Editing Nephilim (section)

=== Giants ===
{{Main|Giants (Greek mythology)}}
The earliest translations of the Hebrew Bible, the [[Septuagint]], composed in the 3rd or 2nd century BC, renders the said word as ''gigantes''. In Greek Mythology the gigantes were beings of great strength and aggression but not necessarily of great size.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hansen |first=William F. |year=2005 |title=Classical Mythology: A guide to the mythical world of the Greeks and Romans |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-530035-2 |lang=en |page=177 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a-NmaO-kM2UC&pg=PA177 }}</ref> The choice made by the Greek translators has been preserved in Latin translation. The [[Vulgate]], compiled in the 4th or 5th&nbsp;century AD, transcribes the Greek term rather than translating the Hebrew ''nefilim''. From there, the tradition of the giant progeny of the sons of God and the daughters of men spread to later medieval translations of the Bible.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Kosior |first=Wojciech |date=22 May 2018 |chapter=The fallen (or) giants? The gigantic qualities of the Nefilim in the Hebrew Bible |editor1-first=Magdalena |editor1-last=Waligórska |editor2-first=Tara |editor2-last=Kohn |title=Jewish Translation – Translating Jewishness |pages=17–38 |publisher=de Gruyter |lang=en |doi=10.1515/9783110550788-002 |isbn=978-3110550788}}</ref>

The decision of the Greek translators to render the Hebrew ''nefilim'' as Greek ''gigantes'' is a separate matter. The Hebrew ''nefilim'' means literally "the fallen ones" and the strict translation into Greek would be ''peptokotes'', which in fact appears in the Septuagint of Ezekiel&nbsp;32:22–27. It seems then that the authors of Septuagint wished not only to simply translate the foreign term into Greek, but also to employ a term which would be intelligible and meaningful for their Hellenistic audiences. Given the complex meaning of the ''nefilim'' which emerged from the three interconnected biblical passages (human–divine hybrids in Genesis 6, autochthonous people in Numbers&nbsp;13 and ancient warriors damned in the underworld in Ezekiel&nbsp;32), the Greek translators recognized some similarities. First and foremost, both ''nefilim'' and ''gigantes'' possessed an ambiguous identity, being a mixture of the human and divine. They were also viewed with fascination and moral contempt. Secondly, both were presented as impersonating chaotic qualities and posing some serious danger to gods and humans. Lastly, both ''gigantes'' and ''nefilim'' were clearly connected with the underworld and were said to have originated from earth, and they both end up closed therein.<ref name=":0" />

In [[1 Enoch]], the Nephilim were "great giants, whose height was three hundred cubits". Assuming 1 [[cubit]] is {{convert|18|in|cm}}, this would make them {{convert|450|ft|m}} tall. However, "three hundred cubits" is considered by scholars{{Who|date=April 2025}} to be a translation error in the Ethiopian version. The earlier Greek translation is considered to be closer to the original: "The giants gave birth to Nephilim, and from Nephilim, 'Elioud' came out, and they were growing up according to their grandeur." This matches with [[Book of Jubilees]] 7:21-22, which states that there are three races of giants: Naphidim, Naphil, and Eljo. Therefore, instead of being about the giants' height, the verse actually refers to the three races of giants including [[Elioud]]. Knowing this, John Baty, in his 1839 translation of the Ethiopian version of 1 Enoch, rendered that verse according to the Greek text.<ref>The Book of Enoch the Prophet. Wentworth Press, 2019. ISBN 978-0353916043.</ref> 

The [[Quran]] refers to the [[ʿĀd|people of Ād]] in [[Quran 26]]:130 whom the [[Prophets in Islam|prophet]] [[Hud (prophet)|Hud]] declares to be like ''jabbarin'' (Hebrew: ''gibborim''), probably a reference to the Biblical Nephilim. The people of Ād are said to be giants, the tallest among them {{convert|100|ft|abbr=on}} high.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Gabriel Said Reynolds |first=G.S. |last=Reynolds |year=2018 |title=The Qur'an and the Bible: Text and commentary |publisher=Yale University Press |place=New Haven, CT |isbn=978-0300181326 |page=256 }}</ref> However, according to [[Islam]]ic legend, the ʿĀd were not wiped out by [[Noah's Ark|the Flood]], since some of them had been too tall to be drowned. Instead, God destroyed them after they rejected further warnings.<ref>{{cite book |first=Patrick |last=Hughes |year=1995 |title=Dictionary of Islam |publisher=Asian Educational Services |isbn=978-8120606722 |page=140 }}</ref> After death, they were banished into the lower layers of [[jahannam|hell]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Miguel Asin |last=Palacios |year=2013 |title=Islam and the Divine Comedy |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1134536504 |page=105 }}</ref>