Nephilim

[Daniel Marsh]

Very interesting

Can you tell what source is being used here "Hul. 60a". There are literally thousands of newspaper clippings from the US describing giant sized discoveries, some of which were depicted to have double rows of teeth. The common criticism is that they mistook their size, which, if they did, would still make them goliath size. But I have wondered about those clippings that describe double rows of teeth. It would be interesting if there were a source prior to those clippings that speaks of it.

The source is the Babylonian Talmud. It may be online.
This website may be able to tell us the abrv meaning.
Joshua ben Hananiah


Talmud, Hul. 60a online - Google Search

I do not have time right now, try looking here Halakhah.com Babylonian Talmud Online in English

Talmud online - Google Search

 

[Ron Gurley]

Genesis 6:4
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the "sons of God" (SPIRIT BEINGS) came in to (HAD SEX WITH) the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those (children) were the mighty men who were of old, MEN of renown.

Numbers 13:33
There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

END OF BIBLICAL MENTION OF Nephilim!!

GENESIS 6:
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually....
11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Since, Jesus said that we would be like angels, no marriage and angels to our knowledge do not reproduce, one can imply that angels do not have sex organs. On the other hand one could argue that angels can take on human form like in the case of Lot. I am wondering if there are any pre Genesis myths among Israel's neighbors that could be the source for the story in the first place.

 

[mmksparbud]

בסר

Definition: When good news is brought a feast with meat is prepared.
FLESH: Definition: The soft parts of a human or animal, composed primarily of skeletal muscle. Skin and muscle or the whole of the person. Meat as food. Hebrew: בשר ba-sar-fem. AHLB: 2025(N) KJV Translations: flesh, body Strong's: #1154, #1320

Gen 6:12 Mechanical translation
and Elohiym saw the land and look, she was damaged given that all the flesh destroyed his road upon the land,
(Gen 6:12 KJV) And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.


Context is important. Flesh in the literal sense of skin, can not sin, doesn't corrupt itself--it decays if the life is not there to sustain it. When is the word literal and when is it used in reference to mean the whole person depends on usage. One word in Hebrew can have several meanings depending on how it is used.
A person sins--the original meaning is "all the flesh destroyed his road upon the land"--skin can not destroy God's road. It is very obvious this means that men had left God's way of doing things. There is nothing pointing to angel/human hybrid corruption, but to the spiritual condition of all people.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Genesis 6 Good News Translation (GNT)
Human Wickedness
6 When people had spread all over the world, and daughters were being born, 2 some of the heavenly beings[a] saw that these young women were beautiful, so they took the ones they liked. 3 Then the Lord said, “I will not allow people to live forever; they are mortal. From now on they will live no longer than 120 years.” 4 In those days, and even later, there were giants on the earth who were descendants of human women and the heavenly beings. They were the great heroes and famous men of long ago.

5 When the Lord saw how wicked everyone on earth was and how evil their thoughts were all the time, 6 he was sorry that he had ever made them and put them on the earth. He was so filled with regret 7 that he said, “I will wipe out these people I have created, and also the animals and the birds, because I am sorry that I made any of them.” 8 But the Lord was pleased with Noah.

Noah
9-10 This is the story of Noah. He had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Noah had no faults and was the only good man of his time. He lived in fellowship with God, 11 but everyone else was evil in God's sight, and violence had spread everywhere. 12 God looked at the world and saw that it was evil, for the people were all living evil lives.

13 God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all people. I will destroy them completely, because the world is full of their violent deeds. 14 Build a boat for yourself out of good timber; make rooms in it and cover it with tar inside and out. 15 Make it 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16 Make a roof for the boat and leave a space of 18 inches between the roof[c] and the sides. Build it with three decks and put a door in the side. 17 I am going to send a flood on the earth to destroy every living being. Everything on the earth will die, 18 but I will make a covenant with you. Go into the boat with your wife, your sons, and their wives. 19-20 Take into the boat with you a male and a female of every kind of animal and of every kind of bird, in order to keep them alive. 21 Take along all kinds of food for you and for them.” 22 Noah did everything that God commanded.

 

[FIRESTORM314]

There is a link between the Nephilim and Philistines.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Without going into spiritual stuff and following my nose - I'd have a stab that these were Neanderthal man Interbreeding with humans.

"
Origin of the Sethite View

It was in the 5th century a.d. that the "angel" interpretation of Genesis 6 was increasingly viewed as an embarrassment when attacked by critics. (Furthermore, the worship of angels had begun within the church. Also, celibacy had also become an institution of the church. The "angel" view of Genesis 6 was feared as impacting these views.)

