| Psuedo-Apollodorus mentions them briefly as well: “But Earth, vexed on account of the Titans, brought forth the Giants, whom she had by Sky. These were matchless in the bulk of their bodies and invincible in their might; terrible of aspect did they appear, with long locks drooping from their head and chin, and with the scales of dragons for feet.” (62) Pausanius however, seems to have a little more rational sense, though maybe not as much a sense of humor when he says: “That the Giants had serpents for feet is an absurd tale.” (63) In the Old Testament, in Genesis, we read about the “giants” and they are called the Nephilim: “(1) When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, (2) the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. (3) Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” (4) The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.” (Genesis 6:1-4) In Ezekiel we read: “(27) But they do not lie with the fallen warriors of old, who went down to the realm of the dead with their weapons of war—their swords placed under their heads and their shields resting on their bones—though these warriors also had terrorized the land of the living.” (Ezekiel 32:27) The “fallen warriors of old” are interpreted to be the “giants” and also the “fallen ones.” In Numbers, Moses is instructed by the Lord to explore the country, and Moses instructed the people to go see if there were “trees in it or not” and if so, to bring back some “fruit of the land” which is described as “milk and honey”: (1) The Lord said to Moses, (2) “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.” … “(17) When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. (18) See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. (19) What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? (20) How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” … (27) They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.” (Referring to some grapes which were cut there) (30) Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. (31) But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” (32) And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. (33) We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers: 13-30-33) |
I’m now going to put forth the second part of a theory I began in an earlier chapter regarding Trees. I won’t say it’s a theory I believe in 100%, but one I’m investigating here as a possibility, which I believe has merit. These previous passages imply several things to me. The sons of god were the Giants / Titans / Trees. It says that the Nephilim were the offspring of the “sons of god and the daughters of man.” I liken the sons of god to the heavens and the daughters of man to the earth, both of which, if mated would produce trees, or giants. We just read through the Ramayana, where the giants were compared to trees in several ways. Also, we read how the Greeks cut down the giant oaks and trees of Kybele. There are at least three giant mounds in the United States which appear like giant tree stumps, called “Devil’s Tower,” in Utah and Wyoming and South Dakota. In Daniel 4, we have Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Tree, where we read the following: (9) I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. (10) These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. (11) The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. (12) Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed. (62) Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1.6.1 (63) Pausanias, Descriptions of Greece 8.29.3; https://www.sunoikisis.org/surs/2014/09/17/morphing-monsters/ |