Lexical Definition

‎נְפִיל‎ nᵉphîyl (nef-eel') Nephilim ^N:N--TG
or נְפִל nᵉphil (nef-eel'); from ‎נָפַל‎

giant.

• properly, a feller, i.e. a bully or tyrant

1) giants, the Nephilim

Extended Information

• People descended from Nephil, first mentioned at Gen.6.4

Brown-Driver-Briggs

‎נְפִלִים‎ noun masculine plural giants, according to ᵐ5 γίγαντες so ᵑ6 ᵑ9; ‎הַנְּפִלִים‎ Gen 6:4 (J), ‎הַנְּפִילִים בְּנֵי עֲנָק‎ ‎מִןהַֿנְּפִלִים‎ Num 13:33 (JE); ᵐ5 omit ‎׳‎‎בְּנֵי וגו‎, and so Di; these words perhaps doublet, but already in ⅏, also ᵑ9 (etymology dubious; compare Aramaic ‎נִיפְלָא‎, ‎נְפִילָא‎ Orion; conjectures see in Thes Di^{on the passage}; Tu Kn Len^{Or. i. 344, Eng. Tr. 345 f.}; Che^{Hebraica. iii (1887), 175, 176}; all very precarious).

Brown-Driver-Briggs References

Profile

Group • Mysterious giants mentioned in the pre-flood and post-flood eras.

People from Nephil(?)

The Nephilim were a race of giants mentioned in the context of the sons of God marrying human women before the flood and later encountered by the Israelite spies in Canaan.

• People from Nephil(?), first mentioned at Gen.6.4;
• only referred to as Nephilim נְפִיל.

The Nephilim are mysterious figures mentioned in two distinct contexts in the Old Testament. They are first introduced in Genesis 6:4, just before the account of the great flood. The passage states that the Nephilim were on the earth when the "sons of God" married the "daughters of men" and had children by them. It also mentions that the Nephilim were mighty men of old, men of renown.

The exact identity of the "sons of God" and the nature of the Nephilim have been the subject of much debate among scholars. Some interpret the "sons of God" as fallen angels who married human women, while others believe they were powerful human rulers or descendants of Seth who intermarried with the descendants of Cain. The Nephilim are often understood as giants or heroic figures who were the offspring of these unions.

The second mention of the Nephilim occurs in Numbers 13:33, where the Israelite spies report seeing them in Canaan during their reconnaissance mission. The spies describe the Nephilim as descendants of Anak and compare their own size to that of grasshoppers in the sight of these giants.

All entries for Nephilim: נְפִיל