First lets look at some references to giants in the Bible. We find their origin in Genesis.
Genesis 6:1-12 (BSB) 1 Now when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.
3 So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.”
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time. 6 And the LORD regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will blot out man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—every man and beast and crawling creature and bird of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.”
8 Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth and saw that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth had corrupted their ways.
The Hebrew word Nephilim is from Nephal meaning “to fall, be cast down, to fall away, desert,” and also from “Ha Gebborim” “the mighty ones.” Demonic, fallen angels mating with human women had created races of halflings. They were giants, very evil and violent. Demons had corrupted mankind. Noah was pure in his generations, without the comingling of demons. Evidently, one or more of his daughters-in-law were not so pure in lineage as there were some giants after the Flood. The Anakim were another giant tribe. Can you see why God ordered the Israelites to (Numbers 13:33) utterly destroy these tribes as He had destroyed the halfling population that polluted the earth before the Flood. Jesus could die, save mankind and be raised again giving them eternal life. But not those with demonic blood in their lineage.
Genesis 14:1-13 (KJV) 1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; 2 [That these] made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. 3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. 4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that [were] with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which [is] by the wilderness. 7 And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which [is] Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar. 8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same [is] Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; 9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. 10 And the vale of Siddim [was full of] slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain. 11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. 12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. 13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these [were] confederate with Abram.
Nephilim, Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim, or Amorites
Amorites – The Amorites are mentioned more than 80 times in Scripture, and early on, some were allied with Abraham (Genesis 14:13). They were descendants of Noah’s grandson Canaan (Genesis 10:15–16).
Genesis 10:1,6,15-19 (KJV) 1 Now these [are] the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. … 6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. … 15 And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, 16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, 17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, 18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. 19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
Genesis 14:12-14 KJV – 12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. 13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these [were] confederate with Abram. 14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained [servants], born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued [them] unto Dan.
Amos 2:9–10 (ESV, God speaking) Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
Emim – Moses told the people that the Emim used to live in the territory that God had given to the descendants of Lot’s son Moab (Genesis 19:37).
Genesis 19:34-38 (KJV) 34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, [and] lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same [is] the father of the Moabites unto this day. 38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same [is] the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
Deuteronomy 2:10–11 The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. They were also regarded as giants [Hebrew rephaim], like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim.
Zuzim (Zamzummim) – literally “buzzers”. A group of giants known as Zamzummim had lived in the land of Ammon, “a land of giants.” God destroyed the Zamzummim so that the descendants of Lot’s son Ben-Ammi (the Ammonites) could live in the land (Genesis 19:38).
Deuteronomy 2:20–21 [The land of Ammon] was also regarded as a land of giants [Hebrew rephaim]; giants [rephaim] formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them Zamzummim, a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place.
Rephaim – The Hebrew name ‘Rephaim’ comes from the Hebrew root R-Ph- A {ר-פ-א} which means ‘medicine,’ ‘cure’ or ‘recovery’ (the Hebrew word for ‘doctor’ is ‘Rophe’{רופא}) and associated with the common ancient belief that the ‘Rephaim’ had a special ability ‘to cure themselves and recover.’ Because of this unique feature the ‘Repahim’ are associated in other references in the Hebrew Bible with ‘Sheol’{שאול} – an old Hebrew term for ‘death’ and meaning the place of death where the spirits of the dead go – as can be seen in the following example from Isaiah 14:9. Deuteronomy 3:11, 13. Rephaim not only refers to giants in Deuteronomy 2:10-11, but sometimes departed spirits in the Jewish afterlife, Sheol (Isaiah 26:14; Psalms 88:11; Proverbs 9:18; Isaiah 14:9). The term may refer to a certain people group, or it may be a term that simply means giants. The singular form, raphah, also appears several times (e.g., 2 Samuel 21:16, 18, 20). In the Hebrew Bible, “Rephaites” or “Repha’im” can describe an ancient race of giants in Iron Age Israel, or the places where these individuals were thought to have lived. According to Genesis 14:5, King Chedorlaomer (aka Kedorlaomer) and his allies attacked and defeated the Rephaites at Ashteroth-Karnaim. In the biblical narrative, the Israelites were instructed to exterminate the previous inhabitants of the Promised Land, i.e. Canaan, which include various named peoples, including some giants. Several passages in the Book of Joshua, and also Deuteronomy 3:11, mention Og, the King of Bashan, was one of the last survivors of the Rephaim. Deuteronomy 2:18–21 notes that the Ammonites called the Rephaites “Zamzummim“. In Deuteronomy 2:11, the Moabites referred to them as the “Emim“.
