beings are immortal there is therefore no need to propagate; to replenish or repopulate as mortals must do on earth.[3]

 

Side Bar

     I would be amiss if I didn’t acknowledge a difference of opinion on the sons of God; the Nephilim.  The sons of Adam, the Sethites and the Kenites were going in two opposite directions, specifically in moral and character distinctions as well as keeping diversely apart physically.

     Some students of the Book hold that the Godly line of Seth were actually “the sons of God” and were said to have disobeyed God, by “coming down” from the mountains and breeding with the wicked Kenites thereby producing giants; they conclude that there were not any fallen angels at all, only disobedient men.

     Some students of the Book believe that the flood of Noah wiped out ALL of the Giants in the land, and the “bad report” that was brought back by the Israelite spies was actually a “False Report” as they had not actually seen giants in the land, but were just afraid.[4] I hope to change their BS as we unpack the Nephilim.

Giants

     Nephilim were a people that existed before the flood of Noah and according to what I read existed after the flood also; so the Nephilim came down at least twice.  I know this is reaching, but in the Apocrypha, the Book of Jubilees 7:21–25 states that ridding the Earth of these Nephilim was one of God's purposes for flooding the Earth in Noah's time.  The Apocrypha describe the Nephilim as being evil giants.

     Giants terrorized the Israelites from the time they entered into Canaan until the time of David. The fearsome race of Rephaims; the Emims, Zamzummims, Anakites, Sabeans,[5] and some Philistines were of great physical statue, large framed and abnormally powerful.  King Og, the last of the giant Rephaites, bed was eight feet wide and thirteen feet long.[6]

     There were more giants than you think; scripture says a Philistine Giant named Ishbi-Benob was hell bent on killing David with his new sword, but David was saved by one of his men.[7]

 

Goliath

     Goliath is never described as a “Giant”, but as a “Champion” that was nine feet tall.   He is thought to have been a descendent of the Rephaims, a race of Giants which had been scattered by the Ammonites and then took refuge among the Philistines.[8]

     If you remember the story of how David slew Goliath with his sling shot, you may very well remember that he reached down into the brook and picked up five smooth stones.  One to kill Goliath and four more for his brothers if they messed with him.

     Goliath was over nine feet tall[9] and had four brothers; Ish-benob, Saph, Lahmi, and another un-named brother that had six fingers and six toes.[10]  At some point, David and his boys “took them all out”.   No archaeological skeleton remains have ever been found of these giants.   They were “totally” decimated. (Some student of the Word say they never existed)

 

What If

     Sometimes my BS begins to wonder about; when God placed a mark on Cain[11] that he made him thirteen feet tall; a giant, so no one would try to kill him.  Thirteen is the Biblical number for Sin, Rebellion and Depravity.  It was about this time that scripture starts talking about Giants.

Just fun thoughts

 

The Flood

     It was after the actions of the Nephilim that the earth became corrupt.   The very next verse says that God was grieved at man’s great wickedness and wanted to start over.[12]  The Nephilim were the prelude to the “Flood of Noah”.  It was at this time God prepared to destroy the earth by flood of water and start over.

     Only nine LIVING people were counted righteous as Methuselah had died just before the flood and Enoch was translated and saved just before the flood, leaving just eight living people; Noah, his wife, their three sons and their three wives to be saved in the Ark.

     A little FUN TRIVIA; Interestingly Methuselah was the oldest man in the Bible, but died before his father did; how could that be?   Well, his father was Enoch who did not die, but was taken ALIVE to heaven.[13]   A day is like a thousand years to the Lord;[14] so Methuselah lived 969 years, almost one day of the Lord[15] and Adam and Eve also died before one of God’s days ended, just like God said they would.  “The day that you eat thereof you shall surely die”.[16]   No man has ever lived longer than one “day of the Lord”.  SELAH

 

The Take Away

     In my spirit I want to embrace the scriptures at its face value; in the simplest of terms; which is to say, what it says is what it is.   Another part of me fully understands the Greek mythology that embraces the Gods and Humans cohabitating, which I strongly reject.

     I want to buy into the concept of the Godly line of Seth inter-marring with the wicked line of Cain, but this does not account for the GIANTS.  Therefore with my BS, I must embrace the scripture as it is written… fallen Angel’s cohabitated with the Women of Earth.

     It is unclear to me if the “Nephilim” were the “sons of God” that came down or the product of their union with the women; their children, the Giants.

     Scripture supports that Angels appear on earth and have direct contact with men and even eat food with them.  They are mentioned in the OT 108 times and in the NT 165 times, that’s 273 times. 

This is a hard one, with students on both sides of the argument.  Which side did you take?



[1] Jude 6 – Some angels left their own habitation. -- Job 1:6 – Satan and the Sons of God present themselves in the Heavenly Council of God -- Genesis 6:4 – The Sons of God had sex with the women of the earth

[2] Genesis 6:1-2 – Nephilim known as “The sons of God” saw the daughter of man were beautiful --

[3] Mark 12:25 – There is no marriage in Heaven

[4] Numbers 13: 31-33 – After the flood of Noah, the Spies saw Giants

 

[5] Isaiah 45:14 – Giants called Sabeans -- Deuteronomy 9:2 – Giants called Anakites -- Deuteronomy 2:10-11 – Giants called Emims -- Deuteronomy 2:20-21 – Giants called Zamzummims -- Joshua 18:16 – The Valley of the Giants; The Rephaims

[6] Deuteronomy 3:11 – Giants called Rephaites; King Og’s Bed was  13 feet long

[7] 2 Samuel 21:16-17 – A giant named Ishbi-Benob wanted to kill David

[8] Deuteronomy 2:21 – The Rephaims were as tall as the Anakites -- Deuteronomy 2:20-21 The giant Rephaims were driven out of their land

[9]  1 Samuel 17:4 – The Champion Goliath was over nine feet tall

[10] 2 Samuel 21:22 – Goliath had four brothers -- 2 Samuel 21:16 – Goliath’s #1 brother Ishbi-benob -- 2 Samuel 21:18 – Goliath’s #2 brother Saph -- 2 Samuel 21:19 – Goliath’s #3 brother -- 1 Chronicles 20:5 – Goliath’s #3 brother name was Lahmi -- 2 Samuel 21:20 – Goliath’s #4 brother with 6 fingers and toes -- 1 Chronicles 20:6 – Giant had six fingers and six toes

[11] Genesis 4:15 – Cain gets mark… Maybe he got stretched

[12] Genesis 6:5-7 – God was grieved at the wickedness and evil of man

 

[13] Genesis 5:23-24 – Methuselah’s father Enoch didn’t die; he was translated

[14] 2 Peter 3:8 – A day is like a thousand years to God.

[15] Genesis 5:27 – Methuselah lived 969 years; just short of one of God’s days.

[16] Genesis 2:17 – The day that you eat of the tree you will die

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