Deuteronomy 2:10

10 (The Emim—a large and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim—had formerly inhabited it.

Deuteronomy 2:10 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 2:10

The Emims dwelt there in time past
We read of them as early as the times of Chedorlaomer, ( Genesis 14:5 ) when their dwelling was in Kirjathaim, a city which Sihon king of the Amorites took from the Moabites, and which being taken from him, was with others given to the tribe of Reuben, ( Numbers 32:37 ) . These are by some thought to be the same with the Yemim which Anah found and met with in the wilderness, and defeated, which we render "mules", ( Genesis 36:24 ) . They had their name from the fear and terror they put men into because of their gigantic stature and great strength, as follows: it is probable they were the descendants of Ham:

a people great and many, and tall as the Anakims;
who were very numerous, of a very bulky size of body, and of high stature, like the giants the spies had seen at Hebron, the sons of Anak, a noted giant there, ( Numbers 13:22 Numbers 13:23 ) .

Deuteronomy 2:10 In-Context

8 So we passed by our kin, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, leaving behind the route of the Arabah, and leaving behind Elath and Ezion-geber. When we had headed out along the route of the wilderness of Moab,

9 the Lord said to me: "Do not harass Moab or engage them in battle, for I will not give you any of its land as a possession, since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot."

10 (The Emim—a large and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim—had formerly inhabited it.

11 Like the Anakim, they are usually reckoned as Rephaim, though the Moabites call them Emim.

12 Moreover, the Horim had formerly inhabited Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, destroying them and settling in their place, as Israel has done in the land that the Lord gave them as a possession.)