The Bible describes the Amorites as an unusually tall and powerful people, but it never tells us exactly how tall the Amorites were in feet, inches, or cubits.
The main passage is Amos 2:9. God reminds Israel that He destroyed the Amorites even though their height was compared with cedar trees and their strength with oak trees. The wording paints a picture of people who appeared large, strong, and difficult to defeat. It is not a measurement that allows us to say every Amorite was 8, 10, or 15 feet tall.
This matters because many claims online go much further than the Bible does. You may read that all Amorites were giants or that they stood as tall as literal cedar trees. Scripture does not say either of those things.
What it does say is still remarkable.
The Amorites were remembered as formidable inhabitants of the land, and Amos used their impressive stature to make a larger point: even people who seemed almost impossible to overcome could not stand against the power of God.
How Tall Were the Amorites in the Bible According to Amos 2:9?
Amos 2:9 gives us the clearest biblical description of Amorite height.
The King James Version says their height was “like the height of the cedars” and describes them as “strong as the oaks.”
Cedar trees were well-known biblical symbols of height, strength, and grandeur. Oaks also represented strength and firmness. By placing the two pictures together, Amos gives his readers an image of an enemy that appeared both towering and powerful.
But notice what the verse does not say.
It does not say:
- The Amorites were a certain number of cubits tall.
- Every Amorite was the same height.
- They were literally as tall as mature cedar trees.
- Their average height can be calculated from the passage.
- Every Amorite belonged to a race of giants.
Those distinctions are important.
The Cambridge Bible commentary treats the cedar comparison as a hyperbolic description of Amorite stature and strength. In other words, Amos is using vivid language to communicate how imposing they were. The point is not to give us an ancient medical chart of Amorite height.
Think about how we speak today. We might call someone a mountain of a man without claiming that he is thousands of feet tall. Biblical poetry and prophetic writing also use powerful comparisons.
So how tall were the Amorites in the Bible?
The safest answer is that they were remembered as exceptionally tall and strong, but Scripture gives no exact measurement.
How Big Were the Amorites?
The Amorites were apparently impressive enough in size and military strength to become symbols of powerful opposition.
Numbers 13:29 places Amorites in the hill country when the Israelite spies surveyed Canaan. Other passages describe Amorite kingdoms east of the Jordan. Sihon ruled one Amorite kingdom, while biblical texts also associate Og of Bashan with the Amorite territories conquered by Israel.
The word Amorite does not always seem to function in exactly the same narrow way in every biblical passage. At times it names a particular people, while in other contexts it can represent part of the wider pre-Israelite population of Canaan. Older Bible reference works likewise note the Amorites in the highlands and in territories connected with Sihon and Og.
That makes statements such as “all Amorites were giants” too simple.
The Bible knew the Amorites as a significant people, but it does not provide height records for the population.
Here is what we can actually compare:
| Person or People | Biblical Description | Exact Height Given? |
|---|---|---|
| Amorites | Height compared with cedars; strength with oaks | No |
| Anakites | Strong, great, and tall | No |
| Nephilim | Associated with extraordinary people in Genesis and Numbers | No |
| Og of Bashan | His bed measured nine by four cubits | No |
| Goliath | Height stated in cubits and a span | Yes, but manuscripts differ |
This is why a study of how tall were the giants in the Bible has to separate biblical measurements from later guesses.
The Bible sometimes tells us a person was tall. Sometimes it gives a measurement. Sometimes it uses poetic imagery. Those three things should not be treated as if they were identical.
Were All Amorites Giants?
Probably not, at least not according to anything the Bible explicitly tells us.
Amos 2:9 speaks of the Amorite collectively. The singular language can represent a nation or people as a whole. Commentators have long noted that Amorite can also function as a representative name for powerful inhabitants of Canaan in this context.
That does not mean every Amorite man, woman, and child was unusually tall.
There is another reason for caution.
The biblical Amorites appear across different places and periods. Historical references to Amorites or Amurru also extend far beyond a single small tribe. Ancient Near Eastern evidence associates Amorite-speaking or Amorite-identified populations with Syria and Mesopotamia over a long period. Modern scholarship still debates some details of Amorite linguistic classification and identity.
So we should not imagine one uniform population in which everyone looked exactly alike.
Amos is interested in theology, not anthropology.
His message is that Israel faced powerful enemies and did not overcome them simply because the enemies were weak.
