Were All The Nephilim Giants Or Men Of Renown?
It is often assumed that the biblical ‘Nephilim’ were all Giants. The Nephilim, however, entail much more and can be traced back to a much richer tradition found in ancient Mesopotamia about the Scions of the Gods, with the Giants only having been one group amongst them. The Giants and their companion groups (collectively referred to as the Shining Ones) were followers of a ruling dynasty of the same descent who counted among their number the greatest of Sumerian heroes. Later, the great Akkadian god-kings were also regarded as Scions of the Gods.
Some of the most well-known and intriguing beings of Hebrew tradition are the Nephilim. The Nephilim feature in the biblical Book of Genesis where they are mentioned against the backdrop of the wickedness of the people in the age before the deluge. They are also mentioned in another biblical book, the Book of Numbers, where the Israelite scouts saw them in the land of Canaan before the Israelite conquest.
Rendition of Goliath's fall attributed to Charles Errard the Younger (18th century) (Public Domain)
