Hebrew word · H6062

עֲנָקִי

ka'anakim

Anakim

A clan called 'sons of Anak' or 'descendants of the Anakim', remembered as very tall. They are tied to Hebron, with three named clan heads: Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai (Num 13:22; Josh 15:13–14).

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Someone descended from Anak who was a man living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, first mentioned at Num.13.22;

father of: Ahiman (H0289), Sheshai (H8344) and Talmai (H8526); also called Anakim at Deu.1.28; 2.10,11,21; 9.2; 1x,22; 14.12,15;

Group of a.naq (עֲנָק "Anak" H6061)

§ Anakims = "long-necked"

a tribe of giants, descendants of Anak, which dwelled in southern Canaan

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Deuteronomy 1:28

Range of meaning

A clan called 'sons of Anak' or 'descendants of the Anakim', remembered as very tall. They are tied to Hebron, with three named clan heads: Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai (Num 13:22; Josh 15:13–14). Deuteronomy groups them with other legendary tall peoples, the Rephaim, Emim and Zamzummim (Deut 2:10–11, 20–21).

Against the English

English versions transliterate the name ('Anakim'; KJV 'Anakims' doubles the plural). The Greek Septuagint and some popular retellings turn them into 'giants'.

How it drifted

Popular speculation links the Anakim with the Nephilim of Gen 6:4 and builds 'giant bloodline' theories. The only biblical basis is the panicked scouts' report in Num 13:33.

Used elsewhere in the period

Num 13:22, 28, 33; Deut 2:10–11, 21; 9:2 ('a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim… who can stand before the sons of Anak?'); Josh 11:21–22 (survivors in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod, the Philistine area later associated with Goliath). Some scholars connect Egyptian Execration Texts (around 1900–1800 BC) that name rulers of a people called 'Iy-ʿanaq'. The link is possible but not certain.

From the study of Joshua 11:21

Range of meaning

A people or clan named after an ancestor, Anak (Num 13:22; Josh 15:13). They were linked to the Hebron highlands and three named chiefs, Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. The common noun ʿănāq means 'neck' or 'necklace' (Judg 8:26; Prov 1:9). The name may originally have meant something like 'long-necked' (tall) or 'necklace-wearers,' but nobody knows for certain.

Against the English

English versions transliterate the name: 'Anakim,' 'Anakites,' 'descendants of Anak.' KJV's 'Anakims' adds an English plural to a word that is already plural in Hebrew. Some paraphrases and many readers silently swap in 'giants.' The Hebrew of this verse names a people group; it doesn't describe their size.

How it drifted

The 'giant' image does come from inside the Bible (Num 13:32–33; Deut 2:10–11, 21; 9:2 'a people great and tall'). But popular retellings often turn the Anakim into a supernatural race, which goes beyond this verse.

Used elsewhere in the period

Num 13:22, 28, 33: the spies' terror, 'we were like grasshoppers.' Deut 1:28; 2:10–11, 21: counted with the Emim and Rephaim, old tall peoples of the region. Deut 9:2: the proverb 'Who can stand before the sons of Anak?' Josh 14:12–15; 15:13–14; Judg 1:10, 20: Caleb drives out the three sons of Anak. Some scholars connect the name with a place or people named in Egyptian Execration Texts (19th–18th c. BC curse lists of Canaanite rulers), but the link is disputed.

From the study of Joshua 11:22

Range of meaning

A people-name: 'Anakites', the 'sons of Anak' (Num 13:22, 28, 33; Deut 9:2). The tradition traces them to a forefather Arba, 'the greatest man among the Anakim', after whom Hebron was once called Kiriath-arba (Josh 14:15; 15:13). The common noun ʿanaq means 'neck' or 'necklace' (Judg 8:26; Prov 1:9 uses the plural for neck-chains), so the name has been explained as 'long-necked' (= tall people) or 'necklace-wearers'. Neither explanation is certain (HALOT s.v.). In Deuteronomy the Anakim are grouped with other tall early peoples (Emim, Zamzummim) under the umbrella label 'Rephaim' (Deut 2:10–11, 20–21).

