The Sons of God and the Nephilim
The term “sons of God” (or “God's sons”) is used in several places in the Bible to refer to different things. Consider Job 1:6:
Now on the day when God's sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan also came among them. (Job 1:6)
In the above verse, “sons of God” refers to those who accompanied Satan, namely, fallen angels (also called evil spirits or demons.) The term can also mean other things. Consider John 1:12:
But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God's children, to those who believe in his name. (John 1:12)
And again, Galatians 3:26:
For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)
Thus, if you have decided to trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you are a son or daughter of God. Consider yet another usage in Psalm 82:
I said, “You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High. Nevertheless you shall die like men, and fall like one of the rulers.” (Psalm 82:6-7)
This Psalm is not about fallen angels. And neither is it about those who have trusted in Jesus. Instead, it is about those who have been called to exercise judgment and justice on the earth, who will “die like men, and fall like one of the rulers” (see Psalm 82:7) because they refused to do what was right. It is a Psalm of judgment.
Thus, we can see from the Scriptures that the term “sons of God” can refer to:
It is in this third sense that I believe the term “sons of God” (or “God's sons”) is used in Genesis 6, in which we read:
The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God's sons came in to men's daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4)
Consider that the entirety of Genesis 5 gives us a genealogy from God, to Adam (being in God's likeness), to Adam's son Seth (in his likeness), to Seth's son, and so forth, all the way down to Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah. Thus, they are all in the likeness (or image) of God.
When in the very next chapter (Genesis 6) we read of “God's sons”, it naturally follows from the previous chapter that we are referring to the descendants of Adam who came from God. Further evidence is that the Genesis 6:4 “sons of God” usage is equivalent to usage #3 above (People who have been given authority but who have failed to exercise that authority in accordance with God's will) is that this passage is all about impending judgment upon the entire human race.
Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was continually only evil. (Genesis 6:5)
Notice how no hint of fallen angels is provided in Genesis 6:5 as to why God is to judge the earth. It is simply because of sin. What type of sin? The answer is provided three verses back:
God's sons saw that men's daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives. (Genesis 6:2)
I submit to you that Genesis 6:2 is a pejorative (disparaging, belittling) statement, in which humans who were given authority (hence, “God's sons”), rather than honoring God, instead, “took any (woman) that they wanted for themselves as wives”.
This word “took” (Strong's H3947) can be used in very noble ways. But it can also be used in very negative ways. For example, it is the same word that is found in Genesis 3:6, in which Even “took some of its fruit, and ate”. Thus, we must rely upon context to decide whether this “taking” of women as wives is meant as a good or bad thing. I submit to you that it is a bad thing, and denotes the method by which men, during that time, were lusting after women rather than submitting to God. Compare this to 1 Corinthians 11:3:
But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3)
In Genesis 6, instead of the men being safely under God (which would have meant no judgment and no flood), they placed themselves under sin's grip by allowing themselves to be controlled by their carnal desires for women. In this sense, they placed themselves under women, rather than under God. This is exactly the same thing we see today, as many “men of God” are now submitting their pulpits to women, which is expressly forbidden in the Bible. Thus, it will lead to judgment.
Let the wives be quiet in the assemblies, for it has not been permitted for them to be talking except in submission, as the law also says. (1 Corinthians 14:34)
This is the only commandment in Scripture in which Paul expressly writes,
If any man thinks himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him recognize the things which I write to you, that they are the commandment of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 14:37)
In Genesis 6:2, the statement, “they took any (women) that they wanted” is not a positive but negative statement. Rather than waiting for God's perfect choice for a mate, the males were heated up with passion and “took any (woman) that they wanted”. This has the sense of violence and recklessness upon an earth rampant with sexual immorality. This is a description of the state of man prior to the flood. Therefore, Genesis 6:2 is in no way a description of mankind's good intentions. Instead, it is a “cap summary” (or “executive summary” — or rather “the executioner's summary”) as to why mankind, except for Noah and his family, were given the death sentence.
Some teachers (who I think are wholly mistaken) now teach that the fundamental reason God was “forced” to destroy the earth in Noah's day was because of the fallen angels. Yet the Bible tells us plainly in Genesis 6:5 that “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was continually only evil”. So where are the fallen angels in all of this? Nowhere.
The Nephilim
We now have this term, “Nephilim,”[1] which is the raw Hebrew which most English Bible translators feel more comfortable using, since they are not entirely sure what the word means. It is used in only 2 verses in the Bible (and 3 times total). Some translations use the word “giants” here.
The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God's sons came in to men's daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4)
There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim. We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. (Numbers 13:33)
It may be that the word “Nephilim” does refer to giants. But to be on the safe side, a full 35 out of 53 English Bible translations simply use the word “Nephilim”[2]. 16 out of 53 use the word “giants” (in one case, “very large men”). That leaves 2 more.
YLT uses “fallen ones”.
VOICE uses “great warrior race”.
Bonus points to the EXB here, as they say, “The Nephilim [fallen ones; the significance of the name is unclear]”. Thus, they are very explicit about the meaning being unclear here.
