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| "In the valley of the Jolly. Ho! Ho! Ho! Green Giant!" was the slogan of a popular television commercial that aired back in the 1960's. An advertisement for 'Green Giant' canned vegetables. And their mascot was the Ho! Ho! Ho! chanting Green Giant. |
| Well that might be fantasy land, but getting back to reality, the Bible does mention some giants that lived in the lush green valleys of the land of Canaan. And they were mentioned as a race of men called the Anakim, Rephaim and the Emims. |
| Now unfortunately whenever you bring this topic up you will be dismissed right off the bat because the word Giant conjures up the fairy tale giant of 'Jack and the Bean stalk' or the 'Giant of Despair' in the allegorical tale of 'Pilgrims Progress.' |
| That coupled with the fact that there are a large number of hoax articles circulating around the Internet with Photoshop altered pictures of archaeologists digging up the bones of 80 foot giants, and one is left with a very skeptical view on this topic. |
| So first we have to define what the Bible, not Hollywood or fairy tales, has to say concerning the height of the Anakim and the Rephaim |
| There are two men specifically mentioned in the Bible who descended from the Anakim and the Rephaim and whose heights are mentioned. |
| The first being Og, the king of Bashan, who was the last of the Rephaim. He is mentioned in Deuteronomy 3 which states: |
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| "For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead (casket) was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.” |
| Unfortunately the exact height of the king is not given, but it does mention that his bedstead (possibly meaning his sarcophagus) was nine by four cubits in size (13 1/2' length by 6 feet wide.) |
| Since some sarcophagus are built much larger then the person inside it is difficult to determine his actual height. But we can safely say that Og was somewhere between 7 and 13 foot tall. |
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| The other Biblical account of an Anakim giant is a story that just about everyone knows. That of David slaying the Philistine giant Goliath. His height is mentioned in 1 Samuel 17:4 which says: "And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span." (Which is around 9'-9" in height.) |
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| Now if you are skeptical that men can reach these heights, just within the last 150 years alone there have been men who lived to reach heights of between 8 and 9 feet. I listed them below: |
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| Robert Wadlow: 8 feet 11" (1918 – 1940) |
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| John William Rogan: 8 feet 8" (1868-1905) |
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| Väinö Myllyrinne: 8 feet 3" (1909 - 1963) |
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| Sultan Kosen: 8 feet 3 inches. (1982-?) |
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| Zeng Jinlian: 8 feet 2 inches (1964 – 1982). |
| However, she could not stand up straight due to a severely deformed spine. She would have reached at least 8'-8" with a normal curvature of the spine. |
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| Don Koehler: 8 feet 2 inches (1925 – 1981) |
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| Bernard A. Coyne: 8 feet 2 inches (1897 – 1921) |
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| Vikas Uppal: 8 feet 2 inches (1986 – 2007) |
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| Julius Koch: 8 feet 1 inches (1872 - 1902) |
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| Brahim Takioullah: 8 feet 1 inch (1982-?) |
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| Morteza Mehrzad: 8 feet 1 inch (1987-?) |
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| Gabriel Monjane: 8 feet 1 inch (1944 – 1990) |
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| John F. Carroll 8'-0": (1932-1969) But had curvature of the spine and would have reached at least 8'-6" with a normal spine curvature. |
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| And remember, the last one hundred and fifty years only covers a very small timespan of history. |
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| Now, what is really fascinating is that these giants are also mentioned in Egyptian records, as well their height. An artifact also mentions two of the cities where they resided which match the Biblical account. |
| One document is known as 'Papyrus Anastasi 1,' and is dated to the Egyptian Ramesside Period. The writer of the letter, who apparently was familiar with the geography and history of Canaan and had been on an expeditions there, is mocking the one who he is writing to for not having any knowledge of Canaan. The letter states the following: |
| "Come let me tell thee of other towns, which are above them. Thou hast not gone to the land of Kadesh, Tekhes, Kurmeren, Temenet, Deper, Idi, or Herenem. Thou hast not beheld Kirjath-anab (ANAB) and Beth-Sepher (Kirjath Sepher- Debir.) . . . Pray teach me concerning the appearance of Qiyen (Ken); acquaint me with Rehob; explain Beth-shael and Tereqel. The stream of Jordan, how is it crossed? . . .” |
| “Behold the ///////// is in a ravine two thousand cubits deep, filled with boulders and pebbles. Thou drawest back(?), thou graspest the bow, thou dost //////. thy left hand, thou causest the great ones to look. Their eyes are good, thy hand grows weak(?). Abdt km Ari mhr nam. Thou makest the name of every Maher, officers of the land of Egypt. Thy name becomes like (that of) Qedjerdi, the chief of Isser, when the hyena found him in the balsam-tree.” |
| “The(?) narrow defile is infested with Shasu (bedouins) concealed beneath the bushes; some of them are of four cubits or of five cubits, from their noses to feet, fierce of face, their heart is not mild, and they hearken not to coaxing." |
| There are three interesting facts about this passage. First is the height of those who lived within this valley. An Egyptian cubit we know translates into 53.5 centimeters which is 20.6 inches. So the men referred to here were described as being somewhere between 7' and 8'-6" from nose to heel in height. Add another 6" from nose to the top of the head and they were between 7'-6" and 9' in height. |
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| The second is a mention of two towns in the land of Canaan. Kirjath-anab (also known as Anab) and Beth-Sepher (also known as Kirjath Sepher and is also called the city of Debir in the Bible.) Both of these cities are listed in the Bible’s book of Joshua in connection with the Anakim giants. |
| In Joshua 11:21 it states: "At that time Joshua attacked and eliminated the Anakites from the hill country from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and all the hill country of Judah and Israel. |
| Joshua 15:15 states: “And he went up thence to the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-Sepher.” |
| The third is a mention of Qiyen (Ken), a possible reference to the children of the Kenites (Hebrew ‘Qiyniy’), the descendants of Moses' father in law as found in Judges 1:16. Or it may be a reference to the Kenizzites(Hebrew ‘Qenizziy’). In Joshua 14:14-15 it states that Caleb was a Kenizzite and was give the city of Hebron, a former city of the Anakites, as an inheritance and that Hebron used to be called Kirjath Arba. Arba was a famous Anakite. |
| Kirjath Arba (Hebron) was also closely linked to Beth-Sepher (Debir), the city mentioned in the 'Papyrus Anastasi' letter. |
