I will add more information to back the Bible on what I posted
here in this very thread about how nephilim or giants.Most Christian interpretations of Genesis 6:1-4, say that the
"sons of God" refers to divine beings or angels. What is the proper understanding of this text biblically?
Genesis 6:1-4 says,
"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."
The Bible is its own interpreter as we'll see here. We should begin with the biblical text itself. From it we can observe the following points:
1. Use of
"sons of God" in the Old Testament. A study of the phrase reveals that it is used to designate the Israelite king (
Psalm 2:7; 2 Samuel 7:14); angels (
Job 38:7); and heavenly beings, members of the divine council (
Job 1:6; 2:1). In a very special way the Israelites are called sons/children of God. Israel is the firstborn son of God (
Exodus 4:22-23).
2. Immediate context. In
Genesis 4 and 5 the human race is divided into two main groups: the descendants of Cain (
Genesis 4:17-24) and those of Seth (
verses 25-26). In
Genesis 6:1-2 this division is clearly recognized by referring to those who followed the Lord as
"sons of God" and to the rest of humanity as
"men." There is nothing in the immediate context to suggest that the
"sons of God" are kings, angels, or heavenly beings.
3. Significance of the expression
"to take a wife." Verse 2 describes a legal and permanent union between the sons of God and the daughters of men.
"They took wives for themselves of all whom they chose." includes a verb that is a technical expression to designate marriage, the act of entering into a legal and binding relationship between a man and a woman (
Genesis 4:19; 11:29; 12:19; 20:2-3). Had the reference been to angels, one would have to conclude that they married the daughters of men and became their legal husbands. This is not biblical and is rejected by by all serious interpreters.
4. Concept of judgment. The sin of the
"sons of God" brought judgment on the human race. Had they been angels or heavenly beings, they, and possibly the daughters of men, should have been punished for their sins, but not the human race as a whole.
5. Descendants were human beings. Children born as a result of these intermarriages are not described as
semi-divine or
semi-angelic beings. There is a reference to the nephilim who were on the earth in those days, but the Hebrew text does not say that they were the descendants of the intermarriages (although some translations make that suggestion).
The sentence
"The nephilim/giants were on the earth in those days. . ." seems to be a parenthetical statement. Nephilim is a Hebrew word whose meaning is not clear, and translators do not provide any English equivalent. In
Numbers 13:33 this term designates giants. The antediluvian nephilim were destroyed by the Flood, but later the term was used to refer to people of unusual height and violence who inhabited the land of Canaan.
"Men of renown" means
"men of reputation" and describes a person with a good character (
1 Chronicles 12:30), and also individuals who use their influence for evil purposes (
Numbers 16:2; 3; 1 Chronicles 5:24-25). Here the contexts seems to require a negative interpretation of that terminology.
Thus contextual and linguistic analysis indicates that the best interpretation of the phrase
"sons of God" is the one that finds in it a designation of the descendants of Seth. This appears to be the one suggested by Scripture itself.
Link
Plus the Bible tells us that the giants existed before and after the sons of God.
"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" (
Genesis 6:4).
Scripture is silent on the identity of the Nephilim. As to why some translation favours the “giant” translation of the word might be because of its association with the
“Anakim.” The Bible associates the Nephilim to the Children of Anak in
Numbers 13:33. In many passages, especially in the book of
Deuteronomy (
1:28, 2:10-11, 21, 9:2), the Anakim are described as being chiefly and especially tall people. In
Joshua 11:22, the Children of Anak are said to have been completely driven out from the land Israel and could only be found in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. It is interesting to note that Goliath, who was considered a giant, nearing nearly ten feet tall, was born in Gath.
Are the Nephilim a race, a tribe or simply really tall people? There is no absolute answers since it has not been clearly revealed in the scripture. We can make certain association that seems to indicate that they are taller than the average men which is probably why they were considered giants especially when considering the link with Goliath of Gath. It is very unlikely that they were something more then mere men, and as diligent Bible student, we should not lose focus on the weightier matter surrounding the events of the flood.