Who were 'the Nefilim'?
Rashi, Hadar Zekenim and Da'as Zekenim: They were giants, descendents of Shamchaza'i and Aza'el, who fell from heaven in the days of Enosh. 1
Refer to Bereishis, 6:4:1:1 & 6:3:1:4
Why were they called "Nefilim"?
Refer to 13:33:1:1:1.
Hadar Zekenim #1 and Da'as Zekenim #1: Because anyone who saw them was astounded (from the word 'Nifla').
Hadar Zekenim #2 and Da'as Zekenim #2: Because, due to their great height, whoever saw them was afraid that they would fall on him (from the word 'Yiplu').
Why did the spies repeat "min ha'Nefilim"?
Ramban, Rashbam, Moshav Zekenim (on Pasuk 32) and Targum Yonasan: To inform the people that they were from the original Nefilim mentioned in Bereishis 6:4 (who were synonymous with the three sons of Anak 1 and who were renowned for their awesomeness 2 ).
Why did the Cana'anim compare the spies to grasshoppers?
Rashbam: Because a tiny person appears in the eyes of someone who is very tall like a grasshopper (which is the epitome of a very small species). 1
Rashbam: See Yeshayah, 40:22. See also Ba'al ha'Turim.
How did the spies know how they appeared in the eyes of the Cana'anim?
Rashi: Because they heard them say to one another 'We saw ants 1 (some have the text locusts) 2 ? in the vineyards that resemble men!' 3
Sotah, 35a: The Cana'anm customrily ate their first meal after burying their dead unerneath a cedar-tree. When the spies saw them coming, they climbed the tree under which they were hiding. When the Cana'anim spotted them, the spies heard them saying that they saw grasshoppers in the tree that resembled human-beings. 4
What is the significance of the fact that they appeared in the eyes of the Cana'anim like grasshoppers?
Seforno: Because the spies attributed the fact that the Cana'anm did not bother with them to the fact that they were so small, it wasn't worth their while.
Seeing as they were the Nefilim, why did the spies refer to them as "B'nei Anak"?
Rashi: Refer to 13:22:3:4.
Ramban: Refer to 13:33:2:1.
Seforno: They descended from Anak on their father's side and from the Nefilim on their mother's side.
Did the Cana'ani describe them as grasshoppers in the form of people, or merely as people the size of grasshoppers?
Divrei Eliyahu: Rashi states 'There are ants like people,' and he learns it from "We were like grasshoppers in our eyes 1 , and so we were in their eyes".
Which implies that they considered them like grasshoppers, and not like people the size of grasshoppers (PF).
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes that 'they said 'we saw ants?'. But the Pasuk says 'grasshoppers'!
Ba'al ha'Turim: The letters of "ve'Chen" are the acronym of "u'Chemo Nemalim."
