I’m sure that like me, many of you also grew up hearing stories about giants—be they from the Bible, Jack’s infamous Bean Stalk, or in the grocery store aisle in the form of every child’s favorite Jolly green giant—and it’s probably crossed your mind at least once what you would do if you were suddenly confronted with a grotesquely oversized human. No? Just me? Huh.
Well, anyway, stories of giants of course date back to the biblical days of Noah and the well-known verse about men of renown— Genesis 6:4 (KJV) reads: “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” These so-called “sons of God” are thought by some to be fallen angels, who then produced giants or Nephilim, with us irresistible human women. And honestly, I don’t see how we can blame them!
God did, however, blame them for their disobedience and some theorize these taboo pairings that created blood thirsty giant children could be a potential cause of Noah’s flood.
The Bible describes the giants as being so large in size that we humans appeared knee high to a grasshopper by comparison. Numbers 13:33 (KJV) reads: “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” Nope, I’m not looking to meet one of them!
One royal giant from the Bible is Amorite King Og of Bashan, and his iron bed was rumored to be 13.5 feet in length and 6 feet wide. Imagine having to change those sheets!
Biblical Goliath, coming in at an apparently fearsome 6 feet 9 inches to over 9 feet tall, hardly justifies a mention— his shadow still looms historically long, even today.
Moving on from the Bible, Native Americans hand down stories of red-headed giants with six fingers whom they say lived underground or in cave systems, mainly throughout the American mid-west.
According to the natives, these redheaded giants were people eaters!
Predominantly, the Northern Paiute tribe provides the most information regarding our alleged American giants. Called the Si-Te-Cah, these six fingered, redheaded, man-eating giants lived inside the caves of Nevada, coming out to hunt men at their leisure— or when their bellies rumbled.
When miners excavated Nevada’s Lovelock Cave in 1911 they uncovered artifacts and mummified remains still sporting quite the fashionable flaming red locks. As this oddly gave rise to conspiracy theories from those familiar with Northern Paiute lore regarding the Si-Te-Cah of possible 10-foot+ tall people eaters on the loose, the discovery was largely shoved under the proverbial rug.
Most recently, according to reporting by the Daily Mail, researchers have discovered and identified leg bones belonging to the Denisovians, an ancient people group who possibly diverged from their Neanderthal lineage sometime roughly 550,000 years ago. According to information released on the discovery, the find is of a thigh bone and shin bone, discovered on the seabed of the Penghu Channel, waters which lie smack dab between Taiwan and Mainland China.
What do some ancient leg bone fossils have to do with giants?
Well, the thigh bone found is reported to have stood about 5 feet 11 inches with a weight of 183 pounds. Whomever the shin bone may have belonged to is hypothesized to have been 6 feet 3 inches in height with a weight of 201 pounds. If accurate, this would make the latter individual substantially taller than the average modern human male, who is generally 5 feet and 9 inches tall.
Legends of giants are present in many cultures around the world and drawings of tall giant-like individuals are often found decorating ancient cave walls. Giant myths extend to ancient Greece and are also a feature in many Norse Legends.
Despite all the hype, the actual tallest confirmed person known in recent times is said to have been Mr. Robert Wadlow, who‘s stunning height soared to 8 feet and 11 inches!
Currently, there are a plethora of giant sized conspiracy theories to go around— from the Smithsonian Museum sitting on an army of hidden giant bones, CERN is somehow trying to resurrect ancient biblical King Nimrod of Tower of Babel fame, or many point to that time Jesus himself may have hinted at a return of giants in the last days. Um… what?
Matthew 24:37 reads: “For as in the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of man be.”
Genesis claims the days of Noah, before the flood, were plagued by giants.
However, Jesus does go on in the very next verse to set our minds at ease, indicating he is referring to how unaware the people were of their impending doom, via a world-wide flood. Luckily, context is always key!
Yet, the book of Daniel 2:3 does contain this one puzzling and frightening line: “And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave to one another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.”
So who do you think Daniel means by “they?” Are giants possibly hiding among us— just waiting for their day to come out from the shadows of make believe? And, if/when they do, will they still be hungry for me and you?