A Few Thoughts about the
Nephilim
Some
questions
B1 Who are the Sons of God in
Genesis 6:2?
B2 Who are the giants (also
named nephilim and) mentioned in Genesis 6:4?
B3 Why did God bring the flood
(Noah’s flood)?
B4 What is the wickedness spoken
of?
B5 Can spirit beings have sex?
B6 Can spirit beings have sperm?
B7 Can the offspring of these be
saved? Could they have entered the ark?
B8 How does Peter relate to
Noah’s flood and the “spirits?” See 2 Peter 2 and Jude 1:6.
B9 What principles can we learn
from this history?
Some
study
B1 Who are the Sons of God in
Genesis 6:2?
C1 Basic context
D1 Population of humans increase
in Genesis 6:1.
E1 The people are following
God’s command.
E2 When you live as long as
these people did, the population expands rapidly. Because of the
generations given in the preceding chapters on father begetting son,
the age of the father, and the use of the word generations used in
Jude 1:14, it seems most reasonable that people did really live for
hundreds of years.
E3 Genesis 1:28 NRSV God
blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply,
and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of
the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing
that moves upon the earth.
D2 Daughters are mentioned
because of verse 2.
D3 Sons of god. They might be
E1 Angels specially fallen
angels (as here).
E2 Righteous people in Seth’s
lineage.
F1 Compare Nehemiah 13:23-27 and
Joshua 23:12-13.
F2 This is the principle of
separation. 2 Corinthians 6:17 GNB And so the Lord says, "You
must leave them and separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do
with what is unclean, and I will accept you.
E3 Compare the term “sons of
god.”
F1 The following verses having
the phrase “sons of god” are most likely spirit beings. Compare
Job 1:6, Job 2:1, and Job 38:7.
F2 The following passages having
the phrase “sons of god” are most likely human beings. Compare
John 1:12, Romans 8:14, Romans 8:19, Philippians 2:15, and 1 John
3:1-2. See also Hosea 1:10.
D4 Genesis 6:3, 5 reveals God’s
anger against people (humans), not spirit beings.
B2 Who are the giants (also
named Nephilim and) mentioned in Genesis 6:4?
C1 Genesis 6:4 mentions
“giants.”
D1
The Hebrew word
is נְפִיל
nᵉphîyl.
It means giants, tyrants,
wonderful, strong, etc.
TWOT (1393a) has this sentence, “The word may be of unknown origin
and mean “heroes” or “fierce warriors” etc.”
It is used in 2 verses Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:33.
D2 Various translations have
giants, Nephilim, fallen ones (YLT), etc.
D3 Some comments
E1
Clarke
(see link to read more): There
were giants in the earth - נפלים
nephilim,
from נפל
naphal,
"he fell." Those who had apostatized or fallen from the
true religion. The Septuagint translate the original word by
γιγαντες, which literally signifies earth-born, and which we,
following them, term giants, without having any reference to the
meaning of the word, which we generally conceive to signify persons
of enormous stature. But the word when properly understood makes a
very just distinction between the sons of men and the sons of God;
those were the nephilim, the fallen earth-born men, with the animal
and devilish mind.
E2 Utley:
This NOUN may be from the
root, "fall" (BDB 656, i.e., "the fallen ones").
It seems to me that they are analogous to the giants.
However, other interpreters
such as Martin Luther and H. C. Leupold assert that this term should
be interpreted "tyrants," which implies the powerful kings
of Cain's line who had large harems. See notes on "Mighty Men"
and "Men of Renown" below.
J. Wash Watts in Old
Testament Teaching, pp. 28-30, says "Nephilim refers to Noah and
his family as those who separated themselves from those of Cain's
line and Seth's line who were intermarrying. In this interpretation
Nephilim are the sons of the "One true God" (cf. "the
God" Gen. 5:22,24; 6:9).
E3 There are tens maybe hundreds
of interpretations, so study the Bible and take the most reasonable
understanding. This is not an issue of arguing among fellow
Christians.
D4 That these “sons of god”
are human suits the other use of the word in Numbers 13:33, which is
to be understood as great warriors and large people. Compare Goliath,
etc.
B3 Why did God bring the flood
(Noah’s flood)?
C1 Various theories exist as
evil, corruption of human DNA, etc.
C2 It is human evil, human
actions, human thoughts, desires, words, and deeds. God mentions
humans not half spirit, half human beings.
