Scripture mentions giants in several places. Here is what it says, verse by verse, without guessing past the text.
Genesis 6:4
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.— Genesis 6:4 (KJV)
The Hebrew word translated "giants" here is Nephilim. Scripture says little more than this verse, so we leave it there.
The Sons of Anak
And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.— Numbers 13:33 (KJV)
From the PsalmsHe delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.— Psalm 18:17 (KJV)
Emims, Anakims and Og
The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.— Deuteronomy 2:10–11 (KJV)
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 was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.— Deuteronomy 3:11 (KJV)
The Hebrew behind "giants" in Deuteronomy 3:11 is Rephaim. The Philistines camped in "the valley of Rephaim" when the three mighty men broke through to Bethlehem (2 Samuel 23:13).
The Anakim Who Remained in Gath
There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.— Joshua 11:22 (KJV)
Gath was Goliath's city (1 Samuel 17:4), and four more "born to the giant in Gath" fell to David's men (the giants of Gath). Benaiah killed an Egyptian "five cubits high" (1 Chronicles 11:23).
David's Men Who Killed Giants
- Abishai son of Zeruiah killed Ishbi-benob, who thought to have slain David (2 Samuel 21:15–17).
- Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, called Sippai in Chronicles (2 Samuel 21:18; 1 Chronicles 20:4).
- Elhanan slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath (1 Chronicles 20:5; compare 2 Samuel 21:19).
- Jonathan son of Shimeah, David's nephew, slew the man of Gath with six fingers and six toes (2 Samuel 21:20–21; 1 Chronicles 20:6–7).
- Benaiah son of Jehoiada slew the Egyptian of five cubits (1 Chronicles 11:23).
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Get the Coloring BookQuestions About David's Mighty Men
Were there giants in the Bible?
Yes. The KJV speaks of giants in Genesis 6:4, Numbers 13:33, Deuteronomy 2:10–11 and 3:11, Joshua 11:22, 1 Samuel 17 (Goliath) and 2 Samuel 21:15–22.
Who was Og king of Bashan?
Deuteronomy 3:11 says he alone remained of the remnant of giants, and his iron bedstead was nine cubits long.
Was Goliath one of the Anakim?
Scripture does not say so directly. It says some Anakims remained in Gath (Joshua 11:22), and Goliath was of Gath (1 Samuel 17:4).
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