There Are Giants in the Bible — And They're Not Who You Think
The Bible mentions giants far more often than most readers realise. From the mysterious Nephilim to Goliath and beyond, discover the surprising world of biblical giants and what they reveal about faith, fear, and the stories we thought we knew.
There Are Giants in the Bible — And They're Not Who You Think
Tags: giants, bible buddy, nephilim, king james version, bible study
Meta description: The Bible mentions giants more often than most readers realise. From the Nephilim to Goliath, discover the surprising world of biblical giants with Bible Buddy.
More than just Goliath
When most people think of giants in the Bible, one name comes to mind. Goliath. A tall warrior, a boy with a sling, and a story so familiar it barely surprises us anymore.
But Goliath was not the beginning of the story. He was closer to the end of it.
Long before David stood in that valley, the Bible was already filled with references to beings of unusual size and power. They appear in genealogies, battle records, poetry, and prophecy. Some are named. Some are only hinted at. And most readers have never noticed them at all.
The Nephilim
The story begins early, in one of the most mysterious passages in all of Scripture.
"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 (KJV)
The Hebrew word here is Nephilim. Depending on the translation, it becomes giants, fallen ones, or something with no clean English equivalent. Who they were and where they came from has been debated for centuries.
Were they the offspring of angels and humans? A line of powerful rulers? A tribe lost to history? The text does not explain. It simply states they were there, and moves on. That silence has fuelled centuries of questions.
A land full of giants
After the flood, giants reappear. When Moses sent twelve spies into the land of Canaan, ten of them returned terrified.
"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." Numbers 13:33 (KJV)
The sons of Anak. The Anakim. A people so imposing that trained soldiers compared themselves to insects. Whether this was literal or the language of fear, it shaped the entire direction of Israel's story. Because of that fear, an entire generation wandered the wilderness instead of entering the promised land.
Giants in the Bible are rarely just physical descriptions. They almost always represent something larger. Fear. Opposition. The thing standing between where you are and where you are called to be.
The ones most readers miss
Goliath gets the attention, but he had brothers. And cousins. And an entire region connected to ancient giant clans.
Og, the king of Bashan, slept in a bed of iron measuring nine cubits long. That is roughly thirteen feet. Whether Og himself was that size or whether the bed was ceremonial, the writer clearly wanted the reader to stop and take notice.
"For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron... nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it." Deuteronomy 3:11 (KJV)
Then there are the Rephaim, an older name for giant inhabitants of the land that echoes through multiple books. The Emim. The Zamzummim. Names that sound strange to modern ears but once carried weight and meaning in the ancient world.
These were not footnotes. They were part of the fabric of the biblical narrative, woven into the geography, the conflicts, and the theology of the text.
Why giants matter
It would be easy to treat these passages as ancient curiosities, relics of a world that thought differently about size and power. But there is something deeper happening.
In nearly every case, the giants represent an obstacle that seems impossible to overcome. They guard the land that has been promised. They stand in the path of what God has spoken. They are the reason people give up, turn back, or stay where they are.
And in nearly every case, someone faces them anyway.
David did not defeat Goliath because he was stronger. The Israelites did not conquer the land because they were bigger. The biblical pattern is consistent. The giants are real, the fear is real, and the victory comes from somewhere other than human strength.
That tension between what we see and what we trust runs through the entire Bible.
More to discover than you expect
Most people who have grown up around Scripture think they know what is in it. Giants, like dragons and sea monsters, are a reminder that the Bible still has the power to surprise.
These passages are not hidden. They are waiting for someone to notice them, ask questions, and follow the thread.
Explore further with Bible Buddy
Bible Buddy was built for exactly this kind of exploration.
Want to find every mention of the Nephilim? Curious about the Rephaim and where they appear? Wondering how different translations handle the word "giants" and what gets lost or gained in each version?
Bible Buddy lets you search, ask questions, and follow your curiosity wherever it leads. Save the verses that intrigue you. Journal your thoughts. Let one unexpected passage open the door to dozens more.
Sometimes the Bible's most fascinating stories are the ones you never knew were there.
Discover for yourself the amazing stories of giants and other incredible bible characters in Bible Buddy.