Nephilim – Thought to mean giants in general (but possibly could be a specific tribe of giants) so all giants would be nephilim but come from different tribes. For example, the Amorites would also be nephilim. The Anakim would also be nephilim.
Genesis 6:4 There were giants [nephilim] on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
Anakim – Best known of the giants dwelling in Canaan. They were part of the nephilim. The Anakim were descendants of Anak. Anak was the son of Arba (Joshua 15:13). The city of Hebron, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob settled and were buried was also called Kiriath Arba. “Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim” (Joshua 14:15), and “the father of Anak” (Joshua 15:13; 21:11). Joshua fought several battles with the Anakim and the Amorites. Eventually, he “cut off the Anakim from the mountains: from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod” (Joshua 11:21–22).
The Israelites, led by Moses, had left Egypt en masse and traveled to the Promised Land of Canaan. God had promised this land to Abraham’s descendants and had promised the Israelites He would help them conquer the inhabitants of the land and give it to them. From the wilderness, Moses sent Twelve Spies to come back with the intel of the land and it’s people. Moses asked for an assessment of the geographic features of the land, the strength and numbers of the population, the agricultural potential and actual performance of the land, how their cities were (whether their cities were like camps or strongholds), and forestry conditions. He also asked them to be positive in their outlook and to return with samples of local produce. The Twelve Spies were a group of Israelite chieftains, one from each of the Twelve Tribes, who were to scout out the Land of Canaan for 40 days as a future home for the Israelite people. Joshua and Caleb were two of the spies.
Numbers 13:4-20 (ESV) 4 And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16 These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.
17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, 18 and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, 19 and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, 20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.
Joshua and Caleb brought back a good report and believed that God would help them succeed. The other ten spies brought back a negative report. They were faithless and did not believe the Israelites could take the land. Their report frightened the Israelites who were afraid to go into the Promised Land. For their lack of faith, they were made to wander in the Wilderness for 40 years, until almost the entire generation died off. Joshua and Caleb were the only men from their generation permitted to go into the Promised Land after the time of wandering. So what was in their report that scared the Israelites so bad?
Numbers 13:25-33 (ESV) 25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”
30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”
Deuteronomy 1:28 (NKJV) 28 ‘Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, “The people [are] greater and taller than we; the cities [are] great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.“‘
Deuteronomy 2:10-11, 21 (NKJV) 10 The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. 11 They were also regarded as giants, like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim. … 21 a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the LORD destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place,
Deuteronomy 9:2 (NKJV) 2 “a people great and tall, the descendants of the Anakim, whom you know, and [of whom] you heard [it said], ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?‘
Joshua 11:21-22 (NKJV) 21 And at that time Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains: from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. 22 None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod.
Now we come to the story of David and Goliath.
1 Samuel 17:1-12, 20-24, 32-33, 40-54 (KJV) 1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which [belongeth] to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and [there was] a valley between them. 4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height [was] six cubits and a span. 5 And [he had] an helmet of brass upon his head, and he [was] armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat [was] five thousand shekels of brass. 6 And [he had] greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear [was] like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head [weighed] six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. 8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set [your] battle in array? [am] not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. 9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. 11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. 12 Now David [was] the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name [was] Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men [for] an old man in the days of Saul. … 20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. 22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. 23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard [them]. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. … 32 And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou [art but] a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. … 40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling [was] in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield [went] before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was [but] a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 43 And the Philistine said unto David, [Am] I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle [is] the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands. 48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang [it], and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but [there was] no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. 53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.
