Anak in Wikipedia
According to the Book of Numbers, during the conquest of
Canaan by the Israelites, Anak (spelt as both ענק and as
הענק depending upon the reference) was a well known figure,
and a forefather of the Anakites (Heb. Anakim) who have been
considered "strong and tall," they were also said to have
been a mixed race of giant people, descendants of the
Nephilim (Numbers 13:33 ). The use of the word "nephilim" in
this verse describes a crossbreed of God's sons (believers
of God |1 John 3:2|) and the daughters of man, as cited in
(Genesis 6:1-2 ) and (Genesis 6:4 ). The text states that
Anak was a Rephaite (Deuteronomy 2:11 ) and a son of Arba
(Joshua 15:13 ). Etymologically, Anak means [long] neck[1].
The sons of Anak are first mentioned in Numbers 13 . The
Israelite leader Moses sends twelve spies representing the
twelve tribes of Israel to scout out the land of Canaan, and
give a full report to the congregation. The spies enter from
the Negev desert and journey northward through the Judaean
hills until they arrive at the brook of Eshcol near Hebron,
where reside Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the sons of Anak.
After the scouts have explored the entire land, they bring
back samples of the fruit of the land; most notably a
gigantic cluster of grapes which requires two men to carry
it on a pole between them. The scouts then report to Moses
and the congregation, that "the land indeed is a land
flowing with milk and honey," but ten of the twelve spies
discourage the Israelites from even attempting to possess
the land, for they reported that the men were taller and
stronger than the Israelites, and moreover the sons of Anak
dwell in the land, and that they felt like grasshoppers in
their presence.
The Anakites are later mentioned briefly in the books of
Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges. In Joshua, Caleb, one of
the twelve spies sent by Moses into Canaan, later drove out
the descendants of Anak - his three sons - from Hebron, also
called Kirjath Arba.
Anak could be related to the Sumerian god Enki.[citation
needed] Robert Graves, considering the relationship between
the Anakites and Philistia (Joshua 11:21 , Jeremiah 47:5 ),
identifies the Anakim with Anax, the giant ruler of the
Anactorians in Greek mythology.[2]
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