the nephilim

Originally posted on July 18, 2009 – by Andre Piet

From a visitor of this website I received a question about “the sons of God” in Genesis 6. Perhaps my (modest) considerations may also be interesting for other readers. Among other things, I emailed the questioner the following:

The question about the sons of God in Gen.6:1-4 has quite a few complications. So far I have not yet dared to devote a study to it, although over the years it has occupied my thoughts very often (…)

One should not isolate the passage from the rest of the Bible, since in my opinion it can hardly be otherwise than that “the spirits in prison” in 1Pet.3:19, but also “the messengers who sin” in 2Pet.2:4 and likewise the “messengers who keep not their own sovereignty” in Jude:6, all have to do with Gen.6:1-4.

Gen.6, in combination with the mentioned New Testament passages, makes clear that in the days preceding the flood, “messengers left their own habitation” and “came after different flesh” (Jude:7). In those days the nephilim (=fallen ones) or as the LXX says “the gigantes” (=giants) were on the earth. From Gen.6:5 it appears that this mixing of “sons of God” and “daughters of men” (or “daughters of Adam”?) became the direct cause for the flood.

Was the flood meant to put an end to the genetic corruption (bastards) to which humanity was exposed? That is possible, because when the nephilim were again on the earth (Gen.6:4 cf. Num.13:33), Israel also received the far-reaching command to put an end to the inhabitants of Canaan. Was this because the hybrid descendants (>the giants) would genetically ruin humanity? As far as I am concerned this is still an open question. Were the hybrid descendants in any case able to produce offspring? In nature hybrid descendants are usually infertile (a cross, for example, between a horse and a donkey is a mule, but it is infertile). (…)

You see: in this answer important puzzle pieces are still missing. It is also not unimportant what value should be assigned to the book of Enoch (to which the letter of Jude refers). This book speaks extensively about the nephilim. The matter of the nephilim is currently receiving enormous attention in certain circles, especially because these giants are thought to play a major role again in “the last days”. After all, would it not in that time “be as in the days of Noah”?

To be continued…

Delen: