Texts in Conversation
Proverbs 9 refers to the Rephaim as inhabitants of the realm of the dead, perhaps a development from earlier portrayals such as in Deuteronomy 2, where the term described legendary figures of great size reminiscent of ancient Near Eastern deities also connected with the underworld.
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Deuteronomy 2:11
Hebrew Bible
9 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass Moab and provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as your territory. This is because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession. 10 (The Emites used to live there, a people as powerful, numerous, and tall as the Anakites. 11 These people, as well as the Anakites, are also considered Rephaites; the Moabites call them Emites. 12 Previously the Horites lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed and destroyed them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the land it came to possess, the land the Lord gave them.)
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Proverbs 9:18
Hebrew Bible
16 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here, ”To those who lack understanding she has said, 17 “Stolen waters are sweet, and food obtained in secret is pleasant!” 18 But they do not realize that the Rephaim50 are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Proverbs 2:18 warns of the woman whose house sinks down to death and her course to the rephaim; Proverbs 9:18 and 21:16 warn that men who stray will dwell with the rephaim. They are the company of the dead trembling in their graves, who cannot rise from the land of oblivion, or the ghosts who will indeed rise. The rephaim in Deuteronomy 2:11, 20 and 3:11-13, in contrast, are immense people as tall as the Anakites, as evidenced by the enormous iron bed of the king, and in several texts the term is used as a place name as well. It is surely no coincidence that the term refers to both a physically large people and the dead: once again, the picture is reminiscent of giant Near Eastern deities ..."
Hamori, Esther J.
When Gods Were Men: The Embodied God in Biblical and Near Eastern Literature
(p. 124) De Gruyter, 2008
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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