Man living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness
Anak was the ancestor of the Anakim, a race of giants who inhabited Canaan before the Israelite conquest.
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Also known as Anakim · Anakites
Anak was the progenitor of the Anakim, a race of giants who lived in Canaan prior to the Israelite conquest. The Anakim were known for their great height and strength, which struck fear into the hearts of the Israelite spies who were sent to scout out the land. The spies reported that the descendants of Anak were among the inhabitants of Canaan, comparing them to the Nephilim, another race of giants.
During the conquest of Canaan under Joshua's leadership, the Israelites fought against the Anakim and gradually drove them out of the land. Caleb, one of the faithful spies, was given Hebron as his inheritance, which was formerly known as Kiriath-arba and was associated with Anak. Caleb successfully expelled the descendants of Anak from Hebron.
The Anakim were also mentioned as having lived in the land of Moab and Edom, where they were known as Emim and Rephaim, respectively. These giant peoples were gradually displaced or destroyed by the Israelites and the surrounding nations. The memory of the Anakim and their formidable presence in Canaan served as a reminder of God's faithfulness in giving the land to His people, despite the challenges they faced.
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Long-necked, the son of Arba, father of the Anakim (Josh. 15:13; 21:11, Heb. Anok).
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
16 verses in 4 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6061
They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
Nevertheless, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We even saw the descendants of Anak there.
We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’”
(The Emites used to live there, a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites.
Like the Anakites, they were also regarded as Rephaim, though the Moabites called them Emites.
They were a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites. But the LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place,
The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim. You know about them, and you have heard it said, “Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?”
At that time Joshua proceeded to eliminate the Anakim from the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction, along with their cities.
No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did any survive.
Now therefore give me this hill country that the LORD promised me on that day, for you yourself heard then that the Anakim were there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps with the LORDʼs help I will drive them out, as the LORD has spoken.”
(Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.) Then the land had rest from war.
According to the LORDʼs command to him, Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah—Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.)
And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.
They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)
Just as Moses had promised, Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, who drove out the descendants of the three sons of Anak.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.