D1 Genesis 6:5–7 NIV The
LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race
had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts
of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6
The LORD regretted that he had made human beings
on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the LORD said,
"I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race
I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the
creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made
them. [Emphasis is mine].
D2 Humanity was corrupt and full
of violence. Genesis 6:11-13 GW The world was corrupt in God's
sight and full of violence. 12 God saw the world and how corrupt it
was because all people on earth lived evil
lives. 13 God said to Noah, "I have decided to put an end to all
people because the earth is full of their
violence. Now I'm going to destroy them along with the earth.
[Emphasis is mine].
C3 Evil. The Hebrew word
is רַע
raʻ. It
means evil and bad in
many senses as trouble, sadness, etc., but one of the main uses is
doing the opposite of what God has commanded. Some evils in the Old
Testament: false prophets (Deuteronomy 13:5, adultery (Deuteronomy
22:22-24), kidnapping is called evil (Deuteronomy 24:7), etc.
Some love evil, see Psalm 52:3. We are to hate evil, see Psalm 97:10.
Fearing the Lord is
to hate evil, see Proverbs 8:13. See Romans 1:18-32 for
the downhill course of evil.
A standard is needed.
This standard
is God’s law, which is
summarized
in the 10 Commandments.
Even before they were written, these
laws were known and in
force; see Romans 2:14-15.
C4 Every action and every
thought were evil.
D1 Genesis 6:5 NRSV The LORD
saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that
every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil
continually.
D2 Matthew 15:19 NRSV For out
of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication,
theft, false witness, slander.
B4 What is the wickedness spoken
of?
C1 The specific sins are not
mentioned.
C2 It is reasonable that every
area of sin and rebellion against God’s standard (the 10
commandments) were desired, were planned, and were carried out. See
Romans 1:18-32.
C3 It doesn’t appear that
spirit beings having sex with human women is the sin.
C4 Evil spirits can seduce, etc.
humans to sin. See Ananias in Acts 5:3 GW Peter
asked, "Ananias, why did you let Satan fill you with the idea
that you could deceive the Holy Spirit? You've held back some of the
money you received for the land.
In 2
Samuel 24:1 NIV, there is
another example of satan leading a person to sin
Again the anger of the
LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them,
saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.
The he
in 2 Samuel 24:1
most likely refers to satan, see 1 Chronicles 21:1 NIV Satan
rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.
C5 God judges and punishes
people and nations with death because
of great wickedness. Some
examples include
D1 Er in Genesis 38:7 NIV But
Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the LORD's sight; so the LORD
put him to death.
D2 Pharaoh in Exodus 14:24-28
D3 Ahab in 1 Kings 22:20 and
following verses
D4 God’s enemies as in Isaiah
66:16 GW The LORD will judge with fire, and he will judge all
people with his sword. Many people will be struck dead by the LORD.
B5 Can spirit beings have sex?
C1 In
mythology, we read that
they can, but this is
mythology, not Scripture.
C2 Spirits can appear as humans,
specifically male. See Genesis 18,
Genesis 19:5, Mark
16:5, etc.
C3 There are no verses in the
Bible that teach spirits can have flesh. They can inhabit, that is,
possess humans, but not being flesh. Luke 24:39 EMTV Behold My
hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a
spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.
B6 Can spirit beings have sperm?
C1 Scriptures don’t say, but
it seems unlikely. I suppose spirit beings could take human sperm and
manipulate it in some way.
C2 Don’t marry as in Matthew
22:30.
C3 It is not mentioned anywhere
in Scriptures that I know of where a spirit being impregnates a
woman.
C4 God created everything to
reproduce after its kind, that is, species (and possibly genera).
C5 Producing
after one’s kind seems
the principle of Scripture. This
idea is found in 1
Corinthians 15:47-49 NRSV The
first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from
heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust;
and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. 49 Just
as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the
image of the man of heaven.
B7 Can the offspring of these be
saved? Could they have entered the ark?
C1 Jesus became a man,
completely man, as well as completely God. Jesus is 100% God and 100%
man.
C2 Jesus died for humans, not
angels or half human-half spirit beings (so called demigods). Compare
Romans 8:3, Philippians 2:8, etc.
C3 Noah preached the Gospel for
120 years (so most understand it). 2 Peter 2:5 EMTV and did not
spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, the eighth, a preacher
of righteousness, when He brought a flood upon the ungodly world.
