Anakim

Anakim - the descendants of Anak (Josh. 11:21; Num. 13:33; Deut. 9:2).\nThey dwelt in the south of Palestine, in the neighbourhood of\nHebron (Gen. 23:2; Josh. 15:13). In the days of Abraham (Gen.\n14:5, 6) they inhabited the region afterwards known as Edom and\nMoab, east of the Jordan. They were probably a remnant of the\noriginal inhabitants of Palestine before the Canaanites, a\nCushite tribe from Babel, and of the same race as the\nPhoenicians and the Egyptian shepherd kings. Their formidable\nwarlike appearance, as described by the spies sent to search the\nland, filled the Israelites with terror. They seem to have\nidentified them with the Nephilim, the "giants" (Gen. 6:4; Num.\n13:33) of the antediluvian age. There were various tribes of\nAnakim (Josh. 15:14). Joshua finally expelled them from the\nland, except a remnant that found a refuge in the cities of\nGaza, Gath, and Ashdod (Josh. 11:22). The Philistine giants whom\nDavid encountered (2 Sam. 21:15-22) were descendants of the\nAnakim. (See Giants.)