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Rephaim (People)
Excerpt from the Lexham Bible Dictionary, the most advanced Bible dictionary.
A Hebrew word often simply transliterated in modern English Bible versions (e.g., Gen 14:5 ESV, LEB). When the term is translated, it is rendered “giants” (1 Chr 20:4 ESV), “shades” (i.e., spirits of the dead; Isa 26:14 ESV), or simply “the dead” (Job 26:5 ESV). These translation choices point to the interpretive problem associated with the term: It is difficult to identify whether the Rephaim were humans (living or dead), quasi-divine figures, or disembodied spirits. Old Testament usage associates the term with all these possibilities, while external Semitic source texts in which the term is found (Ugaritic, Phoenician) do not describe the Rephaim as giants. Identification is further complicated by uncertainty regarding the term’s etymology and how it is translated in the Septuagint.
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The Lexham Bible Dictionary
Rephaim
Rephaim (רְפָאִים‎, repha'im). A Hebrew word often simply transliterated in modern English Bible versions (e.g., Gen 14:5 ESV, LEB). When the term is translated, it is rendered “giants” (1 Chr 20:4 ESV), “shades” (i.e., spirits of the dead; Isa 26:14 ESV), or simply “the dead” (Job 26:5 ESV). These translation
Zamzummim
Zamzummim (זַמְזֻמִּים‎, zamzummim). The Ammonite name for the Rephaim, usually interpreted as a race of giants. They inhabited Canaan before the Ammonites drove them out (Deut 2:20). For more information, see this article: Rephaim.
The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary
Rephaim
REPHAIM [Heb rĕpāʾı̂m (רְפָאִים)]. A term in the Hebrew Bible whose uses fall generally into two categories: (1) descriptions of the dead in the underworld, or (2) references to a group or nation of giants or warriors.A. The Rephaim as the DeadIn the OT the Rephaim are frequently described as dead
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible
Rephaim
Rephaim. 1. 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 Chedorlaomer and his allied armies (Gn 14:5). They were one of nine nations living in Palestine at the time when the Lord promised
Zamzummim
Zamzummim. Ammonite name for the Rephaim, who are described as a “people great and many, and tall as the Anakim” (Dt 2:20). The Zamzummim were displaced by the Ammonites, just as the Horites were displaced by the Edomites and the Avvim by the Caphtorim (vv 12, 23). The comparison with the Anakim, the
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised
Rephaim
Rephaim reʹfä-im, refʹi-əm [Heb. rep̱āʾîm]; AV also GIANTS. A part of the original population of the Promised Land (Gen. 15:20). Most precisely, Rephaim seems to be a designation for the pre-Israelite inhabitants of the “the whole of that Bashan,” the northernmost part of Transjordan, which was
Zamzummim
Zamzummim zam-zumʹəm [Heb. zamzummîm; Gk. Zochommin, Zomzommein, Zommein; cf. Arab zamzama—‘talk gibberish’]. A name given to the Rephaim by the Ammonites who dispossessed them (Dt. 2:20). If the Arabic etymology is accepted (cf. BDB, p. 273), it may be assumed that they spoke another language that
Tyndale Bible Dictionary
Rephaim
REPHAIM*1. A Hebrew word referring to shades or departed spirits whose dwelling place was the habitation of Sheol (Prv 2:18; 9:18; 21:16). The rephaim of the underworld suffered anguish (Jb 26:5) and were separated from God (Ps 88:10–12) and all living people (Is 26:14). Their immaterial being bore
Zamzummim, Zamzummites
ZAMZUMMIM*, ZAMZUMMITES Ammonite name for the Rephaim, who are described as a “people great and many, and tall as the Anakim” (Dt 2:20). The Zamzummites were displaced by the Ammonites, just as the Horites were displaced by the Edomites and the Avvim by the Caphtorim. The comparison with the Anakim,
The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated)
Rephaim
