Rephaite

Group mentioned in the Hebrew Bible
In the Hebrew Bible, as well as non Jewish ancient texts from the region, the Northwest Semitic term Rephaite or Repha'im (cf. the plural word in
רְפָאִים; , ) refers either to a people of greater than average height and stature in Deuteronomy 2:10 11, or departed spirits in the afterlife, Sheol as written in the following scriptures: Isaiah 26:14; Psalms 88:10, and Proverbs 9:18, as well as Isaiah 14:9.

The term Rephaim first appears in Ugarit. quote|There is no consensus regarding the exact vocalization of the name “Rpʾum” in Ugaritic, since the word does not appear in syllabic texts. The first syllable, /ra/, is mostly based on Semitic names from Ugarit, Canaan, Mari and other places written in syllabic text that carry the element Rpʾ. Examples: Ra pí ú um; A bi ra pí; Ya ku un ra pí; Am mu ra pí; Ra pa Ya ma; Ra pí DINGIR and
more. It is not certain, however, if the element Rpʾ in these names refers solely to the Rephaim[.] For the nominative case, several readings have been suggested in various studies, such as Rapa‌ʾūma, Rāpa‌ʾūma, Rāpiʾūma, Rapiʾūma and so on. The second group of etymological hypotheses treat rephaim as a loanword from another ancient Semitic language. Among the proposals is the Akkadian rabu "prince", but this explanation enjoys rather limited popularity. Far more support has been gained by the hypothesis which derives the Hebrew from the Ugaritic which denotes the semi deified deceased ancestors who are mentioned in such sources as the so called Rephaim Text (KTU 1:20–22). Despite the inconsistency between these possible meanings and that modern translations clearly distinguish between Rephaites as one of the tribes (e. g. Book of Genesis 14:5; 15:18–21; Book of Deuteronomy 2:11–20) and rephaim as the inhabitants of the underworld (e. g. Book of Isaiah 14:9–11; 26:13–15), the same word is used in the original text.

In the Hebrew Bible, "Rephaites" or "Repha'im" describe an ancient race of giants in Canaan, from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Many locations were also named after them. According to Genesis 14:5 (CEV), King Chedorlaomer and his allies attacked and defeated the Rephaites at Ashteroth Karnaim. Rephaites are also mentioned at Genesis 15:20 (niv); Deuteronomy 2:10 21 (niv), ; the Book of Joshua (Joshua 12:4 (niv), , , , ); the Books of Samuel (Samuel 5:18–22 (niv), ); and the Books of Chronicles (Chronicles 11:15 (niv), and ). In the biblical narrative, the Israelites were instructed to exterminate the previous inhabitants of the "promised land", i. e. Canaan, which include various named peoples, including some unusually tall/large individuals. Several passages in the Book of Joshua, and also Deuteronomy 3:11 (niv), suggest that Og, the King of Bashan, was one of the last survivors of the Rephaim, and that his bed was 9 cubits long. (An ordinary cubit is the length of a man's forearm according to the New American Standard Bible, or approximately This makes the bed over 13 feet long.) Anak, according to , was also a Rephaite. The Rephaites were called the "Emim" by the Moabites in Deuteronomy 2:11 (niv)whilst the Ammonites called them the "Zamzummim" in Deuteronomy 2:18–21 (niv).