Deuteronomy 1:28

1:28 What is going to happen to us? Our brothers have drained away our courage ¹  by describing people who are more numerous ²  and taller than we are, and great cities whose defenses appear to be as high as heaven ³  itself! Moreover, they said they saw ⁴  Anakites ⁵  there.”

Deuteronomy 9:2

9:2 They include the Anakites, ⁶  a numerous ⁷  and tall people whom you know about and of whom it is said, “Who is able to resist the Anakites?”

Numbers 13:22

13:22 When they went up through the Negev, they ⁸  came ⁹  to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, ¹⁰  descendants of Anak, were living. (Now Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan ¹¹  in Egypt.)

Numbers 13:28

13:28 But ¹²  the inhabitants ¹³  are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.

Numbers 13:33

13:33 We even saw the Nephilim ¹⁴  there (the descendants of Anak came from the Nephilim), and we seemed liked grasshoppers both to ourselves ¹⁵  and to them.” ¹⁶ 

¹ tn Heb “have caused our hearts to melt.”

² tn Heb “greater.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “stronger,” NAB, NIV, NRSV; “bigger,” NASB).

³ tn Or “as the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

⁴ tn Heb “we have seen.”

⁵ tn Heb “the sons of the Anakim.”

⁶ sn Anakites. See note on this term in Deut 1:28.

⁷ tn Heb “great and tall.” Many English versions understand this to refer to physical size or strength rather than numbers (cf. “strong,” NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT).

⁸ tc The MT has the singular, but the ancient versions and Smr have the plural.

⁹ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive is here subordinated to the following clause. The first verse gave the account of their journey over the whole land; this section focuses on what happened in the area of Hebron, which would be the basis for the false report.

¹⁰ sn These names are thought to be three clans that were in the Hebron area (see Josh 15:14; Judg 1:20). To call them descendants of Anak is usually taken to mean that they were large or tall people (2 Sam 21:18-22). They were ultimately driven out by Caleb.

¹¹ sn The text now provides a brief historical aside for the readers. Zoan was probably the city of Tanis, although that is disputed today by some scholars. It was known in Egypt in the New Kingdom as “the fields of Tanis,” which corresponded to the “fields of Zoar” in the Hebrew Bible (Ps 78:12, 43).

¹² tn The word (אֶפֶס, ’efes) forms a very strong adversative. The land was indeed rich and fruitful, but….”

¹³ tn Heb “the people who are living in the land.”

¹⁴ tc The Greek version uses gigantes (“giants”) to translate “the Nephilim,” but it does not retain the clause “the sons of Anak are from the Nephilim.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “in our eyes.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “in their eyes.”