Anakim

“ The Anakim tells us of one man who asked him in a confidential aside, if it was a show, whereat we all laugh. Even I laugh at the man's ignorance,—I, a thief, an assassin, a traitor, who six weeks ago had never heard of a Claude Lorraine glass; but nobody can tell who has not tried it how much credit one gets for extensive knowledge, if only he holds his tongue. In all my life I am afraid I shall never learn as much as I have been inferred to know simply because I kept still.
Down the St. Lawrence in an English steamer, where everything is not so much English as John Bull-y. ”

“ Never let the sons of Anak be a terror to the Israel of God, for even their day will come to fall. Giants are dwarfs to Omnipotence; yet this struggle with the Anakim was reserved for the latter end of the war, when the Israelites had become more expert in the arts of war, and had had more experience of the power and goodness of God. Note, God sometimes reserves the sharpest trials of his people by affliction and temptation for the latter end of their days. ”

“ Where, indeed—even if warned—could men hope to hide themselves from the awful thing, begotten by Hell on the ravished charnel, that would walk forth like the Anakim to visit its roaring wrath on a trampled world?
So, all that night, and throughout the day that followed, Gaspard du Nord, with the dried slime of the oubliette on his briar-shredded raiment, plunged like a madman through the towering woods that were haunted by robbers and were-wolves. The westward-falling moon flickered in his eyes betwixt the gnarled sombre boles as he ran ”

“ Come, señor; I tell thee, the Mexican will make our fortunes."
"Thine, rogue, thine!" said the disguised Camarga, impatiently: "Why talkest thou to me in this stupid wise? I am an older villain than thou.—I have a fancy for this lad of the Anakim, this thick-witted, turtle-brained young Magog. Thou makest a mystery of him, too. 'Slid! I will penetrate it; for I have a use to make of him, as well as thou."
"Demonios!" said Villafana; "are you seeking Juan Lerma?" ”

“ Our brothers have made our hearts feeble with fear by saying, The people are greater and taller than we are, and the towns are great and walled up to heaven; and more than this, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.
1:29 Then I said to you, Have no fear of them.
1:30 The Lord your God who goes before you will be fighting for you, and will do such wonders as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;
1:31 And in the waste land, where you have seen how the Lord was supporting you, as a man does his son, in all your journeying till you came to this place. ”

“ Those that live by faith value that which is given by promise far above that which is given by providence only. (2.) Because it was now in the Anakim's possession, and he would let Israel know how little he feared the enemy, and would by his example animate them to push on their conquests. Herein Caleb answered his name, which signifies all heart.
II. Joshua grants his petition (v. 13) : Joshua blessed him, commended his bravery, applauded his request, and gave him what he asked. He also prayed for him, and for his good success in his intended undertaking against the sons of Anak. ”

“ But, on the other hand, the Amorites at Hebron may have been intruders; we know that Hebron was peculiarly a Hittite city, and it is at Mamre rather than at Hebron that the Amorite confederates of Abram had their home. It is equally possible that the Anakim themselves may have been the stranger element; we hear nothing about them in the days of the patriarchs, and it is only when the Israelites prepare to enter {38} Canaan that they first make their appearance upon the stage. ”

“ That land is said to have been a land of the Rephaim, for Rephaim had been living there in earlier times, but they were named Zamzummim by the Ammonites;
2:21 They were a great people, tall as the Anakim, and equal to them in number; but the Lord sent destruction on them and the children of Ammon took their place, living in their land ”

“ Anac was a title of high antiquity, and seems to have been originally appropriated to persons of great strength, and stature. Such people in the plural were styled Anakim; and one family of them were to be found at [271] Kirjath-Arba. Some of them were likewise among the Caphtorim, who settled in Palestina. Pausanias represents Asterion, whose tomb is said to have been discovered in Lydia, as a son of Anac, and of an enormous size. [272] Ειναι δε Αστεριον μεν Ανακτος· Ανακτα δε Γης παιδα—οστα εφανη το σχημα περιεχοντα ες πιστιν, ὡς εστιν ανθρωπου· επει δια μεγεθος ουκ εστιν ὁπως αν εδοξεν. ”