Against the English

Most versions transliterate (Anakim, Anakites); NLT paraphrases as 'descendants of Anak'. KJV's 'Anakims' adds an English -s to a Hebrew plural that already ends in -im. Older English Bibles and popular retellings often just say 'giants', which pulls in fairy-tale images; the Hebrew word itself is a group name, and their size is something other texts report about them.

How it drifted

The 'giant' association comes from the spies' report (Num 13:32–33: 'men of great size… we were like grasshoppers') and Deuteronomy's comparisons. The spies' report is presented in Numbers as an exaggerated 'bad report', and in Num 13:33 it links the Anakim to the Nephilim of Gen 6:4. That link later fed Jewish and modern speculation about hybrid giant bloodlines. Joshua 11:22 itself says nothing about origins or size.

Used elsewhere in the period

Egyptian Execration Texts (curse texts naming enemies, c. 19th–18th century BC) list rulers of a group or place written ʿnq (often read Iy-ʿanaq). Some scholars identify this with the biblical Anakim; others are cautious. Papyrus Anastasi I (13th century BC), an Egyptian satirical letter, describes fierce Shasu nomads in a Canaanite mountain pass as 'four or five cubits' tall, which shows that the motif of very tall Canaanite highlanders was around in the period. In the Greek Septuagint the name appears as Enakim, and the Septuagint of Jer 47:5 (LXX 29:5) reads 'the remnant of the Anakim' where the standard Hebrew text has 'the remnant of their valley' in an oracle against the Philistine coast.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 5

  1. Deuteronomy 1:28 עֲנָקִ֖ים [the] Anakites

    Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’”

    Here: A clan remembered as unusually tall, linked with Hebron (Num 13:22). In Israel's memory they were the very picture of a giant, unbeatable enemy.

  2. Deuteronomy 2:10 כָּעֲנָקִֽים׃ like the Anakites

    (The Emites used to live there, a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites.

  3. Deuteronomy 2:11 כָּעֲנָקִ֑ים like the Anakites

    Like the Anakites, they were also regarded as Rephaim, though the Moabites called them Emites.

  4. Deuteronomy 2:21 כָּעֲנָקִ֑ים like the Anakites

    They were a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place,

  5. Deuteronomy 9:2 עֲנָקִ֑ים [the] Anakites

    The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim. You know about them, and you have heard it said, “Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?”

Joshua · 4

  1. Joshua 11:21 הָֽעֲנָקִים֙ the Anakites

    At that time Joshua proceeded to eliminate the Anakim from the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction, along with their cities.

    Here: 'The Anakim.' A clan of the southern highlands, remembered in Israel's tradition as frighteningly tall warriors (Num 13:28–33; Deut 9:2). The word '-im' is already a Hebrew plural.

  2. Joshua 11:22 עֲנָקִ֔ים Anakites

    No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did any survive.

    Here: A people-name (with the ending that marks a group descended from or belonging to 'Anak'). In Israel's memory these were the tall, fortified-city dwellers whose size had terrified the spies (Num 13:28, 33; Deut 1:28; 9:2). No article: 'Anakites' as a category, i.e. none of that people.

  3. Joshua 14:12 עֲנָקִ֣ים Anakites

    Now therefore give me this hill country that the LORD promised me on that day, for you yourself heard then that the Anakim were there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps with the LORD’s help I will drive them out, as the LORD has spoken.”

    Here: The people remembered as giants, whose presence at Hebron terrified ten of the twelve spies (Num 13:22, 28, 33). Caleb names the very thing that made Israel turn back.

  4. Joshua 14:15 בָּעֲנָקִ֖ים among the Anakites

    (Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.) Then the land had rest from war.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.