Celsus and Julian the Apostate used the traditional "angel" belief to attack Christianity. Julius Africanus resorted to the Sethite interpretation as a more comfortable ground. Cyril of Alexandria also repudiated the orthodox "angel" position with the "line of Seth" interpretation. Augustine also embraced the Sethite theory and thus it prevailed into the Middle Ages. "Mischievous Angels or Sethites?: Textual Controversy: – Chuck Missler – Koinonia House

 

[Copperhead]

Since, Jesus said that we would be like angels, no marriage and angels to our knowledge do not reproduce, one can imply that angels do not have sex organs. On the other hand one could argue that angels can take on human form like in the case of Lot. I am wondering if there are any pre Genesis myths among Israel's neighbors that could be the source for the story in the first place.

Until one does an autopsy on an angel, one has no way of knowing if they do or do not have sex organs. The Bible does not state what you are suggesting. It is silent on the more detailed physical characteristics of angels.

True, angels that did not fall do not marry in heaven, but to impose technology limitations on angels that did fall and are bent on screwing things up in the creation is pretty myopic. If it were not for the inter dimensional battle going on that we cannot see, along with the restraint of the Holy Spirit, we would be seeing a lot of things that likely would cause our hearts to fail us. Oh yeah, just like what the scripture says about future events during the end days.

Also, angels do not "take on" human form, as if they are some other kind of form, but are dimensional beings that can appear in our dimensionality at times that the Lord so desires them to accomplish some task. I would contend they are no different than humans, in form. They are just inter dimensional with far superior physical abilities than normal humans posses. One angel, in one night, slaughtered 250,000 men of the Syrian army and I don't get the idea from the text of scripture that it was a difficult task.

I would contend that the opposite is true, that other cultural fables and myths have their origins in the Genesis account of this. Like Greek mythology that has Zeus marrying human women and producing the Titans, or cross bred entities with super human characteristics. Like the "men of renowned" statement in scripture. Especially since Greek mythology did not precede the Genesis account. The term "titan" means earth born. The term Nephilim means "fallen ones". The idea is the same.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Until one does an autopsy on an angel, one has no way of knowing if they do or do not have sex organs. The Bible does not state what you are suggesting. It is silent on the more detailed physical characteristics of angels.
.

Exactly what form where they when they visited Lot?

Jesus said, we will be like angels, no marriage.

Why are there Jewish commentators that understand, sex with angels?

What about Lilith?

 

[Daniel Marsh]

There is a link between the Nephilim and Philistines.

I am curious about that link, thanks

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Zechariah 5:9, "Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens."

 

[Dionysiou]

I looked into this many years ago. Was reminded about it recently. I believe a small portion of angels did fall and take on a measure of human form as they have in other instances of the bible. Their ability to reproduce with human women was like a sinful contrast to Mary's immaculate conception through the Holy Spirit.


JUDE

5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.


Notice how the sexual immorality and perversion of Sodom and Gomorrah follows right after verse 6 as a similar comparison. Also notice how the Devil and his rebels still roam around the world today engaging in spiritual warfare, not in chains. It was extremely grave to interfere with mankind in the physical realm without permission. Sexually especially as it's a holy act. E

For some this may seem too fantastical but in light of the rest of the bible, is it? The ability to reproduce and create a life isn't something Angels were designed for, as man was, but God didn't stop them from having the option through sin.

 

[Davy]

No matter how much information is presented as to the meaning of these words in Hebrew---those who believe in fallen angels mating with humans-- will not believe it. Why anyone wants to believe such a thing is beyond me. Not only does it not add up with the correct meanings of these words, it makes no common sense either and does not reflect the character of God.

Nah, you're only throwing up doctrines of men, man's philosophy, instead of heeding the actual written Word of God, because the Scriptures already quoted in the previous posts cannot point to just bullies, or mean men.

Even with Noah being referred to as 'perfect' in his generations in Gen.6 is a direct... pointer to GENETICS. It's because the Hebrew word for "perfect" there is the same word used for the purity of a sacrificial lamb required per the old covenant.

The following verse is one of two places in the KJV where Hebrew raphal used for the giants as Rephaim was not brought forth in the English...

Isa 26:14
14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased (Rephaim), they shall not rise: therefore hast Thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
KJV

We know per John 5:28-29 that there will be a resurrection even for the wicked. But that above is pointing to the giants, the Rephaim, a proper name for them in the Old Testament. They shall not rise, i.e., not resurrect is the Message, for God has made memory of them to perish. They walked the earth at one time per God's Word, as there were two irruptions of them per Gen.6. There also have been skeletal remains of them found too, which other unbelievers like yourself have tried to hide or destroy.

