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Rephaite
In the Hebrew Bible, as well as non-Jewish ancient texts from the region, the Northwest Semitic term Rephaite, or Repha'im (Biblical Hebrew: רְפָאִים, romanized: rĕf'ā-ĭm; Ugaritic: 𐎗𐎔𐎜𐎎, romanized: rpʾum; Phoenician: 𐤓𐤐𐤀𐤌, romanized: rpʾm), refers to a people of greater-than-average height and stature in Deuteronomy 2:10-11.
The term Rephaim first appears in Ugarit.
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.
There are two main groups of etymological hypotheses regarding the origins of the biblical term Rephaim. The first group proposes it is a native Hebrew language term, which could be derived from the roots רָפָא (raw-faw') or רָפָה (râphâh). The first root suggests "healing" (רְפוּאָה, r'fuah) of some sort, as in the purgation souls—at least the souls of those who in life were incompletely righteous—undergo in Gehinnom (גֵיהִנֹּם, /ɡəˈhɪnəm/) between death and the world to come to atone for their earthly sins. The second root denotes weakness or powerlessness. Souls in Sheol (שְׁאוֹל, /ˈʃeɪ.oʊl/) are weak in the sense that they hold no physical power or status as they did in the living world. Because all things that give the living power are moot in Sheol, its inhabitants are thus powerless and weak and must be submissive to God.
The second group of etymological hypotheses treats Rephaim as a loanword from other ancient Semitic languages. Among the proposals is the Akkadian rabu ("prince"), but this explanation enjoys rather limited popularity.[according to whom?] Far more support has been gained by the hypothesis that derives the Hebrew Rephaim from the Ugaritic rpum, which denotes semi-deified deceased ancestors mentioned in sources like 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., Genesis 14:5, Genesis 15:18–21, and Deuteronomy 2:11–20) and Rephaim as the inhabitants of the underworld (e.g., Isaiah 14:9–11 and Isaiah 26:13–15)—the same word is used in the original text.
In the Hebrew Bible, "Rephaites" or "Repha'im" describes 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, King Chedorlaomer and his allies attacked and defeated the Rephaites at Ashteroth Karnaim. Rephaites are also mentioned at Genesis 15:20; Deuteronomy 2:10–21, 3:11; the Book of Joshua (Joshua 12:4, 13:12, 15:8, 17:15, 18:16); the Books of Samuel (2 Samuel 5:18–22, 23:13); and the Books of Chronicles (1 Chronicles 11:15, 14:9 and 20:4).
Medieval Jewish exegetes like Nachmanides and David Qimḥi have suggested that the Rephaim and Hivites are the same. This used to explain why the two names never appear together in Biblical lists of Canaanite tribes. Nonetheless, later scholars have called this assumption into question. Others have argued that the Rephaim were not Canaanites, but that their land was still nonetheless promised to Abraham.
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, suggest that Og, king of Bashan, was one of the last survivors of the Rephaim, and that his bed was nine cubits long. (An ordinary cubit is the length of a man's forearm according to the New American Standard Bible, or approximately 18 in (460 mm). This makes the bed over 13 feet long.) Anak, according to Deuteronomy 2:11, was also a Rephaite.
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Rephaite
In the Hebrew Bible, as well as non-Jewish ancient texts from the region, the Northwest Semitic term Rephaite, or Repha'im (Biblical Hebrew: רְפָאִים, romanized: rĕf'ā-ĭm; Ugaritic: 𐎗𐎔𐎜𐎎, romanized: rpʾum; Phoenician: 𐤓𐤐𐤀𐤌, romanized: rpʾm), refers to a people of greater-than-average height and stature in Deuteronomy 2:10-11.
The term Rephaim first appears in Ugarit.
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.
There are two main groups of etymological hypotheses regarding the origins of the biblical term Rephaim. The first group proposes it is a native Hebrew language term, which could be derived from the roots רָפָא (raw-faw') or רָפָה (râphâh). The first root suggests "healing" (רְפוּאָה, r'fuah) of some sort, as in the purgation souls—at least the souls of those who in life were incompletely righteous—undergo in Gehinnom (גֵיהִנֹּם, /ɡəˈhɪnəm/) between death and the world to come to atone for their earthly sins. The second root denotes weakness or powerlessness. Souls in Sheol (שְׁאוֹל, /ˈʃeɪ.oʊl/) are weak in the sense that they hold no physical power or status as they did in the living world. Because all things that give the living power are moot in Sheol, its inhabitants are thus powerless and weak and must be submissive to God.
The second group of etymological hypotheses treats Rephaim as a loanword from other ancient Semitic languages. Among the proposals is the Akkadian rabu ("prince"), but this explanation enjoys rather limited popularity.[according to whom?] Far more support has been gained by the hypothesis that derives the Hebrew Rephaim from the Ugaritic rpum, which denotes semi-deified deceased ancestors mentioned in sources like 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., Genesis 14:5, Genesis 15:18–21, and Deuteronomy 2:11–20) and Rephaim as the inhabitants of the underworld (e.g., Isaiah 14:9–11 and Isaiah 26:13–15)—the same word is used in the original text.
In the Hebrew Bible, "Rephaites" or "Repha'im" describes 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, King Chedorlaomer and his allies attacked and defeated the Rephaites at Ashteroth Karnaim. Rephaites are also mentioned at Genesis 15:20; Deuteronomy 2:10–21, 3:11; the Book of Joshua (Joshua 12:4, 13:12, 15:8, 17:15, 18:16); the Books of Samuel (2 Samuel 5:18–22, 23:13); and the Books of Chronicles (1 Chronicles 11:15, 14:9 and 20:4).
Medieval Jewish exegetes like Nachmanides and David Qimḥi have suggested that the Rephaim and Hivites are the same. This used to explain why the two names never appear together in Biblical lists of Canaanite tribes. Nonetheless, later scholars have called this assumption into question. Others have argued that the Rephaim were not Canaanites, but that their land was still nonetheless promised to Abraham.
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, suggest that Og, king of Bashan, was one of the last survivors of the Rephaim, and that his bed was nine cubits long. (An ordinary cubit is the length of a man's forearm according to the New American Standard Bible, or approximately 18 in (460 mm). This makes the bed over 13 feet long.) Anak, according to Deuteronomy 2:11, was also a Rephaite.