Edwards on 'Giants'.

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Scott Bushey

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"[428] Gen. 6:4. “And there were giants in the earth in those days,” &c. Pausanias, in his Laconics, mentions the bones of men of a more than ordinary bigness, which were shown in the temple of Esculapius, at the city of Asepus: and in the first of his Eliacks, he speaks of a bone taken out of the sea, which aforetime was kept at Piso, and thought to have been one of Pelops. Philostratus, in the beginning of his Heroicks, informs us that many bodies of giants were discovered in Pallene, by showers of rain and earthquakes. Pliny, b. vii. ch. 16. says, “That upon the bursting of a mountain in Crete, there was found a body standing upright, which was reported by some to have been the body of Orion, by others, the body of Aetion. Orestes’s body, when it was commanded by the oracle to be digged up, is reported to have been seven cubits long. And almost a thousand years ago, the poet Homer continually complained, “that men’s bodies were less than of old.” And Solinus, chap. i. inquires, “Were not all that were born in that age less than their parents?” And the story of Orestes’s funeral testifies the bigness of the ancients; whose bones when they were digged up in the 58th Olympiad at Yegea, by the advice of the oracle, are related to have been seven cubits in length. Other writings, which give a credible relation of ancient matters, affirm this, that in the war of Crete, when the rivers had been so high as to overflow and break down their banks, after the flood was abated, upon the clearing of the earth, there was found a human body of three and thirty feet long: which L. Flaccus, the legate, and Metellus himself, being very desirous of seeing, were much surprised to have the satisfaction of seeing what they did not believe when they heard.” Grotius de Verit. b. i. sect. 16. Notes.

Josephus, b. v. chap. 2. of his ancient history: “There remains to this day some of the race of the giants, who by reason of the bulk and figure of their bodies, so different from other men, are wonderful to see or hear of. Their bones are now shown far exceeding the belief of the vulgar.” Gabinius, in his history of Mauritania, said that Antæus’s bones were found by Sertorius, which, joined together, were sixty cubits long. Phlegon Trallianus, in his 9th chap. of Wonders, mentions the digging up the head of Ida, which was three times as big as that of an ordinary woman. And he adds also that there were many bodies found in Dalmatia, whose arms exceeded sixteen cubits. And the same man relates out of Theopompus, that there were found in the Cimmerian Bosphorus a company of human bones twenty-four cubits in length. Le Clerc’s Notes on Grotius de Veritat. b. i. sect. 16.

We almost every where in the Greek and Latin historians meet with the savage life of the giants mentioned by Moses. In the Greek, as Homer, Iliad 9th, and Hesiod, in his Works and Days. To this may be referred the Wars of the Gods mentioned by Plato in his Second Republic, and those distinct and separate governments taken notice of by the same Plato, in his third book of Laws. And as to the Latin historians, see the first book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and the fourth book of Lucan, and Seneca’s third book of Natural Questions, Quest. 30. where he says concerning the Deluge, “that the beasts also perished, into whose nature men were degenerated.” Grotius de Verit. b. i. sect. 16."



Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 2 (Banner of Truth Trust, 1974), 694.
 
Every culture on earth has mythic tales of giants. I believe history often turns to myth over the ages and sometimes gets exaggerated (like the tallness). The Bible speaks a lot of giants. Skeletons of ancient creatures were also mistaken for human bones.
 
Thank you very much. There is a Christian guy names Steve Quayle (disclaimer- I never actually read any of his books, just a couple articles) who has put out massive research about giants and their bones. I would agree with his claim that the scientific and archeological evidence is hidden as much as possible from the public mainstream, because it supports scripture and not evolutionary theory.

When Israel felt like grasshoppers around them, it might have been to some degree an exaggerated statement about literal size, but there is no question that the giants were "mighty".
 
Thank you very much. There is a Christian guy names Steve Quayle (disclaimer- I never actually read any of his books, just a couple articles) who has put out massive research about giants and their bones. I would agree with his claim that the scientific and archeological evidence is hidden as much as possible from the public mainstream, because it supports scripture and not evolutionary theory.

When Israel felt like grasshoppers around them, it might have been to some degree an exaggerated statement about literal size, but there is no question that the giants were "mighty".

Quayle is okay. I think he overcooks some of the evidence, but he is on the right track.
 
