Rephaim רְפָאִים
A race of giants who inhabited Canaan
Biography
The Rephaim, also referred to as Zamzummin by the Ammonites (Deu.2.20), were a race of giants who inhabited parts of Canaan before the Israelite conquest. They are first mentioned in Gen.14.5, where they were defeated by Chedorlaomer and his allies in Ashteroth-karnaim. The Rephaim were one of the groups that inhabited the land promised to Abraham's descendants (Gen.15.20). They were known for their great stature and strength, and their land was characterized by large, fortified cities (Deu.3.11, 13). The Rephaim were gradually dispossessed of their land by the Israelites during the conquest of Canaan. The Ammonites drove them out of the territory east of the Jordan River (Deu.2.20-21), while the Israelites, under Joshua's leadership, defeated Og, the king of Bashan, who was described as the last of the Rephaim (Jos.12.4; 13.12). Despite their formidable reputation, the Israelites were able to overcome the Rephaim with God's help and claim their inheritance in the Promised Land (Jos.17.15).
In Scripture
3 biblical books ; 3 with study contentGenesis 2 verses
- Genesis 14:5
"In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came, and the kings who were with him, and struck the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim,"
Study Genesis → - Genesis 15:20
"the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,"
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Deuteronomy 4 verses
- Deuteronomy 2:11
"These also are considered to be Rephaim, as the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim."
Study Deuteronomy → - Deuteronomy 2:20
"(That also is considered a land of Rephaim. Rephaim lived there in the past, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,"
Study Deuteronomy → - Deuteronomy 3:11
"(For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron. Isn’t it in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its width, after the cubit of a man.)"
Study Deuteronomy → - Deuteronomy 3:13
"and the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh—all the region of Argob, even all Bashan. (The same is called the land of Rephaim."
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Joshua 3 verses
- Joshua 12:4
"and the border of Og king of Bashan, of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,"
Study Joshua → - Joshua 13:12
"all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (who was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for Moses attacked these, and drove them out."
Study Joshua → - Joshua 17:15
"Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest, and clear land for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim; since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.”"
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Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Hebrew | רְפָאִים | H7497B |
| Group | Hebrew | זַמְזֻמִּים | H2157 |
Rephaim
iginal or early inhabitants East of the Jordan in Ashterothkarnaim (Ge 14:5) and in the valley of Rephaim Southwest of Jerusalem (Jos 15:8). They associated with other giant races, as the Emim and Anakim (De 2:10,11) and the Zamzummim (De 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; Ps 88:10 margin; Pr 2:18 margin; Pr 9:18 margin; Pr 21:16 margin; Isa 14:9 margin; Isa 26:14,19 margin). In these instances the word is derived from rapheh, "weak," "powerless," "a shadow" or "shade."
H. Porter
(`emeq repha'-im; koilas Rhaphaeim, koilas ton Titanon): This was a fertile vale (Isa 17:5), to the Southwest of Jerusalem (Jos 15:8; <