Recent claims that an Egyptian papyrus scroll may affirm the past existence of giants have gone viral,^1,2 and news outlets still reported the claim over a week later.³ Of course, the Bible repeatedly refers to giants in the land of Canaan (Numbers 13:33, Deuteronomy 2:10–11, 2:20–21, 3:11–13, 9:2; Joshua 13:12, 15:8, 17:15, 18:16; and Amos 2:9). The most famous of these is the Philistine, Goliath, who was killed by David (1 Samuel 17).

The scroll, known as Anastasi I, is thought to be over 3,000 years old and has been in the British Museum’s collection since 1839. It is a wartime letter, somewhat satirical in nature, from one scribe named Hori to another scribe named Amenemope. The section of interest describes fierce “Shosu” (or Shasu) warriors of exceptional height:

The narrow defile is infested with Shosu concealed beneath the bushes; some of them are of four cubits or of five cubits, from head to foot, fierce of face, their heart is not mild, and they hearken not to coaxing.¹

The translator noted that four cubits would be equivalent to six feet, ten inches, and five cubits would be equal to eight feet, six inches.⁴ This is based on the reasonable assumption that the Egyptian scribe Hori was using the Egyptian royal cubit, which is about 20.65 inches long in contrast to the common cubit of 18 inches.⁵ Thus, the tallest of these Shasu giants were at least eight-and-a-half feet tall.^6,7

Not too surprisingly, some are skeptical of the claim. A translator of Anastasi I suggested that Hori was exaggerating.⁴ Christian apologist Wes Huff, though affirming the reality of biblical giants, dismissed the claims as “sensationalism,” due to the satirical nature of the letter.⁸ But this may be premature—although Hori is mocking Amenemope for his ineptness, the description of Shasu warriors is rather matter-of-fact, as is the description of the local geography. Also, the 1911 translation of Anastasi I shows that as far back as 1852, some scholars had apparently noticed a possible link between the Shasu and biblical giants.^4,9 So if this is sensationalism, it is sensationalism with a very long history.

Moreover, on a carving recounting the battles of Rameses II against the Hittites near Kadesh, one section shows Egyptians beating two Shasu spies who appear to be very tall (see image). As noted by Associates for Biblical Research writer Rob Sullivan, “It is one thing for Egyptian carvings to represent their Pharaohs with almost superhuman size. It is quite another for them to depict their enemies as such.”⁵

“Supersized” stones and architecture, dating to about the time of King David and suggesting the presence of giants, have been unearthed at Tell es-Safi, the remains of the city of Gath, Goliath’s home. Stones in more recent layers of the site are about one-and-a-half feet long. Yet stones in the so-called “Goliath layer” are over three feet to six-and-a-half feet long!^10,11 Moreover, the city walls at this level are much thicker than the walls at other levels.¹¹ The director of the dig, archaeologist Aren Maeir, stated that the architecture at this level of Gath is larger than almost anything else found in the region at the time.¹¹ He suggested that the enormous size of the stones might be the source of biblical records of giants, although he doesn’t seem willing to seriously consider the possibility that perhaps they were made by giants.

Interestingly, a pottery shard at the site has a name very similar to Goliath inscribed on it.^10,11 These finds make sense in light of Joshua 11:22, which explicitly states that Gath was one of three cities in which the giant Anakim took refuge from the conquering Israelites: “None of the Anakim were left in the land of children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod.”

The Anakim are also apparently mentioned on clay fragments of Execration Texts housed in the Berlin Museum. Additionally, the megalithic circle Gilgal Rephaim (“Wheel of the Giants”) is located in Israel’s Golan Heights, near ancient Bashan, which, according to Scripture, was called “the land of giants” (Deuteronomy 3:13). Likewise, a giant 26-inch-long copper spearhead, weighing four-and-a-half pounds, is now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.^10,12 The spearhead is so large that it would have been of practical use only to a very large person.

Despite the tendency for modern scholars to dismiss the potential of real, historical giants, these finds encourage critical thinkers to seriously consider this as a real possibility, as one would expect if the biblical account is true.

References

1. Waugh, R. Long-Lost Egyptian Scroll Fuels Debate over Real-Life Biblical Giants. Daily Mail. Posted on dailymail.co.uk February 1, 2026, accessed February 3, 2026. 
2. Buontempo, F. Resurfaced 3,300-Year-Old Egyptian Document Hints at Biblical Giants Being Real. New York Post. Posted at nypost.com February 1, 2026, accessed February 3, 2026.
3. Did Ancient Egypt Record Biblical Giants? A 3,300-Year-Old Text Raises New Questions. The Times of India. Posted on timesofindia.indiatimes.com February 9, 2026, accessed February 9, 2026. 
4. Gardiner, A. H. 1911. Egyptian Hieratic Texts, Series 1: Literary Texts of the New Kingdom: Part I. Leipzig, Germany: J. C. Hinrichs’ Bookshop, 25.
5. Sullivan, R. Egyptian War Correspondents and the Biblical Giants. Associates for Biblical Research. Posted on biblearchaeology.org February 27, 2015, accessed February 3, 2026. 
6. The very tallest basketball players in the National Basketball Association (USA) are seven feet, seven inches tall. See Merrell, C. Basketball: The Tallest NBA Players in History – Full List. Olympics. Posted on olympics.com November 4, 2024, accessed February 10, 2026.
7. Some translations suggest that this height is from the nose to the sole of the foot rather than the total head-to-sole height. In that case, the tallest of these Shasu warriors would have been about nine feet tall.
8. Brown, J. Apologist Wes Huff Dismisses Viral Papyrus About Bible Giants: ‘Sensationalism.’ The Christian Post. Posted on christianpost.com February 3, 2026, accessed February 3, 2026.
9. Corbaux, F. 1852. Rephaim and Their Connexion with Egyptian History. London, England: W. Clowes and Sons.
10. Cox, G. Goliath – the BHG. Creation Ministries International. Posted on creation.com September 29, 2022, accessed February 3, 2026.
11. Borschel-Dan, A. Colossal Ancient Structures Found at Gath May Explain Origin of Story of Goliath. The Times of Israel. Posted on timesofisrael.com July 26, 2019, accessed February 6, 2026. 
12. Kramer, J. P. Archaeological Evidence for Giants in the Bible? Posted June 10, 2022, by Expedition Bible. YouTube, 12:58. 

* Dr. Hebert is a research scientist at the Institute for Creation Research and earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Texas at Dallas.