Interesting Facts

• The Rephaims were one of the nations whose land was promised to Abraham’s descendants, with their territory lying between the river of Egypt and the river Euphrates.
• The land of Gilead was previously known as the land of the Rephaim.
• The Rephaim were giants with heights ranging from seven to ten cubits.
• Their cities included Karnaim, Ashtaroth, Edrei, Misur, and Beon.
• The Lord destroyed the Rephaim due to the evil of their deeds and their malignant nature, after which the Amorites dwelled in their place.

Genealogy

• The provided sources do not offer specific genealogical details regarding the ancestry, birth, marital connections, or offspring of the Rephaim as individuals or families. They are consistently referred to as a distinct people or nation. However, it is mentioned that the land of Gilead was where the Rephaim were “born”, implying a place of origin rather than lineage. Additionally, Esau intermarried with the Horites, and the Rephaim are mentioned separately, indicating they were a distinct group, though potential intermingling isn’t explicitly excluded.

Historical Context

The Rephaim existed in the region of Canaan and Gilead during a period where various peoples inhabited the land, each with their own territories and, as indicated by their conflict with Chedorlaomer, their own political dynamics. They are listed among other nations like the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites, all of whom occupied the land promised to Abraham’s seed. The fact that they were targeted by Chedorlaomer and his allied kings in Ashteroth Karnaim suggests they were a power of some significance in the region during that time, capable of warranting a military campaign. Furthermore, the narrative indicates a divine judgment upon the Rephaim due to their wickedness, leading to their destruction and the subsequent habitation of their land by the Amorites. This highlights a theological interpretation of historical events within the text, where the rise and fall of nations are attributed to their moral standing before the Lord. The description of them as giants also places them within a specific cultural understanding of ancient inhabitants, often associated with extraordinary size and power.

Narrative

The Rephaim appear in the narrative primarily as one of the pre-existing populations of the land that was divinely promised as an inheritance. Their most direct involvement in the recounted events is their encounter with Chedorlaomer and his royal allies, who smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim. This episode illustrates a period of conflict and subjugation within the broader region. Additionally, the text in Jubilees offers a more specific narrative about the Rephaim’s fate, stating that the Lord destroyed them because of the evil of their deeds. This divine act of destruction explains their absence from later narratives concerning the inheritance of the land by Abraham’s descendants. The description of their former territory, Gilead, and the mention of their impressive stature as giants contribute to their characterization as a formidable yet ultimately wicked people who were removed to make way for others. While they do not engage in direct dialogue or complex actions within these excerpts beyond being targets of military campaigns and divine judgment, their presence serves as a part of the larger narrative of land ownership and the consequences of moral corruption as perceived by the authors of these texts.