Pawnee Indian With Thigh Bone of a Giant:

“While we were in the sandhills, scouting the Niobrara country, the Pawnee Indians brought into camp some very large bones, one of which the surgeon of the expedition pronounced to be the thigh bone of a human being. The Indians said the bones were those of a race of people who long ago had lived in that country. They said these people were three times the size of a man of the present day, that they were so swift and strong that they could run by the side of a buffalo, and, taking the animal in one arm, could tear off a leg and eat it as they ran. (The Life of Buffalo Bill (page 207), by William Cody)


The Book of Jude tells us the angels that caused this left their own habitation. They came to earth and co-habitated with flesh woman, literally. Why?

It shouldn't be that difficult to figure out why per God's Word. The devil was trying to prevent Christ's birth all the way up to the time of Mary. He tried to separate Abraham and Sarah. He tried to destroy the Seed that God had ordained Christ to be born through. His angels mating with flesh woman was a way to do it. In Genesis 6, when speaking of the angels ("sons of God") taking wives of the "daughters of men", in the Hebrew those daughters are pointing to the daughters of the man Adam. So Satan went specifically after the bloodline seed of the man of Adam and his offspring, the family that Christ would be born through!

THIS... is why God told the children of Israel to literally wipe out certain nations in the land of Canaan per Deuteronomy 20! It was because the 2nd irruption of the giants dwelt among the Canaanites. God sent Israel to go wipe them out, literally. The 1st irruption in Noah's day, God destroyed using a flood. The Pawnee American Indian account in Buffalo Bill's autobiography also spoke of how the giants were destroyed by a flood.

 

[Daniel Marsh]

ATS Bible Dictionary
Rephaim
The Hebrew word is used in two distinct significations.

1.REPHAIM is used to comprehend all the gigantic races of the Canaanites, of whom there were several families. There were Rephaim beyond Jordan, at Ashtaroth Karnaim, in the time of Abraham, Genesis 14:5; also some in the time of Moses. Og king of Bashan was of the Rephaim. In the time of Joshua, some of their descendants dwelt in the land of Canaan, Joshua 12:4 17:15, and we hear of them in David's time, in the city of Gath, 1 Chronicles 20:4-6. The giant Goliath and others were the remains of the Rephaim, or of the kindred family of Anakim. Their magnitude and strength are often spoken of in Scripture. They appear to have excelled in violence and crime, and hence are monuments of divine justice.

2.REPHAIM, the shades or spirits of the departed, dwelling in Sheol or Hades, generally rendered in our version, "the dead" ("dead things," Job 26:5); Psalm 88:10; Proverbs 2:18; 21:16, etc.

THE VALLEY OF THE REPHAIM, OR GIANTS, was famous in Joshua's time, Joshua 15:8 17:15 18:16, and in the time of David, who here defeated the Philistines, 2 Samuel 5:18,22 1 Chronicles 11:6 14:9. It was a broad and fertile valley, Isaiah 17:5, beginning near the valley of Hinnom, and extending several miles south-west from Jerusalem, when it contracted to a narrow passage leading off towards the Mediterranean. It was in Judah, but near the border of Benjamin.

Easton's Bible Dictionary
Lofty men; giants, (Genesis 14:5; 2 Samuel 21:16, 18, marg. A.V., Rapha, marg. R.V., Raphah; Deuteronomy 3:13, R.V.; A.V., "giants"). The aborigines of Palestine, afterwards conquered and dispossessed by the Canaanite tribes, are classed under this general title. They were known to the Moabites as Emim, i.e., "fearful", (Deuteronomy 2:11), and to the Ammonites as Zamzummim. Some of them found refuge among the Philistines, and were still existing in the days of David. We know nothing of their origin. They were not necessarily connected with the "giants" (R.V., "Nephilim") of Genesis 6:4. (see GIANTS.)
Rephaim, Valley of

(Joshua 15:8; 18:16, R.V.). When David became king over all Israel, the Philistines, judging that he would now become their uncompromising enemy, made a sudden attack upon Hebron, compelling David to retire from it. He sought refuge in "the hold" at Adullam (2 Samuel 5:17-22), and the Philistines took up their position in the valley of Rephaim, on the west and south-west of Jerusalem. Thus all communication between Bethlehem and Jerusalem was intercepted. While David and his army were encamped here, there occurred that incident narrated in 2 Samuel 23:15-17. Having obtained divine direction, David led his army against the Philistines, and gained a complete victory over them. The scene of this victory was afterwards called Baalperazim (q.v.).

