Do GIANTS exist?

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Did GIANTS exist not only before but also AFTER Noah's flood? If they did exist, who were they? How big was their stature? Where can we find them in the Bible?

The giants who lived before the deluge were the Nephilim.

"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, NKJV)

Some believe these gigantic people were the product of fallen angels marrying human women. This cannot be true, however, as Jesus said angelic beings (whether righteous or not) do not marry (Matthew 22:29-30, Luke 20:34-36). Additionally, angels are composed of spirit, which is a completely different type of existence than man who was made from the ground (Genesis 3:19). Please see our article "Who are the Nephilim?" for more information about this fasinating subject. Suffice to say, these giants perished in the flood along with the rest of humanity.

AFTER the flood

Where can we find giants in the Bible after the destruction of the world through water? The first mention of such people is in the book of Numbers. Ten of the twelve men sent to spy out the promised land for the children of Israel reported:

"And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had scouted out to the children of Israel, saying, 'The land through which we have gone to scout it out, is a land that eats up those who live in it. And all the people whom we saw in it were men of great stature. And there we saw the GIANTS, the children of Anak of the giants (Anakim). And we were in our own sight like grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.'" (Numbers 13:32-33, Holy Bible in Its Original Order - A Faithful Version (HBFV) throughout unless stated))

Only the spies Joshua and Caleb had the faith that God would help them win in battle no matter who they came up against (Numbers 13:30, 14:6). It was Israel's lack of faith and fear of the giant people who inhabited the land of milk and honey that caused them to wander the wilderness for forty years (see Numbers 14).

A giant king

The Israelites, while wandering the wilderness 40 years, encountered a second group or race of people known to produce large, powerful humans. In reminding the Israelites of the battle they fought and won against Og, king of Bashan, Moses said:

"For only Og king of Bashan remained of the rest of the giants. Behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron. Is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its width, according to the cubit of a man." (Deuteronomy 3:11)

Various Bible commentaries place the length of a Biblical cubit anywhere from 17 inches (43.2 centimeters) to 21 inches (53.3 centimeters). If we use a conservative value of 18 inches in a cubit, Og's bed was 13 1/2 feet long and 6 feet wide! For comparison purposes, the most common large mattress in the U.S., the "king size" mattress, is 6.6 feet long and 6.3 feet wide.

David and Goliath

The third mention of giants in the Bible is within the well-known story of a young king David and Goliath.

"And a champion named Goliath came out of the Philistine’s camp; he was from Gath. His height was six cubits and a span. And a bronze helmet was upon his head, and he was armed with scaled armor. And the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. And greaves of bronze were upon his legs, and a bronze javelin slung from his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam. And his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron." (1Samuel 17:4-7)

The length of a span is likely to have been around 9 inches (22.9 centimeters). If we also use the conservative length of a cubit mentioned above, Goliath the giant was at least 9 feet 3 inches tall (2.82 meters) - and likely bigger! He was a big enough man to wear a protective battle coat weighing more than 80 pounds U.S. and to carry a 26 foot spear whose head alone was an amazing 17 pounds U.S. (7.7 kilograms)!

Goliath the Philistine, however, was not a unique giant. The Bible seems to indicate he had a few brothers, each of which died in battle at the hand of David!

"And again the Philistines warred with Israel . . . Ishbi-Benob, who was of the sons of the giant . . ."

"Now it came to pass after this there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was of the sons of the giant. And there was again a battle with the Philistines in Gob, where Elhanan of Bethlehem, the son of Jaare-Oregim, killed ONE OF THE BROTHERS of Goliath the Gittite . . . And there was yet again a battle in Gath. And there was a man of stature who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number. And he also was born to the giant.

"These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants." (2Samuel 21:15-16, 18-20, 22)

The Bible records for us at least three groups or races of people who produced giants after the flood. They are the Anakim (children of Anak), the people of Bashan, and the Philistines (Rephaim).