Godzilla and Other Giants in the Bible:
Raboyseyee and Ladies,
Even before Godzilla, once upon a time, giants roamed the land wreaking all sorts of havoc. Moishe will mention four different groups of them in this week’s parsha of Devorim. Yes, they appear in the heylige Toirah! They were not necessarily good people, but giants they were nonetheless. Before we get to them, the Ois begins this week with a shoutout to a real giant. So happens he’s my son-in-law and what he did last week is way bigger than a good deed: It was a giant chesed (good deed).
This past Thursday, our son-in-law, Yaakov Rabi, working directly and closely with the very good people at Renewal.org- donated a kidney to an unknown recipient. Both donor and recipient are slowly recovering from this invasive procedure.
His very short story of inspiration is copied below. To him I say Yashar Koiach and Chazak! You are a good man!
Mazel tov to Shiffy and Judah Klein, children of Myrna and Rabbi Moshe Weinberger, and our friends of many decades, Chani and Shimie Klein, upon the birth and bris of a new son and grandson. Mazel tov to both very extended families. May מרדכי יוסף bring much and only nachas to his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and of course, to Uncle Phil Rosen, who voiced a complaint about not being properly acknowledged.
Mazel tov to Elie and Alyssa Brecher upon the birth of a baby boy and welcome to the world, Meir (Theo Micha) Brecher. May you bring much nachas to your parents, your grandparents -our friends of over three decades- Mandy and Rubin Brecher, to your grandparents, Sheila and Alan Berman whom I have known for over four decades, to your great-grandparents, Charles and Esther Spirgel whom I have known since 8th grade when Charles was my teacher, and to your entire family.
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A warm welcome to Sefer and Parshas Devorim and to the last week of parsha reviews from the heylige Ois here in year 15. Year 16 begins next week and wow! Except for parts of 2010, all past parsha posts and special editions -including one written this week about President Trump – can be found on the site, or in the archives at www.Oisvorfer.com
Moishe has become historical as he revisits and reviews the trials and tribulations of the Yiddin from the time they left Mitzrayim. He will cover the history of the Yiddin over the past forty years; the good, the bad and the ugly. Lots of bad and ugly with very little good. When he’s all done – that won’t happen until near the very end of Sefer Devorim- he will pass away and be buried by the RBSO Himself, ober for now and the next eight or nine parshas, he’s very much alive. Kimat all of Sefer Devorim is Moishe talking to the Yiddin.
In chapters 2& 3, he will revisit the historical journey of the Yiddin and introduce us to a mysterious and powerful group of ancient peoples: The Rephaim, a people -seemingly many of them- made up of giants. Were they really giants? How big were they? Bigger than the jolly green giant? Taller than big Gedaliah Goomber? Bigger than some of today’s basketball players? Godzilla? Where did they come from? What became of them? Does the heylige Toirah ever properly introduce us to these giants?
Mamish in our parsha, Moishe, in (Devarim 2:10–12) recounts a people known as The Emim, a nation of giants who lived in the land of Moav. They were considered like the “Anokim”—other giants known to the Yiddin from 38 years back when the Miraglim (spies) returned and reported of their whereabouts to the Yiddin who then become frightened and were hesitant about entering the land. You all know how angry the RBSO was to hear this report. The Yiddin were punished severely; their imminent entry into the Promised Land was delayed by 38 years. Ober, what about the giants they mentioned? What about those Anokim? Where did they come from? These giants were seemingly not alone because a few pisukim later, in 2:20–21, Moishe will mention yet another group of giants, the “Zamzumim” who lived in the region of Ammon. Like the Emim and Anokim, they were tall and mighty, yet the RBSO destroyed them before the Ammonites. More on that a bit later. Have you heard of these giants before? Mistama not; at least not all of them.
