“The eyes of that species of extinct giant, whose bones fill the mounds of America, have gazed on Niagara as our eyes do now.” — Abraham Lincoln, 1848 

 

Introduction 

 

    One challenge that is presented to the modern-day Church is the pressure to conform to the Age of Reason and the Scientific Revolution. The current public educational system strongly teaches young minds that reality is not in alignment with Scripture and that they must rely on scientific experts for truth. Ironically, while Scripture has remained as it is for thousands of years, science has been remarkably fluid in its understanding of the realm we inhabit.

 

     It would be reasonable to assume that the antidote for much of the confusion surrounding the Bible could be found with the Church body. Sadly, mystical topics such as giants aren’t typically discussed in modern church buildings leaving Christians in a state of ambiguity. Answers to these questions typically revolve around medical gigantism, misunderstood translations, or even fictional stories.

 

     My intent in this research paper is to identify the evidence that proves not only did giants exist in Biblical times, but that they have endured as a species even in the modern day. If we are able to prove that Scripture holds the truth which science denies, it should indicate which of the two take precedence when building our Christian world-view. 

 

What Scripture Says 

 

    Giants are discussed multiple times in the Old Testament. First, we will examine the Amorites. “Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks: notwithstanding I destroyed his fruit from above, and his root from beneath.” (Amos 2:9 GNV)

 

     The Amorites are also discussed in Numbers where we see that Moses’ spies report on their foes. “Then Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it: for undoubtedly we shall overcome it. But the men that went up with him, said, We be not able to go up against the people: for they are stronger than we. So they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched for the children of Israel, saying, The land which we have gone through to search it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof: for all the people that we saw in it, are men of great stature. For there we saw giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants, so that we seemed in our sight like grasshoppers: and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:31-34 GNV)

 

     The sons of Anak referenced in Numbers were the descendants of Anak. We can connect them with the Amorites by tracing his lineage backwards by one generation. “Anak was a biblical figure who lived during the time of Abraham. His full name was Anak, son of Arba. He and his brothers were giants who lived among the Canaanites and Amorites.” (Churchgists 2022)

 

     Another tribe of giants from the Bible is the Emims which we can learn about in Deuteronomy. “The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great and many, and tall, as the Anakims. They also were taken for giants as the Anakims: whom the Moabites call Emims.” (Deuteronomy 2:10-11 GNV) In this instance we can clearly see the commonality of giant stature with the previously discussed Anakims or sons of Anak. 

 

     In addition to the aforementioned tribes, we also should note the Zamzummin. The Zamzummin are likely the same people as the Zuzim from the land of Ham, mentioned in Genesis 14:5. (AnswersInGenesis) The Zamzummin were also giants as described in Scripture. “That also was taken for a land [k]of giants: for giants dwelt therein afore time, whom the Ammonites called Zamzummims: A people that was great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims: but the Lord destroyed them before them, and they succeeded them in their inheritance, and dwelt in their stead” (Deuteronomy 2:20-21)

 

Rephaim

 

     The most commonly used term to describe the Biblical giants is “Rephaim”, which first appears in Genesis 14. King Kedorloamer is credited with the destruction of the Rephaites, Zamzummin, and the Enims. In response to his immense military power to do so, Sodom and Gammorah combined forces to challenge King Kedorloamer in battle. In their failure, they were raided and Lot himself was taken captive. Upon learning of these events, Abraham and his house joined the fight and defeated King Kedorloamer.

 

     The people of Abraham’s time were not the only ones to encounter and even engage against giants, or Rephaim. Deuteronomy 3 details Moses’ fight against them as well during the reign of Og, King of Bashan. “So the Lord our God also gave into our 3 hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors. At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them-the whole region of Argob, Og's kingdom in Bashan.” (Deuteronomy 3:3-4)

 

     Canonical references are endless in the Old Testament and even books such as Enoch 1 go to great lengths to describe Nephilim. King David’s rise was cemented by defeating the Philistines (from the Valley of Rephaim) at the felling of Goliath the giant through striking his head with a sling stone. There’s no doubt that Scripture tells us repeatedly that a race of giants, descended from fallen angels and human women, waged war against the sons of Adam made in the image of YHWH after the Great Flood.