How Tall Were the Amorites in the Bible Compared With the Anakites?
The Amorites and Anakites are sometimes mixed together in popular discussions about biblical giants, but Scripture does not simply use the two names as synonyms.
The Anakites, or Anakim, receive their own striking description.
Deuteronomy 9:2 calls them a strong and tall people and reminds Israel of the saying, “Who can stand” against them? Different English translations use words such as great, tall, strong, or large, but the basic picture is consistent: the Anakites were physically imposing and feared.
Yet once again, no measurement appears.
We are not told:
“Anakites were nine feet tall.”
We are not told:
“Anakites averaged seven feet six inches.”
We are simply told that they were notably tall.
How Tall Were the Anakites?
Numbers 13 makes their reputation even more dramatic.
When the spies returned from Canaan, most of them gave Israel a frightening report. They spoke about people of great stature and said they had seen the descendants of Anak. Numbers 13:33 connects these figures with the Nephilim and records the spies saying that they felt like grasshoppers in comparison.
That grasshopper comparison is powerful, but it is still a comparison.
If a frightened person says, “I felt as small as an ant standing next to him,” we would not use that sentence to calculate the other person’s height.
The spies were communicating fear and a huge difference in perceived strength and size.
So how tall were the Anakites?
Scripture tells us they were unusually tall, but it never gives an exact number.
Readers interested in this part of the story may also want to examine how tall were the Nephilim in the Bible, because Numbers 13 directly connects the language about Anak’s descendants with the Nephilim tradition.
Were the Amorites Connected to the Nephilim?
This question needs careful wording.
Genesis 6:4 mentions the Nephilim in the world before the flood and also contains the difficult phrase “and also after that.” Numbers 13:33 later uses the name Nephilim in the report concerning the descendants of Anak.
But Scripture does not simply say:
“Every Amorite was a Nephilim.”
Neither does it give us a genealogy proving that the entire Amorite population descended from the Nephilim.
What we do see is that biblical traditions about the peoples of Canaan include several groups remembered for unusual size or military power. These include the Anakim and Rephaim.
Og of Bashan is especially interesting because Deuteronomy 3:11 associates him with the remaining Rephaim. Biblical texts also place his kingdom among the territories conquered east of the Jordan.
Because these labels appear in related geographical settings, it is understandable that readers connect them. But we should let Scripture maintain its own distinctions.
Amorite is one name.
Anakim is another.
Rephaim is another.
Nephilim is another.
Sometimes their stories and territories intersect. That does not automatically make the terms interchangeable.
If you are studying where are Nephilim mentioned in the Bible, Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:33 are the central passages. Neither one gives a numerical height.
Why Numbers 13:33 Needs Careful Reading
There is another detail worth noticing.
Numbers 13 records a fearful report from the spies who discouraged Israel from entering the land. The same chapter says the people were strong and the cities were fortified.
Joshua and Caleb did not argue that there were no powerful people in Canaan. Their disagreement was about whether Israel should trust God despite the danger.
That gives the grasshopper image its spiritual weight.
The problem was not simply that Israel saw tall enemies.
The problem was that fear became greater than trust.
Who Was the Tallest Giant in the Bible?
It sounds like a simple question, but Scripture does not give enough measurements to identify the tallest biblical person with complete certainty.
Goliath is the best-known example because 1 Samuel 17:4 actually gives his height.
Most traditional Hebrew-based English Bibles read six cubits and a span. Depending on the cubit used, this is commonly understood as roughly 9½ to nearly 10 feet tall.
But there is an important manuscript difference.
The Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek textual tradition preserve four cubits and a span, which would make Goliath roughly 6 feet 9 inches tall. Some modern translations therefore use the shorter reading, while many others retain the traditional six-cubit reading. Bible Gateway’s textual note explicitly records both traditions.
That does not erase the David and Goliath story.
In either textual tradition, Goliath is presented as an intimidating, heavily armed champion whom the Israelite army feared.
It simply means we should acknowledge that the surviving ancient manuscripts do not all preserve the same number.
Anyone researching how tall was Goliath according to the Bible should know about this difference rather than being told that only one measurement exists.
Was Goliath the Tallest Person in the Bible?
We cannot prove it.
There are several tall people and giant-associated groups whose heights were never measured for us.
This means a list claiming with certainty that Goliath was the tallest biblical person goes beyond the available evidence.