"[428] Gen. 6:4. “And there were giants in the earth in those days,” &c. Pausanias, in his Laconics, mentions the bones of men of a more than ordinary bigness, which were shown in the temple of Esculapius, at the city of Asepus: and in the first of his Eliacks, he speaks of a bone taken out of the sea, which aforetime was kept at Piso, and thought to have been one of Pelops. Philostratus, in the beginning of his Heroicks, informs us that many bodies of giants were discovered in Pallene, by showers of rain and earthquakes. Pliny, b. vii. ch. 16. says, “That upon the bursting of a mountain in Crete, there was found a body standing upright, which was reported by some to have been the body of Orion, by others, the body of Aetion. Orestes’s body, when it was commanded by the oracle to be digged up, is reported to have been seven cubits long. And almost a thousand years ago, the poet Homer continually complained, “that men’s bodies were less than of old.” And Solinus, chap. i. inquires, “Were not all that were born in that age less than their parents?” And the story of Orestes’s funeral testifies the bigness of the ancients; whose bones when they were digged up in the 58th Olympiad at Yegea, by the advice of the oracle, are related to have been seven cubits in length. Other writings, which give a credible relation of ancient matters, affirm this, that in the war of Crete, when the rivers had been so high as to overflow and break down their banks, after the flood was abated, upon the clearing of the earth, there was found a human body of three and thirty feet long: which L. Flaccus, the legate, and Metellus himself, being very desirous of seeing, were much surprised to have the satisfaction of seeing what they did not believe when they heard.” Grotius de Verit. b. i. sect. 16. Notes.

Josephus, b. v. chap. 2. of his ancient history: “There remains to this day some of the race of the giants, who by reason of the bulk and figure of their bodies, so different from other men, are wonderful to see or hear of. Their bones are now shown far exceeding the belief of the vulgar.” Gabinius, in his history of Mauritania, said that Antæus’s bones were found by Sertorius, which, joined together, were sixty cubits long. Phlegon Trallianus, in his 9th chap. of Wonders, mentions the digging up the head of Ida, which was three times as big as that of an ordinary woman. And he adds also that there were many bodies found in Dalmatia, whose arms exceeded sixteen cubits. And the same man relates out of Theopompus, that there were found in the Cimmerian Bosphorus a company of human bones twenty-four cubits in length. Le Clerc’s Notes on Grotius de Veritat. b. i. sect. 16.

We almost every where in the Greek and Latin historians meet with the savage life of the giants mentioned by Moses. In the Greek, as Homer, Iliad 9th, and Hesiod, in his Works and Days. To this may be referred the Wars of the Gods mentioned by Plato in his Second Republic, and those distinct and separate governments taken notice of by the same Plato, in his third book of Laws. And as to the Latin historians, see the first book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and the fourth book of Lucan, and Seneca’s third book of Natural Questions, Quest. 30. where he says concerning the Deluge, “that the beasts also perished, into whose nature men were degenerated.” Grotius de Verit. b. i. sect. 16."



Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 2 (Banner of Truth Trust, 1974), 694.

Glad you enjoyed the read. :handshake:
 
This sounds like a sci-fi book. So he believes there were literally real Giants among the earth?
John Gill on Deuteronomy 3:11:
"For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants',
&c.] The meaning seems to be, either that he was the only one that was left of the race of the giants the Ammonites found when they took possession of this country, ( Deuteronomy 2:20 ) or that was left when the Amorites took it from the Ammonites; and who having by some means or other ingratiated himself into their affections, because of his stature, strength, and courage, and other qualifications they might discern in him, made him their king:

'behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron':
his body being so large and bulky, he might think it most proper and safest for him to have a bedstead made of iron to lie upon, or to prevent noxious insects harbouring in it; nor was it unusual to have bedsteads made of other materials than wood, as of gold, silver, and ivory;
"
 
I have a photo of one:
859.jpg
 
Malnourished people don't grow very tall. I am almost exactly the average height for an American man. I married my taller wife to breed the short out of my family.
 
Malnourished people don't grow very tall. I am almost exactly the average height for an American man. I married my taller wife to breed the short out of my family.
Hopefully she doesn't read this. Maybe you can edit it to say "One of the reasons I married my wife." Imagine that "Honey, why did you marry me? So we can correct my family genes." Lol, just playing around.
 
Hopefully she doesn't read this. Maybe you can edit it to say "One of the reasons I married my wife." Imagine that "Honey, why did you marry me? So we can correct my family genes." Lol, just playing around.
Sure, her heart is also beautiful, but it's nice to have something pretty to look at as well. She is strong and has a healthy frame and can work hard. Such things matter when you are trying to breed a lineage of super-men.
 
pergamum’s calves are the size of that boy’s head. Maybe the giants in the OT were just doing some heavy deadlifting and creatine.

Seriously, that photo does demonstrate how genetics and diet can produce what may seem like giants to smaller stature cultures. Imagine an army of Pergamums invading that village. Vikings were seen as giants by the nations they conquered. They were genetically larger and their diets were more rich.
 
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D'OH! MY wife just came in and read this thread. She had a good laugh over it but then just sort of shook her head at me in the way that only wives can do...
 
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