| According to Joshua 15:15-17, Caleb’s brother, Othniel, the son of Kenaz (Hebrew ‘Qenaz’), took the city of Debir in battle. So both Hebron and Debir, former cities of the Anakim, where under the control of the Kenizzites. |
| In Joshua 15:13-14 it states that Kirjath Arba was named after Arba who was the father of Anak and that Caleb, the Kenizzite, drove out three Anakites. They were named Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, who were the descendants of Anak. In other words, three different rulers, of three tribes of Anakim. |
| Now what is really wild about this is that there is an artifact dating to around the (19th-18th centuries B.C.), all the way back to the time of Biblical Joseph, that may indeed speak of the three tribal leaders of the Anakim. |
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| It was a common practice in Egypt to write the names of their enemies, from foreign lands, on pottery bowls or figurines. Once they were finished they would smash them believing that it would magically curse their enemies. |
| One such broken pottery fragment lists the names of three men who were rulers of the Iy-'anaq, possibly referring to the Anak or Anakim. The translation below is taken from James Pritchard’s work; 'Ancient near Eastern texts relating to the Old Testament:’ |
| "The ruler of Iy-'anaq, Erum, and all the trusted men who are with him. The ruler of Iy-'anaq, Abi-yamimu, and all the trusted men who are with him. The ruler of Iy-'anaq, Akirum, and all the trusted men who are with him.” ANET 328 (e1) |
| Another interesting fact about this artifact is that the second ruler’s name was Abi-Yamimu, which contains the word Yamim and is phoenetically equivalent to ‘Emim.’ |
| According to Deuteronomy chapter 2, the people of Moab called the Anakim, the Emim (Hebrew ‘Eymiym.) |
| Deuteronomy 2:10-11 states: “The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakims; Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.” |
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| So. for those of you who are still skeptical after all of this, I have just one more thing to say. |
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| "In the valley of the Rephaim. Ho! Ho! Ho! Bible Giants." |
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| Oh, and by the way, did you know that the famous Jolly Green Giant advertising slogan actually had its roots in the Bible? You see, the company who prided itself with having the best canned corn on the market evidently had a Bible believer in it's marketing department. While searching through the Scripture for all the Bible passages relating to giants I came across this one in the book of Isaiah: |
| "And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim (the Giants.) Isaiah 17:5 |
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| DO NOT FEAR GIANTS, BUT OBEY THE LORD! |
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| Numbers 13-14 (NKJV): “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, . . .” |
| So Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the LORD, . . . Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, "Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains,"and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; . . .” |
| So they went up and spied out the land . . . And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there . . . |
| And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel . . . Then they told him, and said: |
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| "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. |
| . . . Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it." |
| But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we." And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. "There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." |
| So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! "Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" So they said to one another, "Let us select a leader and return to Egypt." |
| Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel |
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| But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: "The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. "If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, 'a land which flows with milk and honey.' "Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them." |
| And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel. Then the LORD said to Moses: "How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? "I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they." |
| And Moses said to the LORD: "Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, "and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, LORD, are among these people; that You, LORD, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. "Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, 'Because the LORD was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.' |
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| "And now, I pray, let the power of my LORD be great, just as You have spoken, saying, 'The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.' "Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now." |
| Then the LORD said: "I have pardoned, according to your word; "but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD; "because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, "they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. |
| "But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.” |
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| Want more evidence? Our 3 volume book series "Bible Believer's Archaeology" can be downloaded for your ebook reader or mobile device by visiting our resource download page by Clicking Here. |
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| Photo Links to Artifacts Mentioned in this Article |
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| One of the Papyrus Anastasi 1 Series of Letters |
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| Sources: |
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| Artwork: ‘Goliath the Giant before Israel.’ from the book ‘Fighting Fleets’ by author Rimington, Critchell, (1942), Publisher: Dodd, Mead & Co. |
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| Artwork: ‘David slaying the giant Goliath.’ from the book ‘Fighting Fleets’ by author Rimington, Critchell, (1942), Publisher: Dodd, Mead & Co. |
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| Tallest men who have ever lived. http://www.thetallestman.com/ |
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| Papyrus Anastasi I Letter circa 1250 mentioning the height of the giants and the cities of the Anakim, Anab and Debir. |
| http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/texts/anastasi_i.htm |
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| Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement, Author: James Pritchard ISBN: 0691035032 Third edition 1969. pg. 328 |
| Possible reference to three rulers of the Anak, Erum, Abi-yamimu, and Akirum. |
| Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement, Author: James Pritchard ISBN: 0691035032 Third edition 1969. |
| pg. 328 - Possible reference to three rulers of the Anak, Erum, Abi-yamimu, and Akirum. |
| pg. 477 - Papyrus Anastasi I (British Museum 10247) |
| Mention of Kiriath-Anab and Beth-Sepher (the cities of the Anakim.) as well as the height of 4-5 cubits from nose to heel of those Bedouin living in the valleys of Canaan. |
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