He is the most famous measured giant-like warrior in Scripture, but “most famous” is not the same as “certainly tallest.”
Was Og Taller Than Goliath?
Og, king of Bashan, is another figure often mentioned in discussions of biblical giants.
Deuteronomy 3:11 says that Og remained from the Rephaim and describes an enormous bed or bedstead associated with him.
Its dimensions were nine cubits long and four cubits wide.
The NIV converts that to approximately 14 feet long and 6 feet wide. Other translations give somewhat different modern conversions because estimates for a cubit’s length vary.
But here is the important point:
The bed was about 14 feet long. The Bible does not say Og himself was 14 feet tall.
A bed is normally longer than the person sleeping on it.
It may also have served as a royal object, display, or unusually large piece of furniture. Whatever its exact purpose, Deuteronomy gives us the dimensions of the object, not Og’s body.
Therefore statements such as “Og was exactly 13 feet tall” or “Og was 14 feet tall” should be presented as speculation, not biblical fact.
His bed suggests that he was remembered as an extraordinary figure. It does not provide a precise height.
What Did the Amorites Look Like?
The Bible tells us much less about the Amorites’ physical appearance than many readers expect.
Scripture does not tell us their:
- Eye color
- Hair color
- Skin tone
- Average weight
- Facial features
- Exact clothing style
- Average height in modern measurements
That means modern artwork showing an “Amorite warrior” is necessarily a reconstruction.
Historical study can tell us something about the larger ancient Near Eastern world in which people called Amorites lived. Sources outside the Bible connect Amorites or Amurru with parts of Syria and Mesopotamia, and Amorite influence became especially important during the early second millennium BC. The famous Babylonian ruler Hammurabi belonged to a dynasty commonly described as Amorite.
But historical Amorite identity is complicated.
It developed over a long period and across different areas. Even scholarly work on the Amorite language warns against making overly simple claims about its exact place within the Semitic language family.
For Bible readers, the safest approach is simple.
We can say what Scripture says.
The Amorites were an important pre-Israelite people associated with Canaan and surrounding territories. Amos remembers them as tall and strong.
We should stop there rather than inventing physical details the Bible never supplies.
Where Did the Amorites Live?
Biblical references place Amorites in several areas.
Numbers 13:29 puts Amorites in the hill country. Other passages connect them with territory on both sides of the Jordan.
Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruled from Heshbon. Israel fought him after he refused passage through his territory.
Og ruled Bashan farther north.
Joshua later remembered victories over these powerful kings as part of God’s provision for Israel.
Older Bible dictionaries therefore describe Amorite territory as stretching through significant portions of the hill country and Transjordan in different periods.
Historically, the term Amorite also has a wider ancient Near Eastern background. That is one reason we must be careful not to assume every occurrence outside or inside Scripture refers to one small, unchanged ethnic community.
Why Does the Bible Describe the Amorites as So Powerful?
This may be the most important question in the entire discussion.
Amos 2 is not mainly interested in satisfying our curiosity about ancient human height.
The prophet is reminding Israel what God had done for them.
The Amorites were described as tall as cedars and strong as oaks precisely because they appeared difficult to defeat.
Then comes the contrast:
God defeated them.
The greater the enemy appeared, the more clearly Israel should have remembered that victory came through God’s help.
The imagery therefore has a spiritual purpose.
It shows the difference between human strength and divine power.
A cedar can look enormous beside a person. An oak can appear almost immovable. Amos brings those images together and then reminds Israel that even such strength did not place the Amorites beyond God’s authority.
That message also fits the wider story of Israel approaching Canaan.
The spies saw fortified cities.
They saw strong people.
They saw Anakites.
They became afraid.
Yet Joshua and Caleb believed that the size of the obstacle did not change God’s faithfulness.
The Bible never teaches that difficulties are imaginary. It teaches that God’s power is not limited by the size of those difficulties.
What Does the Bible Say About Giants?
The Bible contains several names that often appear in discussions of giants:
Nephilim: Mentioned in Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:33.
Anakim: A people repeatedly described as tall and intimidating.
Rephaim: An ancient group associated with figures such as Og of Bashan.
Goliath and other warriors from Gath: Extraordinary Philistine warriors appear in Samuel and Chronicles.
Amorites: Amos 2:9 describes them using cedar and oak imagery.
These categories should not automatically be merged.
When asking what does the Bible say about giants, it is better to study each passage in its own context.