A second time, however, the Philistines rallied their forces in this valley (2 Samuel 5:22). Again warned by a divine oracle, David led his army to Gibeon, and attacked the Philistines from the south, inflicting on them another severe defeat, and chasing them with great slaughter to Gezer (q.v.). There David kept in check these enemies of Israel. This valley is now called el-Bukei'a.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
REPHAIM
ref'-a-im, re-fa'-im (repha'-im, from rapha', "a terrible one "hence "giant," in 1 Chronicles 20:4, yelidhe ha-rapha', "sons of the giant"; the King James Version, Rephaims): A race of aboriginal or early inhabitants East of the Jordan in Ashterothkarnaim (Genesis 14:5) and in the valley of Rephaim Southwest of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:8). They associated with other giant races, as the Emim and Anakim (Deuteronomy 2:10, 11) and the Zamzummim (Deuteronomy 2:20). It is probable that they were all of the same stock, being given different names by the different tribes who came in contact with them. The same Hebrew word is rendered "the dead," or "the shades" in various passages (Job 26:5 margin; Psalm 88:10 margin; Proverbs 2:18 margin; Proverbs 9:18 margin; Proverbs 21:16 margin; Isaiah 14:9 margin; Isaiah 26:14, 19 margin). In these instances the word is derived from rapheh, "weak," "powerless," "a shadow" or "shade."

H. Porter

REPHAIM, VALE OF

(`emeq repha'-im; koilas Rhaphaeim, koilas ton Titanon): This was a fertile vale (Isaiah 17:5), to the Southwest of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:8; Joshua 18:16; the King James Version "Valley of the Giants"), on the border between Judah and Benjamin. Here David repeatedly defeated the invading Philistines (2 Samuel 5:18, 22; 2 Samuel 23:13 1 Chronicles 11:15; 1 Chronicles 14:9). It is located by Josephus between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (Ant., VII, iv, i; xii, 4). It corresponds to the modern el-Biqa`, which falls away to the Southwest from the lip of the valley of Hinnom. The name in ancient times may perhaps have covered a larger area, including practically all the land between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where the head-waters of Nahr Ruben are collected.

W. Ewing


Strong's Hebrew
2157. Zamzummim -- another name for the Rephaim
... 2156, 2157. Zamzummim. 2158 . another name for the Rephaim. Transliteration:
Zamzummim Phonetic Spelling: (zam-zome') Short Definition: Zamzummin. ...
/hebrew/2157.htm - 6k
7497. Rapha -- inhab. of an area East of the Jordan
... inhab. of an area East of the Jordan. Transliteration: Rapha Phonetic Spelling:
(raw-faw') Short Definition: Rephaim. Word Origin from raphah Definition inhab. ...
/hebrew/7497.htm - 6k

Library
A Shepherd Boy who was Called to Lead a Nation
... thirty warriors went down to him to the top of the rock, to the fortress of Adullam,
while a force of the Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/a shepherd boy who was.htm

Chapter xiv
... and in the thirteenth year they revolted; and in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer
and the kings allied with him and smote the Rephaim at Ashteroth ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xiv.htm

The Reign of David.
... But finally in the valley of Rephaim he was enabled to strike such a crushing blow
to the Philistines as to compel a lasting peace and leave him free to ...
/.../tidwell/the bible period by period/chapter xi the reign of.htm

Statement of the Reasons Wherefore the Matters, Treated of Shortly ...
... audience. [2100] The Anakim, or "sons of Anak." Cf. Deuteronomy 9:2; Joshua
11:21-22. [2101] The Valley of Rephaim. 2 Sam. v. 18. ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter i statement of the.htm

Canaan
... The Amorite kings of Bashan are described as Rephaim, a word which the Authorised
Version translates "giants." It was only on the northern frontier of ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter ii canaan.htm

The Sixth vision "On Earth"
... in Genesis 6.must have led to abnormal forms, which would account for the half-human,
or super-human beings, which became the Nephilim, the Rephaim, and Anakim ...
/.../bullinger/commentary on revelation/the sixth vision on earth.htm

Syria at the Beginning of the Egyptian Conquest
History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 4. <. ...
/.../chapter iisyria at the beginning.htm

The First Chaldaean Empire and the Hyksos in Egypt
... Kudur-lagamar defeated them one after another"the Rephaim near to Ashtaroth-Karnaim,
the Zuzim near Ham,**** the Amim at Shaveh-Kiriathaim, and the Horim on ...
/.../chapter ithe first chaldaean empire.htm