Shoin, since we’re mentioning giants, we’d be remiss not to shout out Oig -he perhaps the most famous of all Toirah mentioned giants. Let us also shout out Goliyas (Goliath) also a giant, spoken of in the Novee Shmuel. And taka the heylige Toirah does just that. Let us read it as it appears on Devarim 3:11:
כִּי רַק עוֹג מֶלֶךְ הַבָּשָׁן נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים; הִנֵּה עַרְשׂוֹ עֶרֶשׂ בַּרְזֶל—הֲלוֹא הִוא בְרַבַּת בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן, תֵּשַׁע אַמּוֹת אָרְכָּהּ, וְאַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת רָחְבָּהּ, בְּאַמַּת אִישׁ.
“For only Oig king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits was its length and four cubits its breadth, by the cubit of a man.”
Oig Melech HaBoshon is described as the last of the Rephaim, with a massive iron bed measuring 9 amos in length (about 13–15 feet). And just like, within the first three perokim (chapters) of Sefer Devorim, Moishe invoked the names of four different groups of giants who seemingly roamed about the land doing as they wished. Let us chazir who these people were, where they came from, and what was unique about them.
| Nation | Region | Alternate Name | Traits | Replaced By |
| Rephaim | Bashan, East | Zamzumim | Giant warriors, mighty | Ammonites, Israelites |
| Emim | Moav | — | Terrifying, tall like Anokim | Moabites |
| Zamzumim | Ammon | Rephaim | Numerous, powerful | Ammonites |
| Anokim | Chevron, Canaan | — | Feared giants, long-necked | Defeated by Yehoshua |
| Og | Bashan | Rephaim | Massive king, iron bed | Killed by Bnei Yisrael |
Ober, does the heylige Toirah, or anyone else, tell us how these giants got here? Have we met each of these groups of giants before Moishe recounts our history with them? And the answer is azoy: It appears that the heylige Toirah touches upon some of them but doesn’t fully unravel these mysterious people/giants: Where did the giants come from, and were they already known before they appear in Sefers Bereishis, Bamidbar and Devarim? Let’s go step by step and uncover their history as only the heylige Ois does from week to week.
We first met the Nephilim back in Bereishis (6:4) where we read this posik:
“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days… when the sons of G-d came to the daughters of man…”
As an aside, this posik appears before the Mabul, and it’s the first and only place in the heylige Toirah that explicitly mentions the origin of giants. They seem to have fallen mamish out of the sky or something like that. We have -of course- previously mentioned this group of giants but mistama you forgot. And for that reason, the Ois will review their history. Let’s meet the Nephilim. Who were they? Says Rashi: They are fallen angels or giants who caused destruction. Says the Ibn Ezra: They were mighty rulers who abused their power, and says the Medrish (Bereishis Rabbah 26) that they were born from heavenly beings (angels) who mated with humans. Mated with humans? What’s pshat? Heavenly beings mated with humanoids? How, what, where, and when? How did that work and or workout? Were the angels well-equipped, if you chap? What happened to them? In any event, we were taught that the Mabul destroyed the Nephilim except maybe Oig. We will circle back to him soon because in the medrish (Pirkei d’Rebbi Eliezer), Oig survived and went on to live many hundreds of years. Of course.
Says the heylige Gemora (Niddah 61a) -indeed it does, azoy: Oig was the grandson of Shemhazai. Shemhazai was one of the two rebellious angels that had descended to Earth. These two angels argued before the RBSO that He should not have created man because man was faulty and pathetic. Stupid these angels were not! The RBSO told the angels that had they been on earth, and given the same challenges that man faced -equipped with the yetzer horo- they would be even worse. The angels wanted to be tested anyway, and were thus brought down into earthly bodies. Of course, just as the RBSO had predicted, they quickly fell into sin. This is what is meant by the posik found in Bereishis 6:2, which describes divine beings mating with human women. Let’s read that posik:
| That the sons of the nobles saw the daughters of man when they were beautifying themselves, and they took for themselves wives from whomever they chose. | בוַיִּרְא֤וּ בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־בְּנ֣וֹת הָֽאָדָ֔ם כִּ֥י טֹבֹ֖ת הֵ֑נָּה וַיִּקְח֤וּ לָהֶם֙ נָשִׁ֔ים מִכֹּ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּחָֽרוּ: |
Let’s get real: Size matters, if you chap. These giants somehow saw the daughters of man while they were beautifying themselves and shoin. What that means exactly, ver veyst? Were the girls getting their faces done? Shoin, whatever happened there – whether the giants stam azoy chapped the girls against their will, or the girls fell for angelic looking humans, ver veyst, but all agree on this: They got together sexually and shoin. The bottom line: When it comes to women, there are no angles! Period end discussion. It’s just how the RBSO programmed us. In any event, the offspring of these unions were initially called Nephilim. They were large and powerful, and were seen as “giants” by common people. However, during the Mabul (Great Flood of Noiach) all of these semi-angelic beings perished. Except for one, guess who? That would be Oig! The bottom line: The Nephilim (נְפִילִים) are indeed the first giants mentioned in the heylige Toirah, appearing in Bereishis 6:4:
“הַנְּפִלִים הָיוּ בָאָרֶץ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וְגַם אַחֲרֵי כֵן, אֲשֶׁר יָבֹאוּ בְנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים אֶל-בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם וְיָלְדוּ לָהֶם—הֵמָּה הַגִּבֹּרִים אֲשֶׁר מֵעוֹלָם אַנְשֵׁי הַשֵּׁם.”
