Bible Person

Anak

Meaning: a collar; ornament · Male · 8 cross references

Anak is the ancestor linked with the Anakim, the feared giants of Canaan remembered by the spies and later driven out by Caleb. Like several early ethnographic figures, his significance lies mostly through the people descended from him. First appears in Num 13:22.1

AI summary: Anak matters because the cross references present his descendants as one of the most intimidating features of the land awaiting Israel. The Anakim shape the fear of the unbelieving spies and later become a visible sign of the courage required for Caleb's inheritance. In this way the ancestral name carries narrative force far beyond a genealogy. Taken together, the material presents Anak as an ethnographic ancestor whose line symbolizes both human intimidation and the eventual triumph of faithful courage.1

Central Figure

Anak

Meaning: a collar; ornament

Long-necked, the son of Arba, father of the Anakim (Josh.