Thesaurus
Rephaim (32 Occurrences)
... They were not necessarily connected with the "giants" (RV, "Nephilim") of Genesis
6:4. (see GIANTS.). Rephaim, Valley of. ... Standard Bible Encyclopedia. REPHAIM. ...
/r/rephaim.htm - 21k
Reph'aim (17 Occurrences)
Reph'aim. Rephaim, Reph'aim. Rephaims . Multi-Version Concordance ... Genesis
15:20 and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, (See RSV). ...
/r/reph'aim.htm - 11k

Rephaites (10 Occurrences)
... Genesis 14:5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings that were
with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham ...
/r/rephaites.htm - 9k

Giants (18 Occurrences)
... Nephilim.". (2.) Hebrews rephaim, a race of giants (Deuteronomy 3:11) who
lived on the east of Jordan, from whom Og was descended. ...
/g/giants.htm - 19k

Zamzummim (1 Occurrence)
... They are identified with the Rephaim (Deuteronomy 2:20). They may be the
same as the Zuzim mentioned in connection with the Rephaim...
/z/zamzummim.htm - 7k

Emim (3 Occurrences)
... Ommiein): Stated to have been the earlier inhabitants of Moab (Deuteronomy 2:10,
11), and to have been of tall stature, and hence, "accounted Rephaim (or giants ...
/e/emim.htm - 8k

Og (22 Occurrences)
... cities (Numbers 21:33 Joshua 12:4), and Og and his people were "utterly destroyed"
(Deuteronomy 3:6). Og is described as the last of the REPHAIM (which see ...
/o/og.htm - 17k

Baalperazim (2 Occurrences)
... Called Mount Perazim (Isaiah 28:21). It was near the valley of Rephaim, west
of Jerusalem. Identified with the modern Jebel Aly. Int. ...
/b/baalperazim.htm - 8k

Baal-perazim (2 Occurrences)
... Called Mount Perazim (Isaiah 28:21). It was near the valley of Rephaim, west
of Jerusalem. Identified with the modern Jebel Aly. Int. ...
/b/baal-perazim.htm - 8k

Accounted (32 Occurrences)
... (WEB JPS ASV). Deuteronomy 2:11 these also are accounted Rephaim, as the Anakim;
but the Moabites call them Emim. (WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS). ...
/a/accounted.htm - 15k


Resources
Is there any evidence for the giants mentioned in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

How tall was Adam? | GotQuestions.org

Questions about Angels & Demons (All) | GotQuestions.org

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Topical Bible: Rephaim

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Rephaim
REPHAIM rĕf’ ĭ əm (רְפָאִימ֒, H8327; LXX see below; derived either from Heb. רָפָא֒, H8324, to heal, or from the root רפה, to sink, relax, in sense; sunken, powerless ones).

1. The word may denote the inhabitants of the nether world in both the OT (esp. in poetic and wisdom lit.), in Phoen. funerary inscrs. (Tabnith and Eshmunazar, c. 300 b.c.; cf. G. A. Cooke, North Semitic Inscriptions [1903], 26ff., 30ff.), and prob. in a group of fragmentary and obscure Ugaritic mythological texts (rpum, rpim). The most that can be said with certainty about this use of rephaim is that the Israelites applied the term to people who were dead and gone. The word is used in parallel with מֵתִימ׃֙, “the dead” (Ps 88:10; Prov 2:18; Isa 26:14); they are in Sheol (Prov 9:18; Isa 14:9); they cannot praise God now (Ps 88:10); and their case is now hopeless (Isa 26:14). Some texts may suggest that they are conscious in their insubstantial afterlife: they tremble (Job 26:5); they welcome the newly dead to Sheol (Isa 14:9), and constitute a united assembly (Prov 9:18; Isa 14:9). These texts are best interpreted by understanding the poets to be using the figure of speech called prosopoeia (cf. E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used In the Bible [reprinted 1968], 861, 866). According to Isaiah 26:19 these will at some future day be raised into light. There is a suggestion in Isaiah 14:9; 26:14, in the Phoen. inscrs. and in the Ugaritic texts that they are the aristocracy of the dead. See Sheol.

