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The Rephaim
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The etymology or the exact origin of the word Rephaim
derives from the region they inhabited , the valley of the Giants.
The Rephaim or Rephaites were a branch of the Nephilim
who inhabited the Valley of the Rephaim during the time of Moses
and the Hebrew conquest of the Holy Land. "Rephaim" or Rephaites
is a word that the Books of Joshua, Samuel, Chronicles and Isaiah gives
to inhabitants of the Valley of Rephaim. Valley of Rephaim has
been translated as “the valley of the ghosts” and as “the
valley of the giants.” The Aramaic
Targum of Onkelos 
{2nd-century CE}
translates the words as "plains of the mighty." The
English King James version translates it as “the valley of the giants.”
They Rephaim are known to have
survived at least until the time of King David amongst Philistines and
possibly other tribes of the region. The second of the Books
of Samuel states that some of the Rephaim found refuge among the Philistines
following the Hebrew Genocide, and were still existing in the days of David,
perhaps Goliath of the Phillistines was one of these Rephaim or bore their genes
in his family tree, although the texts refer to him as a Gittite, who were
referred to elsewhere as ordinary men.
Obviously , using Biblical and legendary accounts the Rephaim were a
people of great physical stature, it is quite probable, as is
the case with all mythical and legendary tales, that the these accounts are
somewhat exaggerated. |
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The Rephaims were conquered by Canaanite
tribes and only a few survived, one of them being Og, the king
of Bashan. {1500 to 1200 BC.}
“ Only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the
Rephaites. His bed2 was made of iron and was more than thirteen
feet long and six feet wide. It is still in Rabbah of the
Ammonites. [Deuteronomy 3:11 ] ”
Og appears frequently in ancient lore , both Biblical sources
and the mythology of neighboring peoples.
A connection can be made with the Ugaritic
text which predates the Bible
1 . It uses the term "king" in
association with the root word "Rapah" (the Rephaim of the
Bible) and mentions places that are believed to correspond with the
cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei with which Og king of Bashan is
associated (Deuteronomy 1:4; Joshua 9:10;
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In
Jordan on the Plains of Bashan in the Valley of the Rephaim
lies a huge concentric stone structure. Archeologists
believe it dates to the Early Bronze Age (3000–2700 BCE)
and possibly built by the Rephaites or Rephaim of the Bible
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In Jewish lore Og is said to live from the time of Noah up until
the time of his death at the battle against the Hebrews at Edrei .
The relation of Og, and therefore the Rephaim to the
Nephilim is accentuated in a number of texts. They are connected with the Nephilim not only by
their trait of Gigantism, but also by the belief that Og was a
descendant of Ogias , also known as Ohia of the Book of Giants -
descended from Samhazai leader of the original Fallen Angels in
the The Book of Enoch
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The Talmud states that Sihon and Og were brothers, as they were the
sons of Ohia the son of Samhazai , a leader of the fallen angels in the
Book of Enoch. "And God said to Moshe:
Fear him not'. Consider: Sihon and Og were brothers, for a Master
stated, 'Sihon and Og were the sons of Ahiyah {Ohia} the son of Shamhazai', .."
Talmud Bavli Nidah 61a |
Og found his way into Islamic lore where is referred to
as ‘Uj ibn Anaq .
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Cyrus H. Gordon 
