“The angels leaving their first estate and going after strange flesh …”
I believe this pertains to the Genesis 6 incursion. While we may disagree as to how this second incursion appeared in Canaan, whether by the same sexual union between Fallen Angels and women, as stated in Genesis 6, or by genetic manipulation as some researchers posit, in my opinion, the Nephilim are there!
Assuming the Nephilim are in the land, then the conquest and the mandate begins to make sense. It is a classic move and counter move by the players in this cosmic chess match we see played out through the millennia and will come to a head at the battle of Armageddon, when Jesus defeats the antichrist and the kings of the earth who are assembled there to fight against Him.
As Joshua begins the conquest, he starts with the walls of Jericho and from there moves west. Then he begins to push south and north. Below is a map of the conquest.
Map of Joshua’s Conquest:
Photo courtesy Foundations For Freedom
(Foundations For Freedom do not necessarily endorse the contents of this book)
Here is where the story gets interesting. We know Joshua does not succeed in wiping out all of the tribes. Before we delve into this, here is a list of the tribes inhabiting the land. Take a moment and look them over:
Amalekites (Strong’s H6002): “people of lapping”; A people inhabiting the country south of Idumea and east of the Red Sea (Numbers 13:29 and 14:25); possibly the descendents of Amalek, grandson of Esau.
Amorites (Strong’s H567): “a sayer”; one of the peoples of east Canaan and beyond the Jordan, dispossessed by the Israelite incursion from Egypt; a numerous and powerful people—so much that “Amorites” became a generic term for all of the people in Canaan.
Anakim (Strong’s H6062): “long-necked”; a tribe of giants, descendants of Anak, which dwelled in southern Canaan.
Ashdodites/Ashdothites (Strong’s H796): “I will spoil”; an inhabitant of Ashdod, one of the five principal cities of the Philistines.
Avim/Avites (Strong’s H5761): “ruins”; a people among the early inhabitants of Palestine located in the southwest corner of the seacoast; a city in Benjamin.
Canaanites (Strong’s H3669): “zealous”; descendant or inhabitant of Canaan, a merchant, trader.
Caphtorim (Strong’s H3732): “a crown”; Cretans as the inhabitants of Caphtor as distinct from the Philistines.
Ekronites (Strong’s H6139): “emigration”; an inhabitant of Ekron, one of the five principal cities of the Philistines.
Emims (Strong’s H368): “terrors”; ancient inhabitants of Moab killed off in the time of Abraham; considered giants (Rephaim) like the Anakim, Gen. 14:5, Deut. 2:10, 11
Eshkalonites (Strong’s H832): “the fire of infamy: I shall be weighed”; an inhabitant of Ashkelon, one of the five principal cities of the Philistines.
Gazathites (Strong’s H5841): “the strong”; an inhabitant of the city of Gaza, one of the five principal cities of the Philistines.
Geshurites (Strong’s H1651): A people living at the foot of Hermon, to the north of Bashan, enclosed within the boundaries of the Holy Land, but not subject to the rule of the Hebrews, Deut. 3:14.
Gibeonites (Strong’s H1393): “little hill: hilly”; an inhabitant of Gibeon.
Giblites (Strong’s H1382): “a boundary”; inhabitants of Gebal, stonesquarers (who helped build the Temple), 1 Kings 5:18.
Girgashites (Strong’s H1622): “dwelling on a clayey soil”; descendants of Canaan and one of the nations living east of the Sea of Galilee when the Israelites entered the Promised Land.
Gittites (Strong’s H1663): “belonging to Gath”; an inhabitant of Gath, one of the five principal cities of the Philistines.
Hittites (Strong’s H2850): “descendant of Heth”; the nation descended from Heth, the second son of Canaan; once inhabitants of central Anatolia (modern Turkey), later in north Lebanon, Gen. 15:20.
Hivites (Strong’s H2340): “villagers”; 6th generation of descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham, who were living in northern Canaan near Mount Hermon at the time of the conquest.
Horims/Horites (Strong’s H2752): “cave dweller”; the inhabitants of Mount Seir, the inhabitants of Edom (in later times).
Jebusites (Strong’s H2983): “descendants of Jebus”; descendants of the third son of Canaan who lived in or around the site of Jebus, the early name for Jerusalem.
Kadmonites (Strong’s H6935): “easterners”; a people who occupied the land of Canaan when God promised it to Abram.
Kenites (Strong’s H7017): “smiths”; the tribe from which the father-in-law of Moses was a member and which lived in the area between southern Palestine and the mountains of Sinai.
Kenizzites (Strong’s H7074): “descendant of Kenaz”; descendants of Kenaz.
