The bible tells of a time when giants lived among men. In Genesis 6:4, we find that there was a time when the “sons of God” slept with the “daughters of men”. This union between flesh and holy, spiritual beings bore offsprings described as “mighty men which were of old, men of renown”. Why are they men of renown? Because they were of enormous height, “giants in the earth.” And how big are they?
In Amos 2:9, we find that these giants were of the height as the cedars of Lebanon[1] and as “strong as an oak”. (What the prophet was trying to describe was the height of the inhabitants of heaven, which, in the bible was described as “cedars of Lebanon”. What is meant by `strong as an oak’? It means that these giants were hard to kill. They cannot be smitten) They probably have an average height of “six cubits [2]and a span”, which in 1 Samuel 17:4 was written as the height of Goliath, a Philistine from
Armaments
Anakims were warriors of old. As warriors, they were equipped with sophisticated weaponry of the time such as a sword, a shield and a spear or staff. (1 Samuel 17:45). The sword probably was the choice weapon, for in battle at the
And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. (2 Samuel 21:19)
The common weight of these spears could be between 300-400 shekels of brass. (2 Samuel 21:16). No other reference can be found in the bible about their physical attributes, except that they have six toes in each foot and six fingers in each hand. (1 Chro. 20:6). Probably, they looked human, but with this anomaly in their hands and feet.
These gigantuan beings caused havoc and violence on the earth, leading God to decide to annihilate all flesh. In the Great flood, these anakins were destroyed along with all flesh (Gen. 7:12). But were they?
Giants after the flood
The Giants at the wilderness of Paran
Moses and the Israelites encountered the Amalekites, a people of giants in the wilderness of Paran. After getting out of
These sons of anak were of three kinds. The first kind of giants called themselves Amorites (Deut 1:28). In Amos 2:9, we find a reference to the Amorites where it was said that they have a height “like the height of the cedars and he was as strong as a oak”, referring of course to the Amorites as giants. Before the occupation of the Israelites of Palestine, Amorite territory extended to
Some remnants of the Anakims were also destroyed by Joshua’s army. In Joshua 11:21-22, it says that Joshua’s hordes cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from
The Emims and the Zamzummims
In the
Another kind of giant, the Zamzummims, lived in the land being occupied at that time by the Ammonites. They were destroyed by God (Deut. 2:20-21).
The
After Joshua, the bible narrated four great battles waged by King David. The first of these battles occurred in an undisclosed place, possibly in the territory of the Philistines where Isbhibenob, a son of a giant was killed by Abishai the son of Zeruiah (2 Samuel 21:16-17). This giant nearly killed David with his new sword, but apparently the king lived (2 Samuel 21:16).
Another battle at Gob saw another giant, Saph, killed by Sibbechai the Hushathite (2 Samuel 21:180 in the battle at
Giants in our midst?
Is it possible for these giants to still exist among us? Yes. The bible did not say that they were annihilated altogether.
[1] This reference to “cedars of Lebanon” has a mystical meaning. It refers to the inhabitants of heaven, those who reside in the
[2] Cubit
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For the unit of information, see qubit. For the bone, see ulna.
Cubit is the name for any one of many units of measure used by various ancient peoples and is among the first recorded units of length. The Cubit is possibly based on the forearm length of an average person, and the Egyptian hieroglyph for the unit shows this symbol. It was employed consistently for measuring products like timber, stone, cords and textiles through Antiquity, the Middle-Ages up to the Early Modern Times. The earliest known cubit is the Egyptian cubit of 28 digits (523/4mm, 20.6"), and other cubit measures, often divided into 24 digits, or 6 palms of 4 digits are known from Antiquity.
Over time, units similar in type to the cubit have measured:
* 6 palms, ~53.3 cm, or 21 inches (1.75 ft)
* 7 palms, ~52.5 cm, or 21 inches (1.75 ft)
* 8 palms, ~60 cm, or 24 inches (2.00 ft)
* 9 palms, ~67.5 cm, or 27 inches (2.25 ft)
From late Antiquity, a Roman cubit of 16 palms, which is about 120 cm, was also used. This length is the measure from a man's hip to the fingers of the outstretched opposite arm. Since the ulna is approximately 1/4 of this length (30 cm or 12 inches), this Roman cubit was considered highly practical for quickly measuring textiles or cords over the elbow.
The English yard could be considered to be a type of cubit, measuring 12 palms, ~90 cm, or 36 inches (3.00 ft). This would be the measure from the middle of a man's body to his fingers, always with outstretched arm. The English Ell is essentially a kind of great cubit of 15 palms, 114 cm, or 45 inches (3.75 ft). Metric cubit, used in some countries, is 1/2 m or 50 cm.









