lofty men; giants, ( Genesis 14:5 ; 2 Sam Genesis 21:16 Genesis 21:18 , marg. A.V., Rapha, marg. RSV, Raphah; Deuteronomy 3:13 , RSV; A.V., "giants"). The aborigines of Palestine, afterwards conquered and dispossessed by the Canaanite tribes, are classed under this general title. They were known to the Moabites as Emim, i.e., "fearful", ( Deuteronomy 2:11 ), and to the Ammonites as Zamzummim. Some of them found refuge among the Philistines, and were still existing in the days of David. We know nothing of their origin. They were not necessarily connected with the "giants" (RSV, "Nephilim") of Genesis 6:4 . (See GIANTS .)
REPHAIM
ref'-a-im, re-fa'-im (repha'-im, from rapha', "a terrible one "hence "giant," in 1 Chronicles 20:4, yelidhe ha-rapha', "sons of the giant"; the King James Version, Rephaims):
A race of aboriginal or early inhabitants East of the Jordan in Ashterothkarnaim (Genesis 14:5) and in the valley of Rephaim Southwest of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:8). They associated with other giant races, as the Emim and Anakim (Deuteronomy 2:10,11) and the Zamzummim (Deuteronomy 2:20). It is probable that they were all of the same stock, being given different names by the different tribes who came in contact with them. The same Hebrew word is rendered "the dead," or "the shades" in various passages (Job 26:5 margin; Psalms 88:10 margin; Proverbs 2:18 margin; Proverbs 9:18 margin; Proverbs 21:16 margin; Isaiah 14:9 margin; Isaiah 26:14,19 margin). In these instances the word is derived from rapheh, "weak," "powerless," "a shadow" or "shade."
H. Porter
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