Maachathites (Strong’s H4602): “pressure (literally she has pressed)” or “oppression (Gesenius Lexicon)”; of a town or region at the foot of Hermon, used of one of David’s mighty warriors, used of an associate of Ishmael.
Manassites (Strong’s H4520): Manasseh “causing to forget”; descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph and grandson of Jacob, specifically used only of that half that lived east of the Jordan.
Nephilim: translated “giants” in KJV; Gen. 6:4. “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” And, Num. 13:33 “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”
Perizzites (Strong’s H6522): “belonging to a village”; a people who inhabited southern Canaan prior to the conquest.
Philistines (Strong’s H6430): “immigrants”; an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan.
Rephaim (Strong’s H7497): giants, Rephaim, old tribe of giants.
Sidonians (Strong’s H6722): “hunting”; an inhabitant of Sidon.
Zamzummins (Strong’s H2157) : “plotters”; the Ammonite name for the people who by others were called Rephaim, and were described as a numerous nation of giants; perhaps the same as “Zuzim,” an ancient race, Deut. 2:20.
Zebusites (1906 Jewish Encyclopedia) : one of the nations that occupied Palestine at the time of the invasion of the Israelites. In the list of the sons of Canaan, the Jebusite occupies the third place, between Heth and the Amorite (Gen. x. 15, 16; I Chron. i. 13, 14). Identical to the Hittites.
Zuzims: (see Zamzummins).
Is it possible these names of the tribes that are listed above are Nephilim tribes and each has a differentiation, perhaps a trait that defines them one from another?
While Joshua succeeds in wiping out some of the tribes, he is not successful in destroying all of them. The proof of this is when we read about David and Goliath. Most of us know the story, so I won’t belabor it. Suffice it to say Goliath was a giant and he had four brothers. However, I believe Goliath was a Nephilim and this was the reason why no man would go up against him. There is also another dynamic at work here and it is this: When David attacks Goliath, he picks up five stones. As Chuck Missler points out, David knew about Goliath and also knew about his four brothers. (22) Missler believes as I do that David gathered one stone for each one of the Nephilim giants. We also see David striking Goliath in the center of his forehead and then, taking Goliath’s sword, he beheads the giant. There may be more than what meets the eye here as Goliath may have been able to recover from wounds because of the Nephilim blood-line. However, by decapitating him there was no chance for that to happen, thus, David put an end to him.
We also read in 1 Chronicles 20:6 that there is a son of a giant. This also leads me to think these Nephilim were able to reproduce. I realize this is a theory, but it is one that appears to have biblical authority.
And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of [
great] stature, whose fingers and toes [were] four and twenty, six [on each hand], and six [on each foot]: and he also was the son of the giant.1 Chronicles 20:6 [emphasis added].
I want to spend some time here looking at this scripture. First we see that there was war at Gath. Gath was a Philistine stronghold and was not conquered by Joshua when the conquest of Canaan was underway. It is now years later and because the mandate to annihilate the Nephilim has not been carried out by Joshua, the Israelites are being oppressed.
Next we see some interesting physical anomalies with this giant. He has six fingers on each hand as well as six toes on each foot. This is important for us to grasp, as this will figure into our discussion later. We see the same type of anomalies happening in the Americas, and while it is impossible to create a direct link between the Nephilim that inhabited the Promised Land and what we find in North and South America, we can at least draw a comparison between the two.
Next we see that he was the son of the giant. The word used here is Rephaim, which means giant and is used 24 times in the KJV. I want to include the other biblical references here as they bolster the fact that there was a war between these different tribes of giants, or Nephilim, and the children of Israel. I will comment as necessary.
And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that [were] with him, and smote the Rephaims 7497 in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, Genesis 14:5
This is well before the conquest of Canaan and what is troubling about it is the Nephilim have already returned to the area after the flood. The Zuzims and Emims are, in my opinion, Nephilim tribes.
And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims (Genesis 15:20)
Again we see more tribes listed. We must ask the question, why are these people selected by God for annihilation? If they are normal humans, then this is an act of genocide by God. However, as I discussed earlier, if these beings are Nephilim, and I believe these are Nephilim tribes, then we are dealing with a demonic hybrid or the offspring of Fallen Angels and earthly women.
The Nephilim are an abomination as they are the result of the seed of the serpent. There has been some controversy regarding the so-called second incursion and it has caused a lot of confusion. However, I would point out that unless these are Nephilim being discussed in these passages, then we are left with only one choice and that is we serve a capricious, genocidal God who favors one group of people over another.
