Giants

Giants in the Old Testament refer to people of exceptional physical stature, described by several Hebrew terms. The Nephilim appear in Genesis 6:4 as mighty men of renown in the pre-flood era, and the Israelite spies reported seeing them in Canaan (Numbers 13:33). The Rephaim were a giant people of Canaan and Transjordan; Og king of Bashan, whose iron bed was nine cubits long, was the last of the Rephaim (Deuteronomy 3:11). The Anakim, described as descendants of Anak, were the giants who terrified the spies — only Caleb drove them out of Hebron.

Goliath of Gath, standing over nine feet tall, was the most famous Philistine giant defeated by David (1 Samuel 17:4). David's mighty men later killed four other giant warriors from Gath (2 Samuel 21:15–22). The relationship between these various groups — Nephilim, Rephaim, Anakim, Emim, Zamzummim — is imprecisely defined in the texts, and ancient interpreters have proposed various theories connecting them. Whatever their precise origin, the giants in Scripture function primarily as formidable obstacles that only divine empowerment can overcome, making their defeat a demonstration of God's faithfulness to his people against all humanly insurmountable opposition.