ACMON EARLY GIANT RULER
According to the most ancient historians, a prince named Acmon, Maneus’ son, led the nation of Gomarian Sacae giants that seized Cappadocia and Pontus. Not many years after these conquests he passed over the river Halis and made incursions into Greater Phrygia. Following his land grabs in Asia Minor, Acmon and his tall subjects built at least two cities, Themicyra, on the southern shores of the Black Sea, and Acmonia, near the river Thermodon. The first historians also declare that the Gomarian giants who followed Acmon into Asia Minor worshipped him as the “Most High” god, and in both Cappadocia and Phrygia they consecrated woods and groves to him.
AHIMAN
Ahiman was one of three giant brothers whose great stature so terrified ten of the men Moses sent to spy out Canaan that they later persuaded the Hebrews not to attack. The three brothers apparently ruled the Anakim nation from Hebron, which was later captured by Caleb. Of the three, ancient rabbinical tradition holds that Ahiman was the most feared.
AMORITES
The Amorites, probably the most numerous people in Canaan at the time of Israel’s invasion, were near giants in both stature and strength. Their hugeness is confirmed by these words that the prophet Amos later wrote: “Thus says the Lord, ‘… It was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like the height of cedars and he was strong as the oaks.'”
ANAB’S GIANTS
After Debir fell to them, Joshua’s legions attacked and completely destroyed nearby Anab, which the giant Anakim occupied. The city’s name still survives today as Khirbet Anab, which is located about thirteen miles southwest of Hebron.
ARGOB’S SIXTY NEPHILIM CITIES
Deuteronomy 3:4 states that the Argob, which Jair seized from the giant King Og, contained sixty cities built by the huge Rephaim. To those who never saw it, it seemed incredible that an oval-shaped district only twenty-two miles long and fourteen wide could accommodate that many cities. But archaeologists and other travelers to that region can still vouch for it. For the ruins, even after all these centuries, not only remain, but, in fact, still stand in a great state of preservation. “The streets,” observes Cyril Graham, “are perfect, the walls perfect, and, what seems more astonishing, the stone doors are still hanging on their hinges. . . . Some of these gates are large enough to admit of a camel passing through them, and the doors are of proportionate dimensions, some of the stones of which they are formed being eighteen inches in thickness. The roofs also are formed of huge stone slabs resting on the massive walls.
All betoken the workmanship of a race endowed with powers far exceeding those of ordinary men; and [all] give credibility to the supposition that we have in them the dwellings of the giant race that occupied that district before it was invaded by the Israelites. We could not help being impressed with the belief that had we never known anything of the early portion of Scripture history before visiting this country, we should have been forced to the conclusion that its original inhabitants, the people who had constructed those cities, were not only a powerful and mighty nation, but individuals of greater strength than ourselves.”
ARIELS LION-HUMAN HYBRIDS
Benaiah, one of David’s mighty men, reportedly killed two Ariels from Moab. Ariels, according to the King James Version, were “lion-like men,” that is, their human features still retained some resemblance to the lion. This may have been due to genetic manipulation by fallen angels. “Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes (men) of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day. 21 And he killed an Egyptian, a spectacular man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand; so he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear” (2 Samuel 23:20-21).
Arioch, the Giant King: King of Ellasar, who with three other kings captured five cities and took a number of prisoners, including Abraham’s nephew Lot (Genesis 14:1-16). Because of his great height he was called Arioch, which is derived from arik and means “tall among the giants.” Nebuchadnezzar’s captain of the guard (KJV) or chief executioner, who took Daniel to the Babylonian king to interpret his dream (Daniel 2:14-25). Because of his great height he was called Arioch, which is derived from arik and means “tall among the giants.”
THE RAPHAIM GIANTS
The Raphaim were a mighty people tall in stature living in Palestine during the days of Abraham. The Rephaim, along with the Zuzim, Emim, and Horite peoples, were defeated by Kedorlaomer and his allied armies (Genesis 14:5). They were one of nine nations living in Palestine at the time when the Lord promised to give the land to Abraham’s descendants (15:20). The ancient Rephaim were called the Emim by the Moabites and the Zamzummin by the Ammonites; they were comparable in size and number to the giant Anakim (Deuteronomy 2:11, 20). Og, king of Bashan, represented the last of the Rephaim. He was later killed and his kingdom dispossessed by the Israelites under Moses (Deuteronomy 3:11; Joshua 12:4; 13:12). Perhaps the giants among the Philistines were descendants of the Rephaim (2 Samuel 21; 1 Chronicles 20).
THE RAPHAIM VALLEY
Geographical landmark forming part of the common boundary of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (KJV “the valley of the giants” in Joshua 15
RELATED SOURCES
Biblical Mysteries; Donald P. Ryan, Ph.D.; 2000. The Bible; Jim Bell and Stan Campbell; 1999.The Book of Enoch; R.H. Charles; 1997.The Book of Jasher; Dr. David Browns; 200.The Complete Guide to The Bible; Stephen M. Miller; 2007.The Complete Guide to Bible Prophecy; Stephen M. Miller; 2010.