Devarim 2:20

20 (That also was accounted a land of Refa’im; Refa’im dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonim call them Zamzummim;

Devarim 2:20 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 2:20

That also was accounted a land of giants
Ammon was so reckoned as well as Moab, ( Deuteronomy 2:10 Deuteronomy 2:11 )

giants dwelt therein in old time;
the Rephaim dwelt there, as they did also in Ashteroth Karnaim, ( Genesis 14:5 )

and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;
they are thought to be the same with the Zuzims in ( Genesis 14:5 ) who had their name, as Hillerus ^F3 thinks, from Mezuzah, a door post, from their tall stature, being as high as one; and for a like reason Saph the giant might have his name, ( 2 Samuel 21:18 ) . The word Zamzummims, according to him ^F4, signifies contrivers of evil and terrible things; they were inventors of wickedness, crafty and subtle in forming wicked and mischievous designs, which struck terror into people, and made them formidable to them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 Onomastic. Sacr. p. 158, 288, 289.
F4 Onomastic. Sacr. p. 161, 310, 428.

Devarim 2:20 In-Context

18 Thou art to pass over the border of Moav at Ar today;

19 And when thou comest opposite the Bnei Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them; for I will not give thee of the Eretz Bnei Ammon any yerushah; because I have given it unto the Bnei Lot for a yerushah.

20 (That also was accounted a land of Refa’im; Refa’im dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonim call them Zamzummim;

21 A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but Hashem destroyed them before them; and they [the Ammonim] dispossessed them, and dwelt in their place:

22 As He did to the Bnei Esav, which dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed the Chori from before them; and they succeeded them, dwelling in their place even to this day;