2. The inhabitants of Trans-Jordan in pre-Israelite times whom the Moabites and Ammonites called respectively “Emim” and “Zamzummim.” They were subdued by Chedorlaomer at c. 2000 b.c. in Ashtaroth-karnaim (Gen 14:5; LXX γίγαντας, “giants”). Ashtaroth, capital of ancient Bashan, sits on the famous King’s Highway and is near Karnaim which inherited its place as the regional capital under Aramaean and Assyrian rule. Their land is one of ten ethnic groups promised to Abraham (Gen 15:20). This promise is later qualified to exclude their land later taken over by the Moabites (Deut 2:10, 11) and the Ammonites (Deut 2:20, LXX ̔Ραφαΐν, LXX Alexandrinus ̔Ρεφαειμ), and to designate their holdings in Gilead and the whole of Bashan (Deut 3:13; LXX ̔Ραφαΐν) including the Forest of Ephraim (Josh 17:15). Og, king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and who was defeated by Moses was the last survivor of the remnant of the Rephaim (Josh 12:4; 13:12; LXX γίγαντας).

Deuteronomy 2:10, 11 says that they were great, many and tall like the Anakim. Og, king of Bashan, for example possessed a kingsize iron bed, nine cubits long and four cubits broad. Probably this statement combined with statements about the descendants of Rapha, who were giants associated with the Philistines in the time of David, caused the occasional tr. of “giants” in the LXX and Targ. Onkelos. G. E. Wright reasoned that “the Israelite tradition of giant Rephaim undoubtedly arose in part from the contemplation of megalithic structures especially in Transjordan.” In a note he added: “comparatively few of these structures have been found in Western Palestine” (“Troglodytes and Giants in Palestine,” JBL LVII [1938], 37). But here G. E. Wright is inconsistent with his normal and preferred method of interpreting artifacts. Instead of regarding these artifacts as occasioning an Israelite aetiology they should be regarded as circumstantial evidence supporting the Biblical narrative.

3. Giants among the Philistines who fought against David and his mighty men along their disputed border both at Gezer (1 Chron 20:4; LXX γίγαντας) and at Gath (1 Chron 20:6, 8). These giants were the descendants of Rapha, the eponymous ancestor of these Rephaim. The use of the article with Rapha, “the giant,” points up this fact (הָרָפָֽא, in 1 Chron 20:6, 8, LXX τῷ ̔Ραφὰ̀ and הָרָפָ֗ה, in 2 Sam 21:16, 18, 20, 22; LXX τοῦ ̔Ραφὰ̀).

The RSV correctly distinguished these three senses of rephaim by tr. it respectively “shades,” “Rephaim” and “giants.” The relationship between these three usages is obscure.

Bibliography G. E. Wright, “Troglodytes and Giants,” JBL, LVII (1938), 305-309; J. Gray, “The Rephaim,” PEQ, LXXXIV (1949), 127-139; G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, OT Studies, no. 3 (1956), 9, 10, 67-71, 155; W. F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan (1968), n. 43.
Rephaim - Encyclopedia of The Bible - Bible Gateway

 

[Daniel Marsh]

The Rephaim – Who were they?
The word Rephaim is used in two different ways in Hebrew. It refers to the spirits of the departed dead who dwell in Sheol; it is a poetic description of the dead. It also refers to a strong, tall race of people who lived in Canaan. The second meaning of the world Rephaim is a literal meaning, used to describe actual people who existed. Rephaim was not the description of a person's ethnicity, but rather a characteristic that the people of a certain area shared. The word Rephaim means "terrible ones" and they are described in the Bible as "giants" and "mighty men."

The Rephaim (or Rephaites) appear first in a battle with king Chedorlaomer (Genesis 14:5). Chedorlaomer and his allies defeated the Rephaim, along with the Zuzim and Emim peoples. The Rephaim were similar to the Anakim (Deuteronomy 2:20–21). The Rephaim are mentioned again in Exodus when the Israelites were trying to enter the Promised Land. The Rephaim were living in Canaan, and the Israelites were terrified of them—the Israelites didn't want to go into the Promised Land because it was inhabited with "giants" (Numbers 13:33), the sons of Anak. The spies came back to Israel and told the people that "The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them" (Numbers 13:32–33). The Promised Land, though beautiful (Numbers 13:27) was inhabited with giants—men so big that the Israelites felt like grasshoppers next to them. The Rephaim were of the same type.

Can this be taken literally? Who are the Nephilim? The Bible says that Og, king of Bashan (one of the last Rephaim) had a bed that was thirteen feet long (Deuteronomy 3:11). Was this just the grandiosity of a king, or did Og really need a bed that large? We know the ancient Jews believed them to be giants because the Greek word titanes, from which English derives the word titan, is used to translate the Hebrew word rephaim. Ancient folklore from many cultures features stories of giants. And there is biblical basis for their existence. The Nephilim (the word used synonymously with the Anakites) were the offspring of fallen angels and women (Genesis 6:1–4). How this is biologically possible we don't know, but the story is presented literally. The phrase used in the passage is "sons of God" who took "daughters of man" as their wives and bore children through them. The phrase "sons of God" is used exclusively elsewhere in Scripture to describe angelic beings.

