Over the past two years I have heard many discussions about the Nephilim with varying opinions that were not based in fact. Improper interpretation of the original text or a flawed traditional teaching seems to have ruled the day. It is my belief that an objective examination of relevant Scriptures in context proves that the Nephilim were not offspring of relations between fallen angels and human women.
The first mention of the Nephilim is found in Gen 6:1-4.
Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
Jewish tradition is that the Nephilim were the offspring of angels who left their heavenly abode to have sexual relations with women, thus corrupting mankind and leading to the flood. There are many problems with this interpretation, chief of which is the fact that it is based on Jewish tradition rather than the Biblical text itself.
The meaning of the Nephilim does not affect any significant theological viewpoint; however an understanding of the pre-flood lineages and their relationship to salvation history is important. Only with a proper understanding of the genealogies in Gen 4-5 can one gain the context needed to understand who the Nephilim were.
Why all of the Genealogies?
Genealogies in Scripture might not be the most exciting read, but they always play a significant role, especially in Geneses. After the death of Able at the hands of Cain, a new son was born to Adam by the name of Seth. The two lineages of both Seth and Cain in Gen. 4-5 present a contrast between a lineage that was evil and curses and one that was righteous and would eventually include Noah, Abraham, David and Jesus.
It is the backdrop of these two genealogies that the context for chapter 6 is found.
- It is clear is that the marriage of the “daughters of men” and the “sons of God” was a bad thing. The main challenge with understanding the passage is to identify who these parties are.
- Here is a list of reasons I believe the “sons of God” does not refer to fallen angels.
- The fact that the Nephilim were subject to God’s ensuing judgment prove that they were mortal rather than some supernatural half-breed.
- Gen. 6:1-8 is about humanity and its doomed outcome not angels and their punishment.
- Contextually. there has not been any mention of angelic beings in the Old Testament up to this point. It would not make logical sense for this to be first mention of them.
- Nowhere in Scripture is it found that angelic beings have the ability to procreate as mankind can.
- Angels are spiritual beings not corporeal. Jesus indicated in Matt. 22:30 that angels do not have sexual relations as humans.
One can’t help but notice the language similarities also between Eve’s taking of the fruit and the language here.
Eve saw the fruit – sons of God saw the women
Eve saw the fruit was good – sons saw women were beautiful
Eve took the fruit – sons of God took wives
Both Eve and the “sons of God” suffered death due to their rebellion and sinfulness.
Augustine and the reformers Luther and Calvin all agreed that the correct interpretation was that the “sons of God” referred to the lineage of Seth while the “daughters of man” referred to the lineage of Cain. The intermarriage of the two lines led to unprecedented wickedness and subsequently the flood. Israelite law would later prohibit marriage outside of the Jewish people for the same goal of protecting the against calamity for the covenant people.
This should not be interpreted as an argument against interracial marriage today but rather an argument against believers being married to non-believers.
Then who are the Nephilim?
The word Nephilim appears a second time in the Old Testament in Number 13:33.
There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
If the Nephilim are decedents of the Anakites then how did they survive the flood?
The Anakites were mentioned multiple times in Deuteronomy along with other Canaanite groups known for their size and military power. The Nephilim were not mentioned in any of those Deuteronomy passages. It makes logical sense that the Nephilim were a tall strong people that were part of the Anakites but not half angel abominations.
An alternative meaning to Numbers 13:33 is that the Hebrew spies were exaggerating. They could have used hyperbole as they did, referring to themselves as grasshoppers. Either way there is no textual reason to interpret the Nephilim in Numbers 13 as being anything more than large humans.
With only two references to Nephilim in all of Scripture, it is hard to determine its exact meaning. Much of the argument stems from an etymological argument on what the root of Nephilim means. The short answer is that we don’t know. The root word could come be the same word meaning “to fall” or “miscarriage,” according to Hebrew scholars but the reality is there is no way to be sure.
What is clear is that the offspring of the “sons of God and “daughters of man” created a race of people who were violent and immoral. The text never even states that the Nephilim were the direct offspring of those two lineages but just that they were on the earth at the time.
There is zero textual evidence to assume Nephilim refers to a race of half angelic half human creatures. That idea comes strictly from Jewish myth and has no hermeneutical standing in Scripture.
Based on this corpus of evidence, I believe that the Nephilim were decedents who resulted from inter-marriage between the women in Cain’s lineage and the men in Seth’s. The corruption of Seth’s line led to God’s decree that he would wipe out mankind from the face of the planet save Noah and his family. Had God waited, Noah’s descendants would likely have been corrupted thus injuring the lineage from Jesus to Noah/Seth.