Let’s look at Goliath in today’s language of the NLT:
1 Samuel 17:4-7 (NLT) 4 Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! 5 He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. 6 He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. 7 The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.
There were more giants after Goliath, his own family:
2 Samuel 21:15-22 (NLT) 15 Once again the Philistines were at war with Israel. And when David and his men were in the thick of battle, David became weak and exhausted. 16 Ishbi-benob was a descendant of the giants; his bronze spearhead weighed more than seven pounds, and he was armed with a new sword. He had cornered David and was about to kill him. 17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue and killed the Philistine. Then David’s men declared, “You are not going out to battle with us again! Why risk snuffing out the light of Israel?” 18 After this, there was another battle against the Philistines at Gob. As they fought, Sibbecai from Hushah killed Saph, another descendant of the giants. 19 During another battle at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair from Bethlehem killed the brother of Goliath of Gath. The handle of his spear was as thick as a weaver’s beam! 20 In another battle with the Philistines at Gath, they encountered a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all, who was also a descendant of the giants. 21 But when he defied and taunted Israel, he was killed by Jonathan, the son of David’s brother Shimea. 22 These four Philistines were descendants of the giants of Gath, but David and his warriors killed them.
Goliath was from Gath, which happened to be one of the three places where Anakim remained (Joshua 11:21–22). It is possible Goliath was a descendant of the Anakim who mixed with the Philistine population in that area.
After King David, no more giants are mentioned in the scripture.
The fallen angels, Sons of God, demons, evil spirits, have no place to go when their bodies were killed. They roam the earth today and the Bible describes them organized in hierarchies and attached to places.
Daniel 10:5-21 (NLT, an Angel sent by God to Daniel, the Prophet) 5 I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. 6 His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people. 7 Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. 8 So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. 9 Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground. 10 Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. 11 And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling. 12 Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. 13 But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. 14 Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.” 15 While he was speaking to me, I looked down at the ground, unable to say a word. 16 Then the one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing in front of me, “I am filled with anguish because of the vision I have seen, my lord, and I am very weak. 17 How can someone like me, your servant, talk to you, my lord? My strength is gone, and I can hardly breathe.” 18 Then the one who looked like a man touched me again, and I felt my strength returning. 19 “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!” As he spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to him, “Please speak to me, my lord, for you have strengthened me.” 20 He replied, “Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece will come. 21 Meanwhile, I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one helps me against these spirit princes except Michael, your spirit prince).
The “certain man” is an unnamed angel of high rank. Some say this is a pre-incarnate Christ but Christ would not have needed the assistance of the angel, Michael. God responded to Daniel’s prayer the very moment he made his request known.
David Guzick, Enduring Word Commentary
The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me: Since this prince was able to oppose the angelic messenger to Daniel, we know this was more than a man. This prince was some kind of angelic being, and we know he was an evil angelic being because he opposed the word of God coming to Daniel and stood against the angelic messenger.
i. The word prince has the idea of a ruler or authority. This fits in well with the New Testament idea that angelic ranks are organized and have a hierarchy (Ephesians 1:21, Ephesians 6:12, Colossians 1:16, Colossians 2:15). These angelic ranks seem to include both faithful angels and fallen angels.
ii. Apparently, this was a demon of high rank that opposed the answer to prayer. On three occasions, Jesus referred to Satan as the prince of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11).
d. Withstood me twenty-one days: Since the angel was dispatched immediately and Daniel’s period of prayer and self-denial was 21 days (the three full weeks of Daniel 10:2), we see that the answer to the prayer was delayed by the prince of the kingdom of Persia.
