Deuteronomy 2:11

Summary

The verse states that the group later called Emites by the Moabites were regarded, by others, as Rephaim — the same category applied to the Anakim. The text distinguishes between an external classification ("they were regarded as") and the specific name the Moabites themselves used ("they called them").

Key words

• re.fa.'Im ("Rephaites", H7497B) — gentilic plural, placed first in the sentence, fronting the group being classified.
• ye.cha.she.Vu ("they were regarded", H2803J) — niphal (passive) imperfect; the passive voice indicates this is a classification applied to them by others, not a self-designation, and the imperfect aspect frames it as an ongoing or habitual perception rather than a single completed event.
• 'af ("also", H0637) — emphatic particle reinforcing that this group, too, fell under the same classification as the Anakim.
• yik.re.'U ("they called", H7121H) — qal (active) imperfect; contrasts grammatically with the passive ye.cha.she.Vu, marking the Moabites as active agents assigning their own name.
• 'a.na.Kim ("Anakites", H6062) — gentilic plural, functioning as the comparative standard: the Rephaim are said to be regarded "like" this group.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence divides into two clauses with different grammatical voice. The first clause fronts re.fa.'Im ("Rephaites", H7497B) as topic, followed by the niphal verb ye.cha.she.Vu ("they were regarded", H2803J) — a passive construction that leaves the agent of the classification unstated. The particle 'af ("also", H0637) plus the pronoun hem ("they", H1992) adds emphasis: "they too" were placed in this category, compared via the preposition-plus-article form ka ("like the", H9004) to the 'a.na.Kim ("Anakites", H6062).

The second clause shifts to active (qal) voice with yik.re.'U ("they called", H7121H), whose subject is ha.Mo.'a.Vim ("the Moabites", H4125). Here the Moabites are the explicit grammatical agents naming the group 'e.Mim ("Emites", H0368), using the preposition la ("to", H9005) with the suffix Hem ("them", H9038) as indirect object. The contrast between passive ye.cha.she.Vu and active yik.re.'U highlights two distinct perspectives: a general or outside classification ("Rephaim," like the Anakim) versus the specific term used by the Moabites themselves ("Emim").

Differences between versions

The LXX transliterates re.fa.'Im as Ῥαφαεὶν, while the Vulgate translates it interpretively as "gigantes" ("giants"), diverging from a strict rendering of the Hebrew gentilic. The LXX also renders yik.re.'U ("they called") with a present-tense verb (ἐπονομόζουσιν), differing from the Hebrew imperfect form. The name 'e.Mim appears as Ὀμμείν in the LXX and as "Emim" in the Vulgate, both representing the same Hebrew term through different transliteration choices.