If we take these biblical accounts at face value, we see that the Nephilim, the Anakites, and the Rephaim all had three things in common: great strength, great height, and part-angelic parentage. Reliable extra-biblical historical books like the Book of Enoch, the Book of Jasher, and the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus all also mention the Nephilim, referring to them as mighty men, giants, the sons of an unnatural union between human beings and fallen angels.
The Rephaim – Who were they?

 

[Daniel Marsh]

In Genesis 6:1-4, what were the identities of the sons of God and daughters of men?
In Genesis 6:1-4 is an account that refers to the sons of God and the daughters of men. Many options have been suggested regarding the identities of these individuals, leading to much speculation regarding the true nature of those involved.

Three main views have emerged regarding the identities of these sons of God. First, some argue these "sons of God" were fallen angels. Second, others believe they were people who served as powerful human rulers. Third, still others suggest these people describe the godly descendants of Seth who intermarried with the ungodly descendants of Cain.

The evidence offered to argue that these beings were fallen angels is primarily based on the grammar of the phrase "sons of God." In the Old Testament, "sons of God" elsewhere refers to angels (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7). While this offers evidence for the "sons of God" as fallen angels, there are two main problems with this theory. First, Matthew 22:30 notes that angels do not marry. Those who argue for this position realize this but suggest Genesis 6 is different since these would be fallen angels and that Matthew 22:30 refers to marriage in heaven. Second, and a more important concern, is that just because other places in the Bible use "sons of God" to refer to angels does not require that the same usage is necessary here. The larger context must also be taken into account, a context that seems to suggest sin taking place among humans, not angels.

Another question is whether angels can even appear in human form and produce offspring. Proponents of this view cite the example of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah who wanted to have sex with the two angels who were with Lot, though such physical acts did not take place (Genesis 19:1-5). Also, an angel appeared in human form in Mark 16:5.

The second view that suggests these "sons of God" and "daughters of men" refers to relationships involving powerful human rulers fits the context. However, there remains the difficulty of how their children would become "Nephilim," a term that could mean either giants or men of old or even men of renown.

The third view suggests these "sons of God" and "daughters of men" refer to marriages between the godly family line of Seth and the ungodly family line of Cain, who had killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4). This could also fit the context, yet also does not easily account for children who would become giants or men of renown. In addition, there was never a direct command for Seth's descendants to avoid marriage with the family descendants of Cain.

Another concern is the phrase in Genesis 6:4 that, "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown." Whoever these Nephilim were, they also continued for some time, likely after the global flood of Noah's era. In Numbers 13:33 we find: "And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." The focus here is on the physical height of these Nephilim.

While there is no perfect scenario that accounts for all of the above factors, a case can be made for human offspring who were known for their great height (as Numbers 13:33 emphasizes). These offspring were mentioned in Genesis 6 as those who lived in sin against God while also having special physical features that were noted. This is also consistent with Numbers 13 that discusses the Nephilim as very tall people who lived in rebellion to God's ways.

Again, there appears to be no perfect explanation at present that encompasses all details of this age-old debate, yet any of these three options could encompass an explanation that served as the background to God's judgment upon the earth through a flood.

In Genesis 6:1-4, what were the identities of the sons of God and daughters of men?

 

[Daniel Marsh]

REPHAIM (Heb. רְפָאִים). The Rephaim are known from biblical, Ugaritic, and Phoenician sources. In the Bible two uses of the term are discernible. The first is as a gentilic (e.g., Gen. 14:5; 15:20; Deut. 2:11) referring to a people distinguished by their enormous stature. Especially singled out are Og king of Bashan (Deut. 3:11) and the powerful adversaries of David's heroes (II Sam. 21:16, 18, 20). The biblical authors trace their designation to an apparently human eponym Rapha(h) (e.g., II Sam. 21:16, 18, 20;I Chron. 20:8). The Bible's emphasis on the size and might of the Rephaim is responsible for the Septuagint's renderings gigantes and titanes as well as for gabbārē of the Peshitta and gibbarāyyā of the Targums. The Genesis Apocryphon (21:28) on the other hand prefers the noncommital rephāʾayyā.

