Top Biblical Mysteries: The Scriptural Evidences of Ancient Giants

Author:
Professor S
Updated:
Nov 24, 2022

Are the Nephilims the first giants on earth?

Who are the Nephilims? Are they the first giant demi-gods according to the Bible?
https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/nephilim-giants/

The Biblical Evidences of Ancient Giants

The Bible is the best-selling book in the world, and many devout followers adhere to its teachings. Although there are too many Christian sects, there are also too many arguments among these sects on which is teaching the correct doctrines, principles, and ordinances. Most arguments revolve around proper baptism, authority, or even which came first. While fanatical members of sects argue as they may, few key points and verses in the Bible are often avoided, if not shunned from being discussed, because they seem bizarre and out-of-this-world. I have always wondered why these topics are often neglected because they can serve as powerful means to attract the less Biblically-inclined science men or the fictionally-motivated few.

The Giants in the Bible

Perhaps the most common story in the Bible is the one where young David used a slingshot to kill the massive Goliath. Many merely focus on the triumph of David, never giving much time to discuss Goliath, a giant. The scientific man would probe and ask questions such as: “Are there real giants then? If so, how come we do not have such men today? If they did exist, where did they come from, and what is their true origin and nature? These are just a few possible questions that will entice a less Biblical man to study the Bible more. Then we shall just do that!

A Bible dictionary will define GIANTS as “huge, tall persons, apparently having great physical strength. They are mentioned both before and after the Flood.” However, are there actual Biblical passages or verses which will answer the questions we have posted above? To do so, we will consult the Bible; surprisingly, numerous accounts and poems offer explanations and answers.

The Origin of Giants

The first book of the Bible, Genesis, reveals shocking evidence. Written in Chapter 6 of Genesis, the first few verses of the said Chapter seem to show something out of mythology than in the Bible itself. Please notice the poems reproduced below:

FIRST EVIDENCE: Genesis 6:1 – 4

V1: “And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

V2: The sons of God saw the daughters of men. They were fair, and they took wives of all they chose.

V3: And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.

V4: There were GIANTS in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the SONS OF GOD CAME IN THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”

Notice how the ‘sons of God (fallen angels) took the ‘daughters of men (humans) in marriage as wives, and the daughters of men bore children who were GIANTS. These few verses tell the origin of the GIANTS on earth through the Bible.

SECOND EVIDENCE: Numbers 13: 33

V33: “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”

This verse says that there are generations of giants already as Anak (who is a giant), and his sons (who are also giants).

THIRD EVIDENCE: Deuteronomy 2:10 – 11, 20

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V10: “The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people significant, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;

V11: Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.”

V20: “That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; the Ammonites call them Zamzummins,”

In these verses, there are already three distinct tribes or groups of giants, namely: the Emims, Anakims, and Zamzummims. They also have their land known as the land of giants. They are described as many, tall, and excellent. Clearly, these verses from the Bible show that there were many giants then. But this is not all; the following verse even describes the measurement of the bed of a giant king and regions or tracts of land belonging to the king of giants in the Bible.

FOURTH EVIDENCE: Deuteronomy 3: 11 – 13

V11: “For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits were the length thereof and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.

V12: And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.

V13: And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants.”

These verses claim that King Og possessed tracts of land and that the place was even called the land of giants. Deuteronomy 9:2 also described these giants as “a people great and tall,” proving and supporting the earlier verse in Deuteronomy 2: 10. Joshua 15:8 ends with the phrase “the valley of the giants northward,” signaling that there may be other valleys of giants in different directions indicating that they are genuinely many and have populated the land. Lastly, Joshua 18:16 reaffirms “the valley of the giants on the north” as something that is real because it was stated twice in the same book --- the book of Joshua.

FIFTH EVIDENCE: 1 Samuel 17: 4 – 7 & 2 Samuel 21:16 – 22

The verses in 1 Samuel 17: 4 – 7 name Goliath and describe him being a giant. In 2 Samuel 21: 16 – 22, Ishbi-benob was also vividly described as sons of giants along with Sibbechai and Gab, who, despite being giants, all fell in the hands of David.

Conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed our exposition about giants in the Bible, a topic that I believe many Sunday School teachers would avoid during sharing time or classes, which might lead many believers to many questions about the authenticity and validity of Biblical entries. I want to write here that if pastors and priests wish for all people to study the Bible as the only word of God, then they should also try to teach all things usually avoided in Sunday services and classes. However, perhaps the more significant problem is proving through archaeology that 'they' existed.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this scriptural blog. Till next time!