Special negative mention to 4 English versions:
CEV: They properly render “Nephilim” as “Nephilim” (which is safe), but instead of using “sons of God” which also appears in this verse, they translate it as “the children of the supernatural beings” — which makes this a paraphrase and not a true translation. This is very dangerous because they are deciding for you what “sons of God” means here — and that is highly debatable! Leave the text “as is” and do not change it! (See the warning in Proverbs 30:5-6.)
TLB also makes this same error, taking the liberty of rendering “sons of God” as “the evil beings from the spirit world”. This is highly presumptuous.
GNT says, “In those days, and even later, there were giants on the earth who were descendants of human women and the heavenly beings.” Once again, this is a paraphrase and certainly not a translation.
ISV says, “The Nephilim were on the earth at that time (and also immediately afterward), when those divine beings were having sexual relations with those human women.” Yet nowhere in the original Hebrew does it say, “divine beings.” It simply says, “sons of God.”
It's just incredible how these “Bible scholars” twist and bend the Scriptures to fit their own narrative.
In short, I think a strong case can be made to support the Genesis 6 “sons of God” as referring to those who were human (male) descendants of Adam, who forsook their godly responsibilities and became subject to the lusts of the flesh. They fell out of headship with God (see 1 Corinthians 11:3) and became “submitted” to women in an ungodly way.
To be clear, I'm not referring to having mutual respect for one another, or submitting to one another out of love and in the fear of Christ, which the Bible commands in Ephesians 5:21. I'm referring to the men being essentially submitted to their own ungodly passions for others, thus inviting judgment on themselves and the entire human race. It is, after all, sin that opens the door for judgment. Demons are not required for that. So for people to say that God judged the earth during the days of Noah because fallen angels had sexual relationships with human females, I think is entirely missing the mark. It is a literary style being employed in both Genesis 6:2 and 6:4, which is to be contrasted with 1 Corinthians 11:3, and I think that is the main point. Let's compare that again (it is that important):
Genesis 6:2 and 6:4:
God's sons saw that men's daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives. (Genesis 6:2)
The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God's sons came in to men's daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. (Genesis 6:4)
As contrasted with 1 Corinthians 11:3:
But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3)
Emperor Worship
You know, back in the days of ancient Rome, there was something called emperor worship. The emperors themselves were hailed as God or as “a god.” We see this in the book of Acts, with king Herod. [3]
On an appointed day, Herod dressed himself in royal clothing, sat on the throne, and gave a speech to them. The people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” (Acts 12:21-22)
Thus, the people elevated Herod to be a “god,” and not a man. Certainly, Herod himself was a “mighty man”, a “man of renown” (compare Genesis 6:4). He was observed, and seen, and feared, by all the people. And yet Herod died as a man, and not as a god at all.
The people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn't give God the glory. Then he was eaten by worms and died. (Acts 12:22-23)
Thus, from the vantage point of these humans, Herod was a “god” in the deity sense. This is forbidden, as there is only one true God. All others are idols and are forbidden (see Isaiah 42:8).
“I am Yahweh. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images. (Isaiah 42:8)
God will indeed not give his glory to another. Therefore, Herod was struck by an angel of the Lord, and he died. Yet from the standpoint of Herod leading, he was permitted (by God) to assume the figurative title “god” in the Psalm 82 sense of the word, meaning “leader” or “ruler” of the people. So, too, these people in Genesis 6, who were the “sons of God,” were called to lead others in righteousness. But because of their lusts, they fell into judgment. No longer were they under God, but fell under the power of sin. These were,
“the mighty men who were of old, men of renown” (see Genesis 6:4).
I take it this means that all eyes were fixed on them, rather than on God. God did not receive the glory, sin was rampant,
“the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart was continually only evil” (see Genesis 6:5).
Thus, judgment ensued.
In closing, may I mention that Jesus made a very important statement concerning angels and marriage, when he said:
“For in the resurrection they (humans) neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like God's angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30)
This tells me that angels do not have the ability to procreate, either with other angels, or with humans. This is yet another strong argument against a Genesis 6 interpretation which says that fallen angels had sexual relationships with human women in order to produce corrupted offspring.
I'm not saying that fallen angels did not somehow influence the people of Noah's day. They certainly did, even as they do today.
I'm also not saying that fallen angels did not inhabit some or many human beings of Noah's day. I'm sure that many people were indeed inhabited by fallen angels, even as occurs today (see Luke 11:24-26).
But in the end, it is not fallen angels that led to the corruption of mankind back in Noah's day. And neither is it fallen angels that have led to the corruption of mankind in our present day. Rather, it is sin.
For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life. For as through the one man's disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:17-19)
This tells me that (1) death, (2) condemnation, and (3) more sin, came as a result of the sin of one person. It is sin that corrupts the human race, not fallen angels.
[1] https://biblehub.com/interlinear/genesis/6.htm ↩
[2] .
https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Genesis%206:4 ↩
[3] There were 3 Herods.
↩
Amazing True Stories
The stories below are all true and are presented to you as a testimony of God's existence and love for you. If you have never thought about having a personal relationship with God, there has never been a better time. Marvel at the goodness of God, presented to you through life-changing — and in some cases mind-boggling ‒ testimonies.
Path to Life
These teachings will help you grow in your walk of faith.
Hope for Today
This series is written with the purpose of providing you with answers to life's most pressing questions, at a time in world history that seems to reflect mankind's greatest needs. For best results, please be sure to start at article 1!
"This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14