“ Then he opened up and told us of the lost race of Anakim, and Tib murmured in my off-ear, 'There were giants in the earth in those days.'
"The missionary hastened to explain he had never met any of these big people, but half-asserted his belief that they could be found somewhere up there in the interior of Greenland. He added, significantly, they were amply protected from circus collectors, not only by peculiar territorial and climatic conditions, but also by sheer avoidupois. ”

“ After they had sinned, they were given bodies of flesh; for an angel who spends seven days on earth becomes opaque and substantial. And when they had been clothed with flesh and with a corrupt nature, then they spake the word “Shem hamphorasch,” and sought to regain their former place, but could not; and were cast out into mountains, there to dwell. From these angels descend the sons of the giants and the Anakim, and from their seed also spring the devils. ”

“ Thus there is no valid reason for following the arbitrary translation of the lxx, καὶ τὰ κατάλοιπα ̓Ενακείμ, and changing עמקם into ענקים, as Hitzig and Graf do; more especially is it utterly improbable that in the Chaldean period Anakim were still to be found in Philistia. The mention of them, moreover, is out of place here; and still less can we follow Graf in his belief that the inhabitants of Gath are the "rest of the Anakim." In the last clause of Jer 47:5, Philistia is set forth as a woman, who tears her body (with her nails) in despair, makes incisions on her body; cf. ”

“ It is well to see the Anakim in their full formidableness, and to feel that we are 'as grasshoppers in our own sight' and in theirs, if the sight drives us to lift our eyes to Him who 'sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof,' however huge and strong, 'are as grasshoppers.'
WEIGHED, AND FOUND WANTING 'And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron; and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! ”

“ Zeus, and Osiris. The history both of the Deity, and of the people, became in time obsolete: and it has been rendered more obscure by the mixed manner in which it has been represented by the Poets.
It is generally agreed by writers upon the subject, that the Cyclopians were of a size superior to the common race of mankind. Among the many tribes of the Amonians, which went abroad, were to be found people, who were styled [545] Anakim, and were descended from the sons of Anac: so that this history, though carried to a great excess, was probably founded in truth. ”

“ The Mahommedans, also, have various fables concerning Balaam. He was one of the Anakim, or giants of Palestine; he read the books of Abraham, where he got the name Yahweh, by virtue of which he predicted the future, and got from God whatever he asked. It has been conjectured that the Arabic wise man, commonly called Luqmān (q.v.) , is identical with Balaam. The names of their fathers are alike, and “Luqman” means devourer, swallower, a meaning which might be got out of Balaam by a popular etymology. ”

“ Verses 4-5Verses 4-5
And the (well-known) champion came out of the camps of the Philistines (הבּנים אישׁ, the middle-man, who decides a war between two armies by a single combat; Luther, “the giant,” according to the ἀνὴρ δυνατὸς of the lxx, although in 1Sa 17:23 the Septuagint translators have rendered the word correctly ἀνὴρ ὁ ἀμεσσαῖος, which is probably only another form of ὁ μεσαῖος) , named Goliath of Gath, one of the chief cities of the Philistines, where there were Anakim still left, according to Jos 11:22. ”

“ The Bible gives us four distinct races of giants, the chief of whom were the Anakims, or sons of Anak, the people of the chosen land, to which Moses was to lead the children of Israel, who were unto them but as grasshoppers in size. Og, the king of this tall race and of Bashan, however, if judged by the measurement of the present day, was not taller than eight feet six inches, as his brazen bedstead measured just nine Jewish cubits; but the Rabbis maintain that the bed described was only his cradle when an infant. ”

“ Spare me, noble Anak!" shrieked the hag, dropping to her knees as the flint point of Anak's spear hovered over her. "I will not harm her nor you, either. I will soften Uglik's heart toward you and make him give you the maiden. I will declare it is the will of the God."
Anak lowered the spear.
"As long as Una is safe, your life is spared," he said grimly; "but pray to Degar Astok to keep her safe. Should any harm befall her, your life will answer for it."
"I will weave spells to guard her from harm, Anak," she cried eagerly. "Only let me live, brave hunter!" ”

