Page 318 - Foundations

case of a few giants scattered among the people. The entire group of people were described as “great,
and many, and tall, as the Anakims.” Yahweh, however, waged a war against these giants. The
descendants of Abraham were instrumental in this warfare. Esau, the son of Isaac, and grandson of
Abraham, slaughtered the Horites and occupied their territory. Jacob, the twin of Esau, also waged
war against the giants (Genesis 48:21-22), as did his descendants when Joshua led them back to
Canaan to conquer the land and its inhabitants. Before the Israelites even crossed the Jordan River
to occupy the land between the river and the Great Sea (the Mediterranean), they fought against the
Ammonites who were under the rule of Og, King of Bashan.

Deuteronomy 3:11
(For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the giants (Rephaim). Behold, his bedstead
was an iron bedstead; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits and its width
four cubits by ordinary cubit.)

The Hebrew word “rephaim” is translated into English as “giants.” This word occurs 25 times in the
Old Testament. At times it is understood to be the name of a people, while other times to be a
reference to giants.

Deuteronomy 3:13
And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of
Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants.

The translation of “rephaim” as “giants” is certainly appropriate. We are told that Og, King of Bashan,
had a bed that was nine cubits in length, and four cubits wide. This equated to 13 feet by 6 feet. This
bed size suggests that Og may have been between 11-12 feet tall. This bed size is calculated using the
“ordinary” or “common” cubit, which equates to 18 English inches.

The land of Bashan was referred to as “the land of the giants (rephaim),” though by the time Joshua
led the Israelites in to take possession of the land, only Og remained of what were formerly a great
and numerous people.

Joshua 13:12
All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei, who remained of the remnant
of the giants; for Moses had defeated and cast out these.