GIANTS

 

The etymology of the word Nephilim Swedenborg gives as relating to the Hebrew word Naphal: to fall, so it either means ‘fallen ones’ or ‘those who fall on others’.

According to Swedenborg, not all the Nephilim perished in the great flood and some went on to father what he describes as, “the seven profane tribes which are known as the Avim, the Anakim, the Horim, the Emim, the Zuzim, the Zamzummim, and the Rephaim.”

As for the presence of these tribes in the present day, I would say it is clear that they exist in some form and their descendants literally walk among us, but the last traces scholars have made of them are as follows:

Avim: David Rohl suggests Ahhotep II who drove the Greater Hyksos Caphtorim out of Egypt, was an important descendant of this earlier Palestinian group and became the inspiration behind the legend of Io.

Anak, the Anak were described as very tall and may be one of the origins of the Nephilim being described as ‘giants’. The word Anak is also the Hebrew word for giant. Robert Graves identifies the Anakim with Anax, the giant ruler of the Anactorians in Greek mythology. They inhabited the area later known as Edom and Moab.

Horim: later became a Bronze Age people known as the Hurrians who settled extensively throughout Iraq, Syria and Anatolia (modern day Turkey) the present-day people of Armenia are the only national remnant of this people and they are intermixed with the Uratians. The term ‘Horim’ means ‘free-people’.

Emim: Their name means ‘dreaded ones’ and the root is from the Hebrew word ‘Eyma’ which means ‘terror’. “The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim” (Deuteronomy 2:10).

Zazu: According to the Hebrew Bible, the Zuzim or Zuzites (meaning "restless" or "roaming") were a tribe who lived in Ham, a land east of the Jordan River between Bashan and Moab. The Zuzim were conquered by the Elamite King Chedorlaomer (Genesis 14:5). Many scholars identify the Zuzim with the Zamzummim, a tribe of the Rephaim living in the same region as the Zuzim and later occupied by the Ammonites. In Hebrew "Zuz" represents the root "z'z" which means, "to move" and is likely associated with the Ancient Egyptian "s's" meaning, "to move on foot" as in the "ssw" or Shasu. The Shasu and Zuzim may be one and the same if one considers their close proximity to the Horites "Kharu" and Hebrews "Habiru" as they are described in Egyptian lists.

Egyptologist and archaeologist, Donald B. Redford has argued that the earliest Israelites, semi-nomadic highlanders in central Palestine mentioned on the Merneptah Stele at the end of the 13th century BC with reference made to Yahweh as: “Yahu in the land of the Šosū-nomad” are to be identified as a Shasu enclave. Since later Biblical tradition portrays Yahweh "coming forth from Seʿir", the Shasu, originally from Moab and northern Edom/Seʿir, went on to form one major element in the amalgam that would constitute the "Israel" which later established the Kingdom of Israel.

Rephaim: Again, these were a taller than average sized people. They are considered the ‘residents of the underworld’ wandering earthbound spirits, in other world, these could be the beings largely identified as Gods, demons and Djins. The Phoenicians considered the Rephaim ‘the divine ones’ and it is possible that many of the Gods of the ancient world are derived from the activity of the Rephaim. The etymology of the term ‘Rephaim’ has never been satisfactorily deduced.

Og of Bashan was one of the Rephaim whom Moses slayed and his capital was called Ashtaroth, also known as Ashtartu, Ashtara and means "Astarte of the Horns”, Astarte being the name of a Canaanite Goddess. Ashtaroth is the name of a demon in Jewish demonology.