Rephaim (ref´ay-im).1 Pre-Israelite inhabitants of Transjordan (Gen. 14:5; 15:20; Deut. 2:11, 20; 3:11, 13; Josh. 12:4; 13:12; 15:8; 17:15; 18:16). Little is known about them, but they are associated with great size. Og of Bashan, the last of the Rephaim, had a bed that was 9 cubits long and 4 cubits
Zamzummim
Zamzummim (zam-zuhm´mim), the name given by the Ammonites to an ancient race of giants who were the original inhabitants of the area east of the Jordan later occupied by the Ammonites and Moabites; the Israelites called them Rephaim (Deut. 2:20–21). Some scholars identify them with the descendants of
The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia
Rephaim
REPHAIM1. A race of people inhabiting Palestine mentioned with the Zuzim and the Emim as having been defeated by Chedorlaomer (Gen 14:5; cf. 15:20). The LXX translates the term as “giants” (Josh 12:4; 1 Chr 11:15; 14:9; 20:4). Og king of Bashan, who belonged to the remnant of the Rephaim, was an unusually
Zamzummim
ZAMZUMMIM. The Ammonite name given to the Rephaim, the earlier inhabitants of the land of the Ammonites (Deut 2:20) who drove them out. They were a people of giant stature (2:21), of which Og, king of Bashan, was left of the remnant (3:11). They were remembered down into David’s time (2 Sam 21:16, 20,
The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition
Rephaim
REPHAIM (Heb. rep̄ā’îm). One of the pre-Israelite peoples of Palestine mentioned, together with the Zuzim and Emim, in the time of Abraham as having been defeated by Chedorlaomer (Gn. 14:5). They are also listed among the inhabitants of the land God promised to Abraham’s seed (Gn. 15:20). At the time
Zamzummim
ZAMZUMMIM (zamzummim, meaning uncertain; possibly ‘whisperers’, ‘murmurers’, from a root known in Arabic). The name given by the *Ammonites to the people (known also as *Rephaim) whom they themselves displaced from their territory in central Transjordan (Dt. 2:20–23). It is at present difficult to associate
Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible
Rephaim
Rephaim (Heb. rĕp̱āʾɩ̂m)The Rephaim have been repeatedly identified as the deified, dead, royal ancestors and thereby exemplary of the early Israelite belief in the supernatural beneficent power of the dead. This in turn has generated a virtual consensus that the biblical Rephaim reflect an underlying
Zamzummim
Zamzummim (Heb. zamzummɩ̂m)The name given by the Ammonites to a group of Rephaim who had dwelt in Canaan. The Ammonites displaced them, in spite of their great number, strength, and size (Deut. 2:20–21; cf. Gen. 14:5; Deut. 3:11).
Eerdmans Bible Dictionary
Zamzummim
Zamzummim [zăm zŭmˊĭm] (Heb. zamzumîm). The name given by the Ammonites to a group of Rephaim who-had dwelt in Canaan. With the Lord’s help the Ammonites displaced them, in spite of their great number, strength, and size (Deut. 2:20–21; cf. Gen. 14:5; Deut. 3:11).
Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible
Rephaim
REPHAIM רפאיםI. The term rĕpāʾîm occurs 25 times in the Hebrew Bible, most notably in the poetical and the so-called ‘historical’ books. Designating the spirits of the dead, the Hebrew term is related to Ug rpum, a name for the deified royal ancestors. In several places in the Hebrew Bible, the Rephaim
Zamzummim
ZAMZUMMIM זמזמיםI. Deut 2:20 presents the Zamzummites, zamzummîm, as the Ammonite designation of the former inhabitants of the Ammonite area. Since the Zamzummites are interpreted as a tribe of the →Rephaim related to the Enakites (→Giants), it can be assumed that the Zamzummites are enfeebled spirits
Catholic Bible Dictionary
Rephaim
REPHAIM1. A pre-Israelite people of Canaan concentrated mainly in the Transjordan (Deut 3:13; Josh 17:15). The Moabites called them “Emim” (Deut 2:11) and the Ammonites called them “Zamzummim” (Deut 2:20). According to Gen 14:5, Chedorlaomer and his allies defeated the Rephaim in Ashtaroth-karnaim with
Zamzummim
ZAMZUMMIM The name used by the Ammonites for a people, also called the Rephaim, whose lands east of the Jordan they had conquered and claimed for themselves (Deut 2:20–23).
See also
Related
Og
Valley of Rephaim
Ashteroth-karnaim