i. The correlation between Daniel’s time of self-denial and prayer and the duration of the battle between the angels and the prince of the kingdom of Persia establishes a link between Daniel’s prayer and the angelic victory. Since the angelic victory came on the 21st day, we can surmise that if Daniel would have stopped praying on the 20th day, the answer may not have come.
ii. “There may be hindering factors of which a praying Christian knows nothing as he wonders why the answers to his requests are delayed. Nevertheless, he is to keep on praying. It may be that he will not receive an answer because he has given up on the twentieth day when he should have persisted to the twenty-first day.” (Archer)
e. Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: In other passages Michael is associated with the battle between good angels and evil angels (Revelation 12, Jude 9).
i. Came to help me: This phrase may be the most compelling reason to think that this “me” is not Jesus, despite the remarkable similarity between the certain man of Daniel 10 and the vision of Jesus in Revelation 1. Though Jesus received angelic assistance as an incarnate man (Mark 1:13 and Luke 22:43), it is difficult to think of Him needing or receiving angelic help before the incarnation.
f. Now I have come: God allowed this kind of conflict because He had a purpose in allowing it. He certainly could have blasted away in a moment any demonic opposition. God’s plan probably was to use the time of delay to develop Daniel as a man of persistent prayer.
i. Persistence in prayer is necessary, but not because God is reluctant and needs to be overcome; rather, it is necessary to train us.
ii. Daniel’s success makes us reflect on our failures. How much angelic assistance or insight has never been realized, or greatly delayed, because of a lack of persistence in prayer?
Daniel 8:15-19 (NLT) 15 As I, Daniel, was trying to understand the meaning of this vision, someone who looked like a man stood in front of me. 16 And I heard a human voice calling out from the Ulai River, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of his vision.” 17 As Gabriel approached the place where I was standing, I became so terrified that I fell with my face to the ground. “Son of man,” he said, “you must understand that the events you have seen in your vision relate to the time of the end.” 18 While he was speaking, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground. But Gabriel roused me with a touch and helped me to my feet. 19 Then he said, “I am here to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath. What you have seen pertains to the very end of time.
Ephesians 1:19-22 (NLT) 19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else–not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.
Ephesians 6:11-13 (BSB) 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.
Colossians 1:15-16 (NLT) 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see–such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.
Colossians 2:14-15 (NLT) 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Bashan and King Og of Bashan
Bashan is the name of a location and means fruitful. Bashan is the ancient, biblical name used for the northernmost region of the Transjordan during the Iron Age. It is situated in modern-day Syria. Its western part, nowadays known as the Golan Heights, was captured by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War and annexed in 1981. In Numbers, King Og of Bashan came out against the Israelites led by Moses at the time of their entrance into the Promised Land, but was vanquished in battle (Numbers 21:33–35; Deuteronomy 3:1–7). King Og was a giant and a fierce opponent of Israel when they arrived to take the land from the local inhabitants but Og was defeated (Deuteronomy 3:3-5). His territory was given to the half tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 21:33-35, Deuteronomy 3:1-11, 13, Joshua 13:7, 8, 12.) The tribe of Manasseh had the largest territory, having East and West Manasseh, and is brought together in Israel proper.
Bashan is mentioned 60 times in the Old Testament. It was the name of the region east of the Jordan River, which is, in part, today called the Golan Heights. The plain of Bashan was a large fertile plain used for pasture in the northern part of the territory of Israel (Deuteronomy 3:10, Joshua 20:8). It was famous for it rich pasture used for raising well-fed cattle (Jeremiah 50:19, Micah 7:14, Nahum 1:4). The cattle raised on Bashan were proverbial for their strength, size, passion and self-contentment (Deuteronomy 32:14, Psalm 22:12, Ezekiel 39:18, Amos 4:1).
Before their encounter with Og, the Israelites battled with another giant Amorite king, King Sihon. Moses requested that King Sihon allow the Israelites to pass through and he promised not to take anything along the way. But Sihon mustered his forces and attacked the Israelites. God enabled Israelites to defeat the Amorites and take their land (Numbers 21:21–31). Then they made their way toward Bashan. King Og came out to confront them at Edrei. The Israelites were frightened of him but God reassured Moses that He would deliver them into the hands of the Israelites.
