Other scholars, focusing their attention particularly on the statement and also after that (Gen 6 verse 3 )have said the Nephilim were not the fallen angels or the mighty ones, since the Nephilim proved to be in the earth in those days before the sons of God had relations with women. These latter scholars hold the opinion that the Nephilim were simply wicked men like Cainrobbers, bullies, and tyrants who roamed the earth until they were destroyed by the Flood. Still another group, taking into consideration the context of Gen, conclude that the Nephilim were not themselves angels, but were the hybrid offspring resulting from materialized angels having intercourse with the daughters of men.
Same as gibborim'. Certain Bible translations adjust the location of the phrase and also after that, placing it near the beginning of (Gen 6 verse 4), thus identifying the Nephilim with the mighty ones, the gibborim', mentioned in the latter part of the verse. For example: In those days, as well as afterward, there were giants [Heb., hannephilim'] on the earth, who were born to the sons of the gods whenever they had intercourse with the daughters of men; these were the heroes [Heb., haggibborim'] who were men of note in days of old.Ge 6:4, AT; see also Mo, NIV, and TEV.
The Greek Septuagint also suggests that both the Nephilim and mighty ones are identical by using the same word gi'gantes (giants) to translate both expressions.
Reviewing the account, we see that Ge 6 verses 1 to 3 tell of the sons of the true God taking wives and of Jehovahs statement that he was going to end his patience with men after 120 years. Ge 6 Verse 4 then speaks of the Nephilim proving to be in the earth in those days, evidently the days when Jehovah made the statement. Then it shows that this situation continued after that, when the sons of the true God continued to have relations with the daughters of men, and describes in more detail the results of the union of the sons of the true God with women.
Who were the sons of God that fathered the Nephilim?
Who were the sons of the true God that were involved? Were they men who were worshipers of Jehovah (as distinguished from the general run of wicked mankind), as some claim? Evidently not. The Bible implies that their marriage to the daughters of men resulted in whipping up the badness in the earth. Noah and his three sons, along with their wives, were the only ones in Gods favor and were the only ones preserved through the Deluge.Ge 6:9; 8:15, 16; 1Pe 3:20.
Hence, if these sons of the true God were merely men, the question arises, Why were their offspring men of fame more than those of the wicked, or of faithful Noah? Also, the question might be asked, Why mention their marriage to the daughters of men as something special? Marriage and childbearing had been taking place for more than 1,500 years.
The sons of God mentioned at Genesis 6:2, therefore, must have been angels, spirit sons of God. This expression is applied to angels at Job 1:6; 38:7. This view is supported by Peter, who speaks of the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient when the patience of God was waiting in Noahs days. (1Pe 3:19, 20) Also Jude writes of the angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place. (Jude 6) Angels had the power to materialize in human form, and some angels did so to bring messages from God. (Ge 18:1, 2, 8, 20-22; 19:1-11; Jos 5:13-15) But heaven is the proper abode of spirit persons, and the angels there have positions of service under Jehovah. (Da 7:9, 10) To leave this abode to dwell on earth and to forsake their assigned service to have fleshly relations would be rebellion against Gods laws, and perversion.
The Bible states that the disobedient angels are now spirits in prison, having been thrown into Tartarus and reserved with eternal bonds under dense darkness for the judgment of the great day. This seems to indicate that they are greatly restricted, unable again to materialize as they did prior to the Flood.1Pe 3:19; 2Pe 2:4; Jude 6.
Increased Wickedness. The mighty ones who were of old, the men of fame that were produced by these marriages, were not men of fame with God, for they did not survive the Flood, as did Noah and his family. They were Nephilim, bullies, tyrants, who no doubt helped to make conditions worse. Their angelic fathers, knowing the construction of the human body and being able to materialize, were not creating life, but lived in these human bodies and, cohabiting with women, brought forth children. Their children, mighty ones, were therefore unauthorized hybrids. Apparently the Nephilim did not, in turn, have children.
In Mythology. The fame and dread of the Nephilim, it appears, gave rise to many mythologies of heathen people who, after the confusion of languages at Babel, were scattered throughout the earth. Though the historical forms of the Genesis account were greatly distorted and embellished, there was a remarkable resemblance in these ancient mythologies (those of the Greeks being only one example), in which gods and goddesses mated with humans to produce superhuman heroes and fearful demigods having god-man characteristics.See GREECE, GREEKS (Greek Religion).
A Report Intended to Terrorize. The ten spies who brought back to the Israelites in the wilderness a false report on the land of Canaan declared: All the people whom we saw in the midst of it are men of extraordinary size. And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who are from the Nephilim; so that we became in our own eyes like grasshoppers, and the same way we became in their eyes. No doubt there were some large men in Canaan, as other scriptures show, but never except in this bad report, which was carefully couched in language designed to strike terror and cause panic among the Israelites, are they called Nephilim.Nu 13:31-33; 14:36, 37.