B8 How does Peter’s passage
relate to Noah’s flood and the “spirits?” See 2 Peter 2.
C1 2 Peter 2:4-5 EMTV For if
God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but rather confined
them to Tartarus, and delivered them into chains of darkness,
reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but
preserved Noah, the eighth, a preacher of righteousness, when He
brought a flood upon the ungodly world.
C2 There are unclean spirits
(demons) who are more evil than others.
D1 Matthew 17:21 EMTV However,
this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
D2 Ephesians 6:12 EMTV For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,
against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.
D3 Daniel 10:13, 20–21 NIV But
the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then
Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was
detained there with the king of Persia. ... 20 So he said, "Do
you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against
the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come;
21 but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth.
(No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.
C3 In 2 Peter 2, Peter is
teaching the people that God punishes sin. Peter gives some examples
D1 False prophets and teachers
in 2 Peter 2:1-3
D2 Angels in 2 Peter 2:4
E1 satan sinned because of his
pride and covetousness in Isaiah 14:12-15.
E2 satan recruited other angels
to rebel against God, which they did willingly. Revelation 12:4 (as
most understand the passage).
E3 The specific sin is not
mentioned. Some think this refers to Genesis 6:1-6 but that is
speculation. Based on Matthew 17:21, it would seem that some have an
attitude of such hate and disrespect for God that they go overboard
to rage against God, humans, and creation. Compare Matthew 12:45 NIV
Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more
wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the
final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how
it will be with this wicked generation. [Emphasis is mine].
E4 These
eviler angels express
increased wickedness as
seen in Revelation 9:5 NIV They
were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five
months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a
scorpion when it strikes.
F1 See Revelation 9:1-11.
F2 The torment was so great that
humans wanted to die but could not. Revelation 9:6.
D3 Another example is the world
of humanity before the flood.
D4 Finally, Sodom and Gomorrah
C4 In Jude 1:6, Jude mentions
those who did not remain in their proper dwelling. Jude
1:6 NRSV And the angels who did not keep
their own position, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in
eternal chains in deepest darkness for the judgment of the great day.
D1 Here Jude
warns people about sin,
its consequences, and sin’s
punishment by giving
some examples.
E1
The first example,
Jude 1:5,
is when
God
destroyed those Jews who did not believe. See
Numbers 26:64-65.
E2
The second are the angels who sinned as we spoke of above.
E3
Sodom and Gomorrah
D2
Estate
E1 The Greek
word
for estate is ἀρχή archḗ.
E2 It means
beginning, place (rank and
dignity), rule, magistracy, etc.
E3 It is used
in Romans 8:38 NASB For I am convinced
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers.
E4 Ephesians
1:21 MKJV far above all principality
and authority and power and dominion, and every name being named, not
only in this world, but also in the coming age.
(Principality is ruler, here understood by most to refer to evil
angelic orders).
See also Ephesians 3:10 and Ephesians 6:12.
E5
Colossians 2:11, 15 NKJV In Him you were
also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting
off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
... 15 Having disarmed principalities
and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them
in it.
D3 Habitation, proper dwelling,
proper limits, etc.
E1 The Greek
word
is οἰκητήριον oikētḗrion. It means dwelling
place. It can be a house, the body (as house for the soul), etc.
E2 Their
own habitation can mean heaven (their home at origin), the first
heaven (the atmosphere as in Ephesians 2:2), some type of original
covering they had, or
position in God’s organization.
E3
Benson mentions the idea that satan
wasn’t happy with his position and
desired a higher and
greater
place. Isaiah 14:13 NIV You
said in your heart, "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise
my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount
of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
B9 What principles can we learn
from this history?
C1 Choices have consequences.
C2 Sin has consequences.
C3 Sin will be punished. Beings
of the past, present, and future will have judgment. We are warned.
B10 Summary
C1 Spirits may appear in human
form, but it doesn’t necessarily imply flesh and bones.
C2 Spirits do not have DNA or
fleshly material as humans do.
C3 satan and his angels were not
content with their position in heaven but wanted a greater authority
and position above God’s. We read about this attitude in his
temptation of Jesus. Matthew 4:9 NRSV and he said to him, "All
these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.
C4 Sin has consequences.
C5 It
seems most reasonable that the phrase “sons
of God”
refers to
humans as in John 