Anakim

The Anakim (descendants of Anak, meaning long-necked people) were a people of exceptional stature inhabiting the hill country of Canaan, particularly the region around Hebron, before and during the Israelite conquest. When the twelve spies surveyed the land, the Anakim at Hebron produced the fearful report that Israel was like grasshoppers by comparison (Num. 13:28, 33). The same passage associates them with the Nephilim of Genesis 6, though the exact relationship is debated. Deuteronomy 9:2 describes them as a great and tall people against whom no one was thought able to stand.

Joshua's campaign against the Anakim was therefore a signal demonstration of divine power: he cut them off from the mountains of Hebron, Debir, and the southern highlands, driving survivors to Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod in Philistia (Josh. 11:21–22). Caleb's personal victory over Anak's three sons at Hebron (Josh. 14:12–15; 15:14) exemplified the faith the conquest demanded. Later Philistine giants such as Goliath may represent remnants of the Anakim who found refuge among the Philistines.