“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of G-d came to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. They were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.”
Where did the Nephilim come from? In the literal pshat (simple meaning), the heylige Toirah implies that they were the offspring of “Bnei HaElokim” (sons of God or divine beings) and “Bnos HoAdom” (daughters of man). This led many to conclude they were hybrid beings of sorts — extraordinary in size and strength. Could a girl say no to that?
Ober says Rashi quoting Midrashic sources azoy: The “Bnei HoElokim” were noblemen, judges, or princes (elohim often means powerful authorities). These powerful men took women by force, and their offspring became tyrannical giants. He also says that Nephilim comes from the word “nafal” (to fall), because they fell spiritually and morally; perhaps they were the first fallen angels.
Other Midrashim, like those cited in Pirkei D’Rebbi Eliezer, interpret the Bnei Elokim as actual angels (like the “watchers” mentioned in later apocryphal books like Sefer Chanoch/Enoch). These angels desired human women, descended, and fathered giant offspring. These giants became violent, corrupted the earth, and were among the reasons for the Mabul (Flood).
Not be left out of the giant party, the heylige Zoihar (Bereishis 58a) also talks about the Nephilim as spirits of celestial beings who were cast down for their rebellion and became trapped in the physical world. What that means, ver veyst? The Zoihar’s teaching are not for everyone.
The bottom line: whoever they were, they were seemingly real and giant in size. Ober, where did they go? As mentioned above, most agree that they were wiped out in the flood, ober, since the posik specifically states that there were giants post-mabul (“and also afterward”), this would imply that Nephilim reappeared later. And if that’s emes -and why shouldn’t it be if the heylige Toirah specifically uses those words- that would also tell us why there were giants known as the Anokim when the Yiddin went to spy on K’nan the future Promised Land. And taka that’s why the miraglim -upon their return- sated (Parshas Shelach)
“וְשָׁם רָאִינוּ אֶת הַנְּפִילִים בְּנֵי עֲנָק מִן־הַנְּפִלִים” — “And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anok, from the Nephilim…” (Bamidbar 13:33).
This suggests that either some Nephilim survived the Mabul, or that new Nephilim were born later under similar unnatural circumstances. Well, blow me down!
Ober, the Ois is here with his own pshat -one not seen elsewhere and chaps why there were giants in the future Promised Land even post mabul. And why is that? Because way back when in yeshiva, we were taught that the mabul never reached Israel. Somehow the RBSO arranged things so that the great flood never affected Israel which was then still known as K’nan. And if that is the case- and why shouldn’t it be- it makes perfect sense that there were giants living there when the miraglim came by to recontour the land. Those living there were never wiped out. Mamish gishmak.
Ober, what about the other giants Moishe mentions in our parsha? Where did they come from? Shoin, let us then examine the connection between the Nephilim, Anokim, and Rephaim via a fascinating thread that runs from Bereishis through Devorim and Sefer Yehoshua, tying together the mysterious ancient giants who once roamed the land of Israel.