Sometimes the text gives us a family or people.
Sometimes it describes exceptional stature.
Sometimes it provides a physical measurement.
Sometimes it uses poetic imagery.
That approach protects us from turning a fascinating biblical subject into a collection of unsupported numbers.
It also helps with another common question: where did giants come from in Bible history?
Genesis 6 is usually the starting point because it mentions the Nephilim, but Scripture does not provide enough information to answer every later question about giant peoples with certainty.
Why We Should Not Calculate Amorite Height From Cedar Trees
One of the strangest claims sometimes made about Amorites begins by measuring cedar trees.
The reasoning goes like this:
Amos says Amorites were as tall as cedars.
Some cedars can grow many dozens of feet high.
Therefore Amorites must have been dozens of feet tall.
That interpretation does not work.
If we apply the comparison that literally, we must also do the same with the next phrase.
Amos says they were strong like oaks.
Would that mean their muscles had the physical properties of oak wood?
Of course not.
The imagery communicates impressive height and impressive strength.
The Cambridge commentary explicitly recognizes the passage as a hyperbolic description, and other traditional commentaries describe the cedar and oak expressions as proverbial or figurative language.
The same kind of language appears throughout Scripture.
Mountains skip.
Trees clap.
Cities reach toward heaven.
People melt with fear.
These images communicate truth vividly without always functioning as scientific measurements.
Amos 2:9 should be read the same careful way.
Could the Amorites Have Been Taller Than Average?
Yes, that is possible and fits the biblical description better than saying the verse tells us nothing about physical stature.
Amos intentionally mentions height.
Numbers and Deuteronomy also preserve memories of unusually tall people living among some populations of Canaan.
So we should not explain the language away as meaningless.
The text presents Israel’s opponents as physically impressive.
What we cannot do is move from “very tall” to a precise modern measurement.
Perhaps some Amorites were significantly taller than the average Israelite.
Perhaps certain warrior families or populations were especially known for large stature.
Scripture does not give us enough data to calculate an average.
There is a healthy middle position here.
We do not need to say the biblical descriptions are meaningless exaggerations.
But we also do not need to turn every metaphor into a tape measure.
What Amorite Height Teaches Us About Biblical Giants
Questions about giants naturally capture our imagination.
How tall were they?
Where did they come from?
Were the Nephilim still alive?
Was Og taller than Goliath?
Were the Anakites giants?
Those are interesting questions, but they can sometimes distract us from what the biblical writers wanted their first readers to notice.
The giants and tall peoples of Scripture are almost always presented in stories about human weakness, fear, conflict, or God’s power.
The spies feared the Anakites.
Israel’s soldiers feared Goliath.
Og represented a powerful kingdom.
The Amorites were like cedars and oaks.
Again and again, the human response is the same:
“This is too big for us.”
And again and again, Scripture points beyond human ability.
David did not defeat Goliath because David was taller.
Israel did not enter the land because the Anakites were small.
The Amorites were not overcome because they were weak.
That is exactly why their size matters.
Their strength makes the lesson clearer.
The Bible Gives Us a Clearer Answer Than a Number
So, how tall were the Amorites in the Bible?
We do not know their exact height.
The Bible never says they were 7 feet, 9 feet, 12 feet, or any other precise measurement.
Amos 2:9 describes their height as being like cedars and their strength like oaks. That language presents them as remarkably imposing and powerful, but it should not be converted into a literal tree-sized measurement.
The Anakites were also described as tall, but their exact height is unknown.
Og had an enormous bed, but the bed’s length was not Og’s height.
Goliath does receive a measurement, although ancient manuscript traditions preserve two different readings.
These details teach us an important habit when reading Scripture: distinguish between what the Bible actually says and what later imagination adds to it.
There is nothing wrong with wondering about the physical size of ancient people. Curiosity can lead us deeper into Scripture.
But faith does not need invented measurements.
The message of Amos is already powerful.
The Amorites seemed as tall as cedars.
They seemed as strong as oaks.
Yet their greatness did not make them greater than God.
For readers today, that may be the part worth remembering most. Some problems stand before us like towering trees. They look strong, established, and impossible to move.
Scripture reminds us that size is not the same as ultimate power.
God is still greater.
Dr. Rachel is very smart and knows a lot about the Bible. He helps us understand the Bible better by talking about the old texts in a simple way.
