Was Goliath one of the Nephilim?

Answer

The identity and nature of the Nephilim are subject to debate. Before the flood, there existed Nephilim who were born from the union of “the sons of God” and “the daughters of men” (see Genesis 6:1-4). The interpretation of this passage is contentious. Despite their specific genetic makeup, it appears that the Nephilim were exceptional beings. They all perished in the flood, with only Noah and his immediate family being spared. However, the text suggests that the Nephilim continued to exist post-flood—they were “on the earth in those days—and also afterward”—meaning after the flood «There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. », (Genesis 6:4).

If the pre-flood Nephilim were colossal warrior figures, it is plausible that post-flood giant warriors were also referred to as Nephilim. A modern comparison could be made with the concept of a “modern superhero.” While it is widely understood that Superman, Spider-man, and Wonder Woman are fictional characters, the superhero archetype is deeply ingrained in our collective consciousness. Therefore, when a police officer, firefighter, or military member performs an exceptionally heroic and risky rescue, the media may label them a “real-life superhero.” This does not suggest they possess superhuman abilities, but rather that their actions greatly exceed the norm, aligning with the prevalent superhero mythos. Similarly, in the Old Testament, whenever an extraordinary warrior emerged, they may have been dubbed a “Nephilim” without necessarily implying a divine lineage.

” in Genesis 6. This could explain how giants—fearfully large and ferocious warriors—are called Nephilim after the flood.

In Numbers, Moses sends twelve spies into the land of Canaan—the Promised Land. All the spies agreed that the land was good with plenty to offer, but ten of the spies also were fearful that Israel could not take the land because of the people living in it: “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:32-33). Here the Nephilim are described as the descendants of Anak and are associated with men of great size—giants. The best explanation seems to be that the word Nephilim had become a semi-technical term for “giant warrior.” It may have held some overtones of mystery as well, similar to the modern term monster, which can refer to size, as in a monster truck. It can also have dark overtones, referring to an evil character. And finally, a monster might be some kind of abnormal or terrifying creature. With our limited knowledge of the word Nephilim, the best we can say is that it appears the Nephilim were gigantic, mysterious warriors of uncertain heritage. To the people who observed them, they seemed to be unnaturally formidable, large, and fierce.

Of all the giants, Goliath is the most infamous, although the Bible never uses the term Nephilim to describe him. Goliath challenged the armies of Israel, and only David was brave enough (because he trusted fully in God) to challenge him in battle. Goliath is described this way: “His height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam” (1 Samuel 17:4-7).

The Bible passage in (1 Samuel 17:5-7) describes Goliath’s impressive stature and strength. According to the NIV footnotes, Goliath stood approximately 9 feet 9 inches tall. His bronze armor weighed around 125 pounds, and his spearhead was about 15 pounds. Despite his imposing presence, Goliath was defeated by David, showcasing God’s superior power over giants.

In (2 Samuel 21), the downfall of several giant Philistine warriors is chronicled. These warriors, believed to be descendants of Rapha in Gath, faced off against David and his men. One of them, Ishbi-Benob, attempted to kill David but was slain by Abishai. Subsequently, three more descendants of Rapha, including Goliath’s brother, were defeated in battles with the Israelites. Notably, one of them had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.

Another giant mentioned in Scripture is Og, the king of Bashan, known for his enormous size. His bed, made of iron, was also of great proportions. The book of Deuteronomy describes Og’s bed as being nine cubits long and four cubits wide, a testament to his extraordinary stature.(Deuteronomy 3:11). One of David’s mighty men, Benaiah, “struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he struck down an Egyptian who was five cubits tall. Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaver’s rod in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear” (1 Chronicles 11:22-23). Although we don’t know how thick a weaver’s rod was, it would have to be sufficiently strong and thick enough to support the stress of weaving, and, from the way it is used in conjunction with giant warriors, we can infer that it must have been quite large.

GuinnessWorldRecords.com reports Robert Wadlow, born in 1918, to be the tallest man in modern history. He grew to a height of just over 8 feet 11 inches (“The Tallest Man Ever,” accessed 5/26/20). However, he and many other modern “giants” suffered from health problems that would not make them good “warriors.” More modest giants who are able to play professional sports are a bit smaller but still gigantic compared to the average person. There have been a good many NBA players who have been 7 feet 6 inches tall. There is no shortage of NFL players who stand 6 feet 5 inches or taller and weigh in at over 350 pounds. Professional wrestling has also had a few giants, including Andre the Giant who was 7 feet 4 inches tall and weighed over 500 pounds. It is quite possible that, at an earlier time, there was greater variation within the human gene pool, which could have produced even larger giants than we have among us today.

Goliath was very likely not the offspring of humans and angels, and he is never called a Nephilim; however, he was a fierce, gigantic warrior and might have been described, in the parlance of the Philistines or Israelites, as a “modern-day Nephilim.”