4 - Events after the flood
With
regards to the Nephilim, Genesis 6 verse 4 also includes the allusive phrase:
" ... and also after that
.... ". Apparently, the existence
of the Nephilim was not limited only to the period before the flood.
We see in
the Bible that also after the flood Nephilim appear in different areas
specifically in Canaan. We can read for
example in the bible about the giant races that lived there.
We may be
surprised when we see how often texts appear talking about the activities of
giants as if their existence were an accepted element in the life of the people
of Canaan…. For example we read in 2 Samuel 21 verses 15 to 22:”There
was another war between the Philistines and Israel, and David and his men went
and fought the Philistines. During one of the battles David grew tired. A giant named Ishbibenob, who was carrying a
bronze spear that weighed about seven and a half pounds and who was wearing a
new sword, thought he could kill David.
But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's help, attacked the giant, and
killed him. Then David's men made David promise that he would never again go
out with them to battle. “You are the hope of Israel, and we don't want to lose
you,” they said. After this there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob,
during which Sibbecai from Hushah killed a giant named Saph.
Then there was another battle at Gath, where
there was a giant who loved to fight. He had six fingers on each hand
and six toes on each foot. He defied the Israelites, and Jonathan, the
son of David's brother Shammah, killed him. These four were descendants of the
giants of Gath, and they were killed by David and his men”
It is
amazing to see how often giants appear in the time of David, exactly at the
moment that David was establishing the people of Israel in their country as a
strong nation. This can be
understood, because it was very important for Satan to avoid that Israel would
settle and get a place in the land, promised by God to Abraham. This was to
avoid that once the Messiah would come into this world and live amongst his
people Israel, as prophesized earlier.
Here below
follow a number of references to Nephilim. They are given here to get a better
understanding of the extent of their penetration in the world surrounding
Israel:
There were
tribes, such as the Emim, who were giants. We can read about them in
Deuteronomy 2 verses10-11: " A
mighty race of giants called the Emim used to live in Ar. They were as tall as
the Anakim, another race of giants. 11 Like the Anakim they were also known as
Rephaim; but the Moabites called them Emim”. Also is there the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, in the
" land of giants . " See Deut.3 verse 11, mentioned before. Sometime
later we read about Arba, see Joshua 14:12 an 15 . "…….We told you then that the race of giants called the Anakim
were there in large walled cities…….. Before this, Hebron was called the city
of Arba. (Arba had been the greatest of the Anakim)…..
In 1 Samuel
17 verse 4: “A man named Goliath, from
the city of Gath, came out from the Philistine camp to challenge the
Israelites. He was over nine feet tall. He had four brothers of the same height”….
We all know that David killed Goliath. ….Here, and in other cases mentioned in
the bible, we see how God used David, amongst others, to kill the Nephilim .