 

Gigantism 

 

     The most common scientific explanation for the claims of giants is a medical disorder called Gigantism. “Gigantism is abnormal growth due to an excess of growth hormone(GH) during childhood.” (Barrow Neurological Institute 2021) Gigantism is caused by a rare pituitary tumor that requires surgical intervention. Given that the root cause is physiological and not genetic, we will next analyze how common gigantism is. “Gigantism is an extremely rare condition that only occurs in children. About 100 cases have been reported in the United States.” (BableNiche)

 

     Now, according to US census data, “The country has grown from about 3 million at the time of the revolution to about 300 million today. If you add up all the people born in the last 220 years, plus the 4 number who have immigrated in that time, you get 545 million of which 472M were born here and 73M immigrated.” (BableNiche 2010) By simply analyzing the data we find that gigantism occurs at a rate of 1/5,450,000 in a sample size (or N) of 545,000,000. Given that Biblical giants followed genetic lines, it is safe to assume that each of them are not victims of what we call today gigantism. Nephilim were also known to have 6 digits on their hands and feet which is not evident in any cases of gigantism.

 

Scripture, History or Fantasy?

 

     Since the Nephilim were not simply humans with a pituitary tumor, and the Bible makes clear they walked the Earth post-flood, we will need to find the supporting evidence for such claims. Looking through unaltered search indexes you will come across old newspaper articles, journals, archeological reports, pictures, and even some short videos. These are increasingly difficult to find on common, result-managed search engines such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo.

 

     “The New York Times, May 4, 1912, reported the discovery of 18 giant human skeletons in southwestern Wisconsin. The remains near Lake Delawan were found by the Peterson brothers and in height they were really gigantic from 231 to 305 cm. Moreover, they had skulls elongated upwards, which in general were much larger than human ones. At the same time, many of these skulls had a double set of teeth (!), And the front teeth were not incisors, but large teeth, similar to molars.” (Ansh Srivastava 2022)

 

      In another instance of discovery we find the whole continent may have once been inhabited by giants. “The mummy remains of a giant have been unearthed in a cave near San Diego, California. It was discovered by a party of prospectors, and was displayed at the Atlantic exposition while, a number of Smithsonian scientists were there. They asked permission to examine it and when consent was given applied their tapes and found that it measured eight feet four inches from crown to heel. The body lied rest in a ten foot coffin. The exhibitor agreed to sell it for $500 to the Smithsonian and it has since been in their care.” (Lance Goodall 2014)

 

     In addition to archeological finds there are also cultural references to the existence of giants. Multiple Native American tribes also claim to have fought against the Rephaim. In these accounts, the giants are generally said to have resided and retreated to underground cave systems. Eventually, the Natives began igniting fires at the cave entrances to suffocate and drive out the abominations. “Horatio Bardwell Cushman wrote in his 1899 book “History of the Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Natchez Indians”: “The tradition of the Choctaws . . . told of a race of giants that once inhabited the now State of Tennessee, and with whom their ancestors fought when they arrived in Mississippi in their migration from the west. … Their tradition states the Nahullo (race of giants) was of wonderful stature.” (Tara McIsaac 2016)

 

     Along with the Choctaw, many other Native American tribes recorded similar experiences. These include the Comanches, Navajo, Manta, and the Paiutes. The Comanches detail how the giant remains are buried within the mounds found all over North America. The Navajo described them as a “regal race of white giants” that brought advanced mining technology to develop their strongholds. The Manta tell of 6 giants arriving in Peru on ships and boats going as far as to say that the length from their foot to knee was equivalent to the average man. The Paiutes described them as cannibals which aligns with Scripture but should be noted is only an oral tradition, not text.