Let’s chazir: We know the Nephilim and we also know -mamish from the words in the posik- that the Anokim whom the spies encountered were the sons of the Niphilim. Mamish direct lineage. Says the posik azoy:
“וְשָׁם רָאִינוּ אֶת־הַנְּפִילִים בְּנֵי עֲנָק מִן־הַנְּפִילִים”
“There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anok, from the Nephilim…” (Bamidbar 13:33)
As an aside this is the only time the Nephilim are explicitly mentioned after Bereishis — and it’s in reference to Bnei Anok, the sons of Anok. Who were the Anokim? Says Rashi that Anok was a giant whose neck reached the sun (“Tzavaro chozer lachama”). Of course it did! Rashi is of course quoting some Aggadah (story) in the heylige Gemora, which illustrates their immense size and of course we all know -or should- that most Aggadahs are mamish but stories meant to teach something. That said, the underlying story- the story meant to convey a teaching- is -many times- mamish fictional, not emes at all. Of course there are many who the Ois has encountered who believe that every aggada is emes; good for them.
According to this pshat, the term “Anok” comes from עֲנָק = “necklace.” And now let’s read this entertaining pshat: Our sages say their necks were so long, they looked like they wore chokers. The bottom line: The miraglim claimed these giants were descended from the Nephilim — meaning either they were actual descendants, or they resembled them in stature and dread.
So far so good- ober who are the Rephaim that Moishe mentions in our parsha? Humm! How did the Anokim morph into the Rephaim? When Moishe recounts the Yiddin’s journey in our parsha, he describes several ancient nations of giants:
“עַם גָּדוֹל וְרָם כָּעֲנָקִים — וְהָרְפָאִים יֵחָשְׁבוּ אַף הֵם רְפָאִים כָּעֲנָקִים”
(Devarim 2:10–11)
“A people great and tall like the Anokim — and they too are considered Rephaim, like the Anokim…”
A shtikel confusing? According to my eishes chayil, that’s how all men talk! And that we are all idiots. Shoin, that for another day. Seemingly, the Rephaim were yet another race of giants, and Moishe says they were “like the Anokim” which implies all these names (Nephilim, Anokim, Rephaim) may refer to overlapping or successive lineages of giants. The Emim, Zamzummim, and Rephaim are described as ancient tribes of giants who lived in what became Moav, Amon, and K’nan.
And now that we know all that, we are left with this question: What happened to all these giants? Who was big enough and strong enough to kill them and wipe them out?
Says the heylige Toirah -mamish in the text- thar most of these giant nations were wiped out by Bnei Eisav, Moav, and Amon before the Yiddin even arrived. Let’s check it out: As to the giants known as the Emin, we read this (Devorim 2:10–12):
“The Emim used to dwell there—a people great and numerous, and tall as the Anokim… but the Moabites called them Emim. Hashem destroyed them before [the Moabites, and they took possession and settled in their place.”
What does that mean? Who mamish killed the Emim? Let’s dig further: The Moabites were the ones who defeated and dispossessed the Emim (a giant-like nation, considered among the Rephaim), but they were only successful because the RBSO helped them, as the heylige Toirah emphasizes: “Hashem destroyed them before them.”
This phrasing—”הִשְׁמִידֵם ה’ מִפְּנֵיהֶם“—means Hashem wiped out the Emim on behalf of the Moabites, just as He helped Bnei Esav defeat the Horites in Seir. The bottom line: It does appear that the RBSO was involved -isn’t He always? – and helped our enemies kill off the giants. Let’s review: The Emim were a giant nation like the Anokim. They lived in what became the territory of Moav. The RBSO destroyed the Emim, and the Moabites settled their land. The Moabites didn’t conquer them through their own strength alone—it was a divinely-assisted conquest.
Similarly, another group of giants, The Zamzumim died in Amon’s land as we read in our parsha (Devorim 2:20–21)
“That too is regarded as a land of Rephaim; the Rephaim formerly dwelled there—but the Ammonites call them Zamzumim. They were a great and numerous people, tall as the Anokim. But Hashem destroyed them before [the Ammonites], and they dispossessed them and settled in their place.”
