In theHebrew Bible, as well as non-Jewish ancient texts from the region, theNorthwest Semitic termRephaite orRepha'im (cf. the plural word inHebrew:רְפָאִים,romanized: rəfāʾīm;Ugaritic:𐎗𐎔𐎜𐎎,romanized: rpʾum,[1]Phoenician:𐤓𐤐𐤀𐤌,romanized: rpʾm)[2] refers either to a people of greater-than-average height and stature inDeuteronomy 2:10-11, or departed spirits in the afterlife,Sheol as written in the following scriptures:Isaiah 26:14;Psalms 88:10, andProverbs 9:18, as well asIsaiah 14:9.[3]
The term Rephaim first appears inUgarit.
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 andmore. 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.[1]
There are two main groups of etymological hypotheses explaining the origins of the biblical term,Repha'im. The first group proposes that this is a nativeHebrew language term, which could be derived either from the rootרפא orרפה. The first root conveys the meaning of healing, as in the healing of souls living in the Jewish afterlife,Sheol, where they await thefinal judgment by God. The second root denotes weakness or powerlessness; souls within Sheol 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 the land of the dead, its inhabitants are thus powerless and weak and must be submissive to Elohim.[4][5][6]
The second group of etymological hypotheses treat rephaim as aloanword from another ancientSemitic language. Among the proposals is theAkkadianrabu "prince", but this explanation enjoys rather limited popularity. Far more support has been gained by the hypothesis which derives the Hebrewrefaim from theUgariticrpum which denotes the semi-deified deceasedancestors who are mentioned in such sources as the so-calledRephaim Text (KTU 1:20–22).[7][8] Despite the inconsistency between these possible meanings and that modern translations clearly distinguish between Rephaites as one of the tribes (e.g.Book of Genesis 14:5; 15:18–21;Book of Deuteronomy 2:11–20) andrephaim as the inhabitants of the underworld (e.g.Book of Isaiah 14:9–11; 26:13–15), the same word is used in the original text.[9]
In the Hebrew Bible, "Rephaites" or "Repha'im" describe an ancient race ofgiants in Canaan, from theBronze Age to theIron Age. Many locations were also named after them. According toGenesis 14:5, KingChedorlaomer and his allies attacked and defeated the Rephaites atAshteroth-Karnaim. Rephaites are also mentioned atGenesis 15:20;Deuteronomy 2:10–21,3:11; theBook of Joshua (Joshua 12:4,13:12,15:8,17:15,18:16); theBooks of Samuel (2 Samuel 5:18–22,23:13); and theBooks of Chronicles (1 Chronicles 11:15,14:9 and20:4).
Medieval Jewish exegetes likeNachmanides andRadak have suggested that the Rephaim andHivites are one and 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 strictly Canaanite, but that their land was still nonethelesspromised toAbraham.[10]
In the biblical narrative, theIsraelites 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 theBook of Joshua, and alsoDeuteronomy 3:11, suggest thatOg, the King of Bashan, was one of the last survivors of the Rephaim, and that his bed was 9cubits long. (An ordinary cubit is the length of a man's forearm according to theNew American Standard Bible, or approximately 18 in (460 mm). This makes the bed over 13 feet long.)Anak, according toDeuteronomy 2:11, was also a Rephaite.
The Rephaites were called the "Emim" by theMoabites inDeuteronomy 2:11whilst theAmmonites called them the "Zamzummim" inDeuteronomy 2:18–21.
Repha'im have also been considered the residents of the Netherworld (Sheol in the Hebrew Bible) in more recent scholarship. Possible examples of this usage appear as "shades", "spirits", or "dead" in various translations of the Bible. See:Isa 14:9,26:14,26:19;Ps 88:10;Prov 2:18,9:18,21:16;Job 26:5, and possibly2 Chron 16:12, whereRepha'im may be read as "dead ancestors" or "weakeners", as opposed toRophe'im, "doctors". The Heb. root רפא means "heal", and thus the masculine plural nominalized form of this root may indicate that these "deceased ancestors" could be invoked for ritual purposes that would benefit the living.[11][12][13]
Various ancientNorthwest Semitic texts are also replete with references to terms evidently cognate withRephaim as the dead or dead kings.[14] Lewis (1989)[15] undertakes a detailed study of several enigmatic funerary ritual texts from the ancient coastal city ofUgarit. Lewis concludes that the"Ugaritic Funerary Text"[16] provides important evidence for understanding Ugarit'scult of the dead, wherein beings calledrapi'uma, the long dead, andmalakuma, recently dead kings, were invoked in a funeral liturgy, presented with food/drink offerings, and asked to provide blessings for the reign of the current king. The many references torepha'im in theHebrew Bible in contexts involving Sheol and dead spirits strongly suggests that many ancientIsraelites imagined the spirits of the dead as playing an active and important role in securing blessings, healing, or other benefits in the lives of the living.[17] In 2021, a new theory regarding the identity of the Rephaim was published by J. Yogev, which suggests that the Rephaim were systematically eradicated from biblical texts as an agenda to eliminate their memory according to monotheistic belief systems in biblical times.[18]
The divine status of the Rephaim is evident from "The Rephaim," where they are called "gods" and "divine ones," but also from the end of "Baal" inStories from Ancient Canaan:
Sun rules the Rephaim,Sun rules the divine ones:Your company are the gods,see, the dead are your company.[19]
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