In its second use Rephaim designates "shades" or "spirits" and serves as a poetic synonym for metim (מֵתִים; Isa. 26:14; Ps. 88:11). It thus refers to the inhabitants of the netherworld (Prov. 9:18). This second meaning is also found in Phoenician sources. King Tabnit of Sidon curses any prospective despoiler of his tomb: "May there be no resting-place for you with the Rephaim" (H. Donner and W. Roellig, Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften (KAI, 1962), 13, lines 7–8; COS II, 182), King Eshmunazar (ibid., 14, line 8; COS II, 183) employs the same formula in the plural, adding "… and may they not be buried in a grave." The chthonic aspect of the Phoenician Rephaim is made even more explicit in a neo-Punic bilingual which equates the לעל [נם] אראפאם with dis manibus sacrum KAI (ibid., 117, line 1).

The Ugaritic material is most problematic because the relevant texts referring to the rpum are fragmentary and difficult to interpret. These rpum, like their Phoenician counterparts, are divine in nature, being referred to as ilnym (I AB 6:46 ff.; Pritchard, Texts, 141; COS I, 357–58), literally "divine ones?" (cf. Heb. eʾlohim, "ghost," literally "divine being" (I Sam. 28:13; Isa. 8:19, 21). There is, however, no clear indication that the rpum are chthonic deities. Moreover, they seem to have a military function. One of their number is referred to as a mhr, the Ugaritic term for soldier, and the rpum are described as riding in chariots. The nonliterary Ugaritic texts mention a guild of bn rpiym who presumably were a group under the patronage of the divine rpum, as has been pointed out by B. Margulies (Margalit). In addition, the Ugaritic hero Dnil is described as mt rpi which may indicate his membership in such a group. (Marguiles errs in equating this last epithet with the alleged ṣābe bilaṭi which should be read tillati and which is not restricted to Canaan.) Another Ugaritic hero, Keret, is described as belonging to the rpi arṣ–the Rephaim of the land – a term which is paralleled by the qbṣdtn, the group associated with Ditanu.

The existence of a god named Rpu has long been indicated by personal names such as Abrpu (C.H. Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook (1965), 311, line 10; Ditriech and Loretz, 2). This is now corroborated by the publication of a text (Ras Shamra 24. 252) that mentions rpu mlkʿlm, "Rpu the eternal king" (Dietrich and Loretz, 187), described appropriately as gṯr, "mighty" (cf. Akk. gašru). Though this text is not free of difficulties, Rpu seems to be mentioned along with the r[pi] ars possibly as their patron. If the admittedly hypothetical interpretation of the Ugaritic material is correct, the biblical tradition of Rephaim as mighty warriors can be understood. Their huge stature would contribute to their military prowess. Furthermore, the biblical eponym Rapha(h) can be considered as an undeified god Rpu, more in keeping with biblical thought.

The Hebrew and Phoenician use of Rephaim as "shade, spirit," however, remains problematic. Various attempts have been made to discover an underlying etymology which would account for the development. The presence of an eponym in both Hebrew and Ugaritic, however, suggests that the ancients were unaware of the connection between Rephaim and any verbal root. It should further be noted that the verb rpʾis unknown in Ugaritic outside of the onomastica. Notions such as "heal" and "gather" or "unite" attested in other Semitic languages for the root rpʾ were often adduced to explain Rephaim, but in Ugaritic these words are not connected with the root rpʾ. In Ugaritic the word for "heal" is bny while that for "gather" is ʾsp, ḥpš and ʿdn, in reference to plants, straw, and troops respectively.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
H.L. Ginsberg, Legend of Keret (1941), 23, 41; J. Gray, in: PEQ, 81 (1949), 127–39; 84 (1952), 39–41; A. Jirku, in: ZAW, 77 (1965), 82–83; J.C. de Moor, in: Ugarit Forschungen, 1 (1969); H. Mueller, ibid. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: B. Margulies (Margalit), in: JBL, 89 (1970), 292–304; D. Pardee, in: Ugarit Forschungen, 15 (1983), 127–40; K. van der Toorn, CBQ, 52 (1990), 203–22; idem, in: BiOr, 48 (1991), 40–66; H. Rouillard, DDD, 692–700; M. Dietrich and O. Loretz, Wordlist of the Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts from Ugarit… (1996); W. Pitard, in: W. Watson and N. Wyatt (eds.), Handbook of Ugaritic Studies (1999), 259–86.

[S. David Sperling]

Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.


Rephaim

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Rephaite - Wikipedia

 

[Daniel Marsh]

Matthew 22:30
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

Mark 12:25
For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

It is my impression that a purpose of marriage is to have children. Since, we will be like angels, no marriage. It is more likely angels do not reproduce by means of sex.