In Deuteronomy 3, Og is called the last of the Rephaim. Deuteronomy 3:11 declares that his “bedstead” (some translations say “sarcophagus” but more likely his bed) of iron is “nine cubits in length and four cubits in width”, which is 13.5-14 feet by 6 feet. It goes on to say that at the royal city of Rabbah of the Ammonites, his giant bedstead could still be seen as a novelty at the time the narrative was written. (Wikipedia)
Numbers 21:33-35 (NLT) 33 Then they turned and marched up the road to Bashan, but King Og of Bashan and all his people attacked them at Edrei. 34 The LORD said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, along with all his people and his land. Do the same to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.” 35 And Israel killed King Og, his sons, and all his subjects; not a single survivor remained. Then Israel occupied their land.
Deuteronomy 3:1-11 (NLT) 1 “Next we turned and headed for the land of Bashan, where King Og and his entire army attacked us at Edrei. 2 But the LORD told me, ‘Do not be afraid of him, for I have given you victory over Og and his entire army, and I will give you all his land. Treat him just as you treated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.’ 3 “So the LORD our God handed King Og and all his people over to us, and we killed them all. Not a single person survived. 4 We conquered all sixty of his towns–the entire Argob region in his kingdom of Bashan. Not a single town escaped our conquest. 5 These towns were all fortified with high walls and barred gates. We also took many unwalled villages at the same time. 6 We completely destroyed the kingdom of Bashan, just as we had destroyed King Sihon of Heshbon. We destroyed all the people in every town we conquered–men, women, and children alike. 7 But we kept all the livestock for ourselves and took plunder from all the towns. 8 “So we took the land of the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River–all the way from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon. 9 (Mount Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians, and the Amorites call it Senir.) 10 We had now conquered all the cities on the plateau and all Gilead and Bashan, as far as the towns of Salecah and Edrei, which were part of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 11 (King Og of Bashan was the last survivor of the giant Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)
a. And we took all his cities at that time… sixty cities: This brought Israel even more territory to occupy on the east side of the Jordan River, and it showed them that they could, through the power of God, overcome the mighty enemies they would confront on the west side of the Jordan River.
b. Only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the giants: Apparently, Og was the last of the rephaim in his area, on the east side of the Jordan River.
i. The repeated references to the rephaim in these first three chapters shows that Israel, when trusting in God, was well able to defeat this race of fearsome warriors. It also shows that their fear of these men back in Numbers 13, where they first refused to go into the Promised Land, was unfounded. Their excuses are shown to be weaker in light of the next generation’s victories.
David Guzick, Enduring Word Commentary
In his book, The Ancient Bashan and the Cities of Og, Cyril Graham writes that “the streets are perfect, the walls perfect and what seems more astonishing, the stone doors are still hanging on their hinges…
Graham points out that the houses in the cities of Bashan were “built of such huge and massive stones that no force which can be brought against them in that country could ever batter them down.”
Written by Ellen Lloyd, AncientPages.com, 6/22/2021, Cities Of Bashan Were Built By Ancient Giants – Archaeological Evidence Exists But Is Ignored
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Rev. J. L. Porter who also visited the ancient, ruined cities of Bashan, agrees with Graham and thinks the mighty Rephaim built these cities. In his book, The Giant Cities of Bashan; and Syria’s Holy Places, Porter writes: “Moses makes special mention of the strong cities of Bashan, and speaks of their high walls and gates. He tells, us, too in the same connection, that Bashan was called the land of the Giants (or Rephaim, Deut. Iii 13), leaving us to conclude that the cities were built by giants.
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During his visit to Kieroth in Israel, Rev. Porter measured one of these ancient doors. It was “nine feet high, four and a half feet wide, and ten inches thick.”
Sharon's Scrapbook 