Another point to consider is this: When Jonah is told to go to Nineveh and preach to the people about repenting of their evil deeds, he does so. We see the people repent and God spares them. This is grace and mercy being applied to a group of people who engaged in some horrific, barbarous acts. Yet God offers them a way out, and thus they have a chance to turn from their evil deeds. They do so and they find favor with the Most High God.
Here is a sample of what those who lived in Nineveh engaged in:
Not only were the rulers of Assyria terribly cruel, they boasted of the cruelty on monuments that exist in museums to this day. Boice quotes some of the choice boasts from various monuments:(23)
“I cut off their heads and formed them into pillars”
“Bubo, son of Buba, I flayed in the city of Arbela and I spread his skin upon the city wall”
“I flayed all the chief men who had revolted, and I covered the pillar with their skins”
“Many within the border of my own land I flayed, and spread their skins upon the walls”
“I cut off the limbs of the officers, the royal officers who had rebelled”
“3,000 captives I burned with fire”
“Their corpses I formed into pillars”
“From some I cut off their hands and their fingers, and from others I cut off their noses, their ears, and their fingers, of many I put out their eyes”
“I made one pillar of the living, and another of heads, I bound their heads to posts round about the city”
We see the actions of the people were abominable and horrific and yet there is grace and mercy that is extended to these people. However, wherever the Nephilim are present the mandate holds from the Most High God to destroy them all! Apparently there is no other option.
Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims. Deuteronomy 2:11
(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; Deuteronomy 2:20
For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead [was] a bedstead of iron; [is] it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits [was] the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. Deuteronomy 3:11
I want to examine this, as Og is quite a character. Og may have been as tall as 14 feet, depending on what source you’re referencing. Bashan is in the northern part of Israel. (Please refer to the preceding map. It is close to the same area known as the Golan Heights today).
Author’s Side Bar: Giants in the New World
With that in mind let’s continue our view of the Nephilim:
And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, [being] the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants. Deuteronomy 3:13
The word for giants here is Rephaim. (25)
The Rephaim
We need to get more of a definition of who and what the Rephaim were.
According to Strong’s Concordance #7496, the name Rephaim means: ghosts of the dead, shades, spirits.
All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants: for these did Moses smite, and cast them out. Joshua 13:12
In this verse from Joshua 13, we see that Moses at one time cast them out. There is a war going on between the inhabitants of Canaan and the Children of Israel. This is important for us to come to terms with, as it shows us the mandate to annihilate the inhabitants of Canaan, starting with Moses and then continued by Joshua.
The passage below is telling as we meet a giant, one of the sons of the Rephaim.
And Ishbibenob, which [was] of the sons of the giant 7497, the weight of whose spear [weighed] three hundred [shekels] of brass in weight, he being girded with a new [sword], thought to have slain David. 2 Samuel 21:16
Please take note of this verse as it talks about the weight of the giant Ishbibenob’s spear head, the weight of which was three hundred shekels. According to the shekel conversion chart 300 shekels would be about nine pounds. (26) (Some other commentaries put it at 7.5 pounds.) For the sake of argument we’ll put the spearhead at nine pounds. Then we must add the shaft of the spear and I would propose adding another five pounds making the total weight around 14 pounds. I will once again post the picture of the spearhead taken from the Field Museum in Chicago.
I do not know the weight of the spearhead shown here, but would imagine it weighs close to the nine pound figure we are told Ishbibenob’s spear weighed. Now, please remember the caption telling us the spear was mostly used for ceremonial purposes. We have a biblical account giving us the weight of a spear and moving forward we have a spearhead found in the New World, specifically in the Ohio Valley, which may have been about the same weight. What if the spearhead was not used for ceremonial purposes, but, like the giant Ishbibenob’s, it was utilitarian?
Author’s Side Bar: Giants in the New World
It’s interesting that these areas, Gath, which is now part of Gaza, and Bashan, and part of the disputed Golan Heights, are areas that were never fully conquered by the Israelites. Now, in the present day, it makes me wonder if there is a spiritual connection to the distant past. I would venture to say that if the Most High God is appearing to a group of people and performing miracles, as well as instructing them in what He wants accomplished, then to come up short by not fulfilling His requests may have grave and lasting consequences, as we see in modernity.
There is something here that I want to examine as well.
“For only Og, king of Bashan, remained of the remnant of the giants.” Deuteronomy 3:11
I would posit that this text may be pregnant with meaning and the reason for this is we see that only Og remained of the remnant of the giants. This begs the question, what happened to the rest of the giants? Did they all die off? Were they killed by the Israelites? These important questions may have been overlooked for perhaps millennia, however, some of this is coming to light in what I believe are the last days.
On the Trail of the Nephilim, Volume One Page 8