I often explore in my books, podcast and on this site how Second Temple Jews understood demons, giants (the Nephilim), Rephaim in the Bible, and the unseen realm. One well-known idea is that demons were the disembodied spirits of the giants — an idea found most clearly in 1 Enoch.
But what many readers don’t realize is this: the Bible itself provides the key pieces of this worldview. Scripture connects the Rephaim (giants), the realm of the dead, Bashan and Mount Hermon, and demons (unclean spirits), and even Jesus’ phrase “the gates of hell” into a coherent spiritual narrative.
You don’t need the Book of Enoch to see the basic outline.
The Bible itself gives you a surprising amount of this worldview.
After responding to a related question in the Divine Council Worldview Facebook group, I thought it might be worthwhile to post a fuller explanation that the narrative of the Bible does connect demons to disembodied spirits of giants. The Bible connects:
- the giant clans,
- the underworld realm,
- the serpent’s territory,
- demonic / unclean spirits, and
- Jesus’ victory over the “gates of Hades.”
Here’s how the Bible itself weaves the story together.
1. The Rephaim: Giants Who Opposed God’s People
Several Old Testament passages use the term Rephaim to describe ancient giant clans:
- Deut 2:10–11 – The Emim were “like the Anakim… and counted as Rephaim.”
- Deut 2:20–21 – The Zamzummim were “as tall as the Anakim” and called Rephaim.
- Josh 12:4; 13:12 – Og of Bashan was “the last of the Rephaim” kings.
These were mythic figures yes, and real enemies in real locations — Canaanite strongholds tied to spiritual darkness.
2. The Rephaim Are Also the Spirits of the Underworld
This is the pivot point most Christians miss.
The same Hebrew word — Rephaim — is used for the spirits of the dead in Sheol:
- Job 26:5 – “The Rephaim tremble beneath the waters.”
- Psalm 88:10 – “Do You work wonders for the Rephaim?”
- Isaiah 14:9 – “Sheol stirs up the Rephaim to greet you.”
This is deliberate literary theology.
The biblical authors intentionally used the same term for:
- giant enemies on earth, and
- dead spirits in the underworld.
They want you to see a connection between the two realms.
3. Abraham, Sodom, and the Rephaim Territory
This giant–underworld storyline shows up as early as Genesis 14, during Abraham’s lifetime. When Abraham rescues Lot, the invading kings strike a series of giant clans:
- Rephaim in Ashteroth-Karnaim
- Zuzim in Ham
- Emim in Shaveh-Kiriathaim
Then they move on to Sodom and Gomorrah, towns famous for desiring forcible sex between angels and humans.
Translation:
Sodom and Gomorrah sat on the edge of Rephaim territory — an already spiritually dark region long before Israel existed.
This helps explain why those cities are consistently portrayed as deeply corrupt places under hostile spiritual influence.
4. Bashan: The Bible’s “Land of the Serpent”
The Rephaim stronghold par excellence was Bashan, ruled by King Og. The Bible and ancient geography both tie Bashan to serpent imagery and underworld associations.
A. Bashan’s cities contain serpent-linked names
Ashtaroth: The city named for the “shining” star goddess, the Canaanite deity for Venus, or the morning star. The serpent in Genesis 3 can also be called “the shining one”, which may be linked to the rebellious divine being of Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, also the serpentine shining one.
However, Ashtaroth is not a serpent goddess, but the cities named after her (Ashtaroth, Ashtaroth-Karnaim) belonged to the Rephaim, the giant clans whose territory Scripture consistently portrays as linked to the underworld.
Rephaim territory carried strong serpent/dragon and death imagery in both the Bible and ancient Near Eastern texts. Thus, Ashtoreth’s cities were associated with the serpent realm not because the goddess was a serpent, but because the region she ruled was the biblical serpent’s domain.
Edrei is another of the main cities in Bashan and in particular is tied to ancient words for a serpent/dragon or mighty beast.
This background shows up consistently in biblical imagery.
B. Psalms describe Bashan as a cosmic rival to God
Psalm 68 contrasts Bashan with Zion, treating Bashan – the paramount in the region – as a “mountain of God” in rebellion — a spiritual stronghold.
Psalm 22 pictures the Messiah surrounded by the “bulls of Bashan,” which are not cattle but hostile, chaotic spiritual forces parallel to devouring lions and ravenous dogs (death imagery).
C. Bashan and Hermon form the OT “serpent territory”
The biblical serpent (nachash) becomes a symbol for chaos, deception, and death:
- Leviathan = fleeing serpent (Isa 27:1)
- The sea dragon is crushed at creation (Ps 74; Job 26)
Hermon (the heart of Bashan) was known as Baal-Hermon, associated with rebellion and rival gods.
Put simply:
The Bible frames Bashan and Hermon as the geographical home base of spiritual powers in line with the Genesis 3 serpent — chaos, death, opposition to God.
5. The Underworld Has Gates — and the Rephaim Live There
Scripture consistently speaks of the underworld (Sheol) as having gates:
- Isaiah 38:10 – “The gates of Sheol.”
- Job 17:16 – “Descend to the gates of Sheol.”
- Ps 9:13; 107:18 – “Gates of death.”
These wicked spirits can pass through the gates to torment the living. Similarly, the gates of giant cities were heavily fortified in face of the Israelite Conquest and required Yahweh’s intervention to overthrow.
This is the theological backdrop for Jesus’ ministry.
6. Jesus Confronts Demonic Strongholds to Announce the Kingdom of God
Immediately after announcing his Messianic mission, Jesus casts out demons.
“But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.
—Mark 1:25-26
Before heading to Jerusalem and the Cross, Jesus, who demonstrated the invading kingdom of God in part by setting the demonized free – goes to Bashan and says the gates of the underworld will not prevail against his people and Kingdom.
7. Jesus Confronts Bashan’s Underworld Gate Directly
Matthew 16 begins with a key detail:
“Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi.”
—Matthew 16:13
This location matters:
- It sits at the base of Mount Hermon.
- In ancient Bashan — home of the Rephaim.
- At a cave known in the ancient world as the Gate of Hades.
And there, Jesus says:
“I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.”
—Matthew 16:18
He is not making an abstract theological statement.
He is declaring war on the biblical serpent’s territory:
- the land of the Rephaim,
- the realm of the dead,
- the serpent-mountain that rivaled Zion,
- the cosmic powers linked to Genesis 3’s adversary.
Jesus goes to their front door to announce their defeat. As he descends the mountain, he casts out another demon (Mark 9, Matthew 17).
Conclusion:
The Bible presents the origins of wicked spirits as a canonical, coherent, and comprehensive story, integral to the coming of God’s Kingdom through Jesus Christ.
You don’t have to appeal to non-canonical sources to grasp the origin of demons or the worldview behind Jesus’ confrontation with evil. The Bible gives you the framework:
- Giants (Rephaim) opposed God on earth.
- The same term refers to spirits in the underworld.
- Abraham encountered them.
- Sodom stood in their shadow.
- Bashan became “serpent territory.”
- The underworld had gates, ruled by death and chaos.
- Jesus went straight to that region and declared doom on the enemy’s domain.
Simply supernatural biblical theology, right in front of us.
Love this rundown. Right on point. Thank you!