 Their formidable appearance, as described by the Twelve Spies sent to search the land, filled the Israelites with terror.The Israelites seem to have identified them with the Nephilim, the giants (, ) of the antediluvian age.Joshua finally expelled them from the land, except for some who found a refuge in the Philistine cities of Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod (), thus the Philistine giants (Goliath) whom David encountered (2 Samuel 21