And let us read this posik (Devarim 2:22) where the Bnei Eisav and Seir were implicated in the killings.
“As He did for the descendants of Eisav, who dwell in Seir, when He destroyed the Horim before them so that they took possession of them and lived in their place to this day.”
Says Rashi referencing the medrish, azoy: These giant nations were truly terrifying, and yet even Moav and Amon, who were not known for their righteousness, were able to defeat them because the RBSO gave them victory. The implication is that If the RBSO gave those victories to Moav and Amon, surely, He would help the Yiddin against their enemies.
The bottom lines: Our hands were clean; the Yiddin did not kill off most of the giants. Seemingly their host nations -with the guidance of the RBSO- disposed of them. It wasn’t a case of ethnic cleansing but of wiping out those that didn’t fit into regular beds. That being said, not all were killed and when the Yiddin conquered Moav and other places in their wars against Sichoin and Oig, the Yiddin also conquered the last of them. These included the oft mentioned Oig Melech HaBoshon, the last Rephaite, and the three sons of Anok in Chevroin, defeated by Kolave and Yehoshua. As mentioned in the past, according to the medrish (Midrash Aggadah, Sefer HaYoshor), Oig may have survived the Mabul by climbing onto the Teivah, making him a direct link from the antediluvian world of the Nephilim. And now you know.
Shoin, since we shouted out Goliyas (Goliath), let us spend another few seconds reading his story as found in the heylige Novee (Shmuel I, Chapter 17). Was he the last ever giant? Let’s find out more:
GOLIATH OF GAT was “six cubits and a span” tall (~10 feet). He wore armor weighing 5,000 shekels, had a spearhead like a weaver’s beam, and had a shield-bearer walk before him. The classic image of a terrifying warrior giant.
Says the medrish (Yalkut Shimoni, Shmuel I 123) so interestingly, azoy: Goliath was a descendant of Orpah, the sister-in-law of Rus. Just as Rus -after conversion and a brief marriage to Boaz (one night) merited to have Dovid, the savior of Israel in her lineage, Orpah bore Goliath, Israel’s enemy. I never knew that! Some midroshim say that Goliyas was a literal remnant of the Rephaim, or from the giant clans of the Philistines, who had absorbed remnants of Canaanite giants. The bottom line: Goliath was seemingly a literal giant, perhaps the last of them?
Seemingly not. Because in the Novee, this time in Shmuel II (2 Samuel) 21:15–22, the pisukim describe four more giant warriors from the Philistines who fought against Dovid and his men after Goliath’s death. There we meet:
Yishbi-Benov (יִשְׁבִּי בְּנוֹב) who threatened Dovid’s life with a massive spear and new armor. He was killed by Avishai ben Tzruyah, Dovid’s general. We also meet Saph (סַף), seemingly yet another descendant of the giants who was killed by one of Dovid’s warriors. As well, we meet Goliath’s brother described as having a spear “like a weaver’s beam” (same language used for Goliath). He was taken out by Elchonon ben Yaarei Oregim. And we meet a man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot (24 digits total), also descended from the Rephaim. He mocked Israel and was killed by Yoinoson ben Shimei, Dovid’s nephew. And for final confirmation of the existence of giants, over in Divrei HaYamim I (1 Chronicles) 20:4–8, we read a section that parallels the stories in Shmuel II and reaffirms that these four warriors were “children of the giant (רְפָאִים)” in Gat, and all were killed by Dovid’s men. The heylige Novee is so enjoyable.
What do all these stories tell us? That Goliath was not unique, he had relatives or fellow giants, possibly from the same bloodline or region. That giants continued to appear in battles during Dovid’s reign. That they are all usually referred to as descendants of the Rephaim, the ancient race of giants going back to pre-Abrahamic times. And that Dovid’s warriors saw defeating these giants as a sign of divine favor, just as Dovid himself had slain Goliath. Wow!
The Final bottom line: There are giants mentioned in the heylige Toirah, real Toirah giants, and regular people who do giant deeds.
A gittin Shabbis,
The Heylige Oisvorfer Ruv
Yitz Grossman