 

     The Kandahar Giant During 2002, thousands of United States troops had been sent to invade Afghanistan. While military operations were happening all over the country, a special forces unit was tasked with finding and recovering a missing squad of US soldiers. The details have been retold in an anonymous interview by one of the soldiers who claims to have found the remains. After speaking of communications equipment scattered amongst bones and rocks, they eventually found themselves at the mouth of a cave system. Emerging from the cave was a figure few will believe to be more than military myth. 

 

    The anonymous soldier describes a “man”, 12 to 15 feet tall and with long red hair and beard emerging from the cave with a spear or pike-like weapon. Much like historical and Biblical accounts, he recalls the superhuman speed and strength of the “man” as he skewered another operator whom the interviewee refers to as “Dan”. After realizing that their weapons were useless against the foe they defied their combat training and began shooting for the head. Much like David, the soldier claims that this is what felled the giant man. Soon after, the large corpse was removed from the scene via helicopter and the remaining soldiers were instructed to never speak of it again.

 

     Whether or not the above story actually transpired in history may never be officially released. Since my classmates were som4e of the soldiers sent to Afghanistan, I asked a former infantryman who was deployed to Afghanistan for 12 months about the story. He also happens to be the godparent of my twins as our friendship spans decades. To my surprise, he stated not only did it happen, but it’s not uncommon in the region. Locals are aware and avoid these cavernous locations in which the giants are claimed to live, even still today. (Damien Elledge 2022)

 

Conclusion

 

     Despite thousands of uncovered giants all over the Earth and thousands of civilizations confirming not only giants but also the Great Flood, it is generally kept quiet and unattended to by the scientific community. Why this is the case is beyond the scope of this paper but may be related to the efficacy of Darwinism and the evolutionary model. As Christians, we should heavily consider when scientists discredit the Bible for lack of evidence because in instances such as the existence of giants, the evidence is far from transparent and the discussion is just getting started.

 

Bibliography

 

 Sandeep K. Dhaliwal, MD. 2023. Gigantism. MedLine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001174.htm 

Lance Goodall. 2014. Proof of Nephilim Giants – A Huge Compilation!. Coercion Code. https://coercioncode.com/2014/03/10/proof-of-nephilim-giants-a-huge-compilation/ 

Ansh Srivastava. 2020. Discovery Of Giant Skeletons By Archaeologists: Truth or Hoax?. Infinity Explorers. https://www.infinityexplorers.com/discovery-of-giant-skeletons-by-archaeologists-truth-or -hoax/) 

Jredford. 2010. How Many Americans Have There Been?. BableNiche. https://babelniche.com/2010/01/19/how-many-americans-have-there-been/#:~:text=The %20country%20has%20grown%20from%20about%203%20million%20at%20the,born% 20here%20and%2073M%20immigrated.) Medically Reviewed by Andrew S. Little, MD, FAANS, FACS. 2021. What is gigantism?. Barrow Neurological Institute. https://www.barrowneuro.org/condition/gigantism/#:~:text=How%20common%20is%20g igantism%3F,male%20ratio%20of%201%3A2 

Richard Lydia. 2022. Who Was Anak in The Bible?. Churchgists. https://churchgists.com/who-are-the-sons-of-anak-in-the-bible/ 

Dr. Tim Chaffey. Giants in the Bible. AnswersInGenesis. https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/giants-in-the-bible/ 

Tara McIsaac. 2016. Ancient Race of White Giants Described in Native Legends From Many Tribes. Ancient Origins. 9 https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/ancient-race-white-giants-described-nativ e-legends-many-tribes-005774 

Damien Elledge. Paraphrased. 2022. US Army Infantry Soldier interview footage : Saint AVS. THE GIANT OF KANDAHAR U.S. SPECIAL FORCES CLAIM TO HAVE ENCOUNTERED A RED-HAIRED NEPHILIM. https://www.bitchute.com/video/XU2b2iYpkwJL/