Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, November 21st, 2024
the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Giants
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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jı̄´ants The word appears in the King James Version as the translation of the Hebrew words נפילים , nephı̄lı̄m ( Genesis 6:4; Numbers 13:33 ); רפאים , rephā'ı̄m (Deuteronomy 2:11 , Deuteronomy 2:20; Deuteronomy 3:11 , Deuteronomy 3:13; Joshua 12:4 , etc.); רפא , rāphā' (1 Chronicles 20:4 , 1 Chronicles 20:6 , 1 Chronicles 20:8 ), or רפה , rāphāh (2 Samuel 21:16 , 2 Samuel 21:18 , 2 Samuel 21:20 , 2 Samuel 21:22 ); in one instance of גּבּור , gibbōr , literally, "mighty one" (Job 16:14 ).
In the first two cases the Revised Version (British and American) changes "giants" into the Hebrew words "Nephilim," nephı̄lı̄m , and "Rephaim," rephā'ı̄m , respectively (see these words). The "Nephilim" of Genesis 6:4 are not to be confounded with the "mighty men" subsequently described as the offspring of the unlawful marriages, of "the sons of God" and "the daughters of men." It is told that they overspread the earth prior to these unhallowed unions. That the word, whatever its etymology, bears the sense of men of immense stature is evident from the later passages; Numbers 13:33 . The same is true of the "Rephaim," as shown by the instance of Og (Deuteronomy 3:11; Joshua 12:4 ). There is no doubt about the meaning of the word in the ease of the giants mentioned in 2 Sam 21 and 1 Chronicles 20:1-8 . See also ANTEDILUVIANS .
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Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Giants'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/isb/g/giants.html. 1915.