“ The young hunter looked up with adoration in his eyes.
"This I saved for my friend, Anak," he said proudly as he extended a generous chunk of liver. "Invar will be honored if his friend will eat of the liver of his kill."
Anak took the morsel with thanks and ate it slowly. His thoughts ran to the tall maiden whom he had requested from the Father, and his blood boiled at the way he had been put off. He was half inclined to cry the rannag, but he was not yet ready for the death duel which would determine whether he or Uglik would rule the tribe. ”

“ His hairy arm seized and dragged her back.
"Una!" cried Invar and Anak in one voice.
Forgotten were strategy and tactics. Anak bounded up the slope, Invar at his heels. Into the mouth of the cave they charged. The huge male dropped the girl and faced them with a growl. Anak hurled a throwing-stone, but his aim was poor. It rebounded harmlessly from the great arched chest of the Neanderthaler. With a roar, the apeman charged.
The hunter sidestepped the rush and swung his smiting-stone. The blow was deflected by the upraised arm of the apeman and fell on his shoulder. ”

“ If we fail to make a kill, we will bound up the hill and escape to strike again."
Invar looked with admiration at his leader. The habit of connected thought and reasoning was new in the world in those days. Such boldness of conception as was shown by Anak's plan was a thing for marvel. As the ramifications of the plan seeped into Invar's brain, his face glowed with enthusiasm.
"Anak should be Father of the tribe of Ugar!" he cried.
"That may yet come to pass," replied Anak enigmatically. "If I kill Uglik, however, it will be to avenge Una, not to win the chieftainship. ”

“ Uglik struck at the attacker. The Neanderthaler turned toward him, but as he did so, Anak hurled his spear. At close range, the stone-tipped weapon passed nearly through the apeman. He stopped his rush and began to cough up blood from a pierced lung. Anak seized Invar's spear and sprang to the attack. An unfledged youth who craved distinction, rushed ahead of the Chief Hunter, but his act spelled his doom. One blow of the huge smiting-stone laid him dead. Anak hurled Invar's spear and again his weapon found its mark. The Neanderthaler roared with pain and sank gradually to his knees. ”

“ The female was rushing down at them, smiting-stones in hand.
"Fly, Invar!" cried Anak. "Run up the slope and throw down stones at her. I will hold her for a moment."
"Invar stays with his friend!" cried the boy stubbornly as he gripped his useless throwing-spear.
"Run up the slope!" stormed Anak. "It is our only chance. Remember how the male died!"
Slowly the idea penetrated Invar's brain. With a shout he dashed away. He circled the oncoming female and got above her. Anak hurled one of his crippled spears. It struck her full in the chest, but made only a flesh wound as the handle dropped away. ”

“ But of all things, the thing we most fear, is the children of Anak, they are over there and they are giants, every one of them. A race of left-handed giants, and as we looked at our men, they were as grass-hoppers, we are afraid they will devour us." And as they spake the children of Israel got scared, and said, "We are not able to go and possess it." ”

“ We may live."
"How can we two expect to do what all the tribe of Ugar dare not try?"
"The tribe of Ugar, or a dozen tribes of Ugar, could not conquer with Uglik leading them," replied Anak, "yet we two may do so. Hark now to my plan. Like Gumor, the gray ape, his cousins walk ever with their eyes cast down. While we have been hunting, I have been spying on them in their home. Never have I seen one look up, and it may be that they cannot. Above or on a level with us, they can easily kill us. If we stand on the rocks above them, they cannot see us and will be at our mercy. ”

“ Anak stepped to Una's side.
"Uglik spoke truth when he said that Una would be High Priestess of Degar Astok," he said. "This I now proclaim her. You, Esle, stripped of your office, shall do menial tasks for all who will until death claims you. If your homage wavers, death will not be long.
"Lo, I make a new law for the tribe. No longer shall all the women belong to the Father, but to those to whom the Father awards them. To each hunter, I now give one woman. He shall take her to his cave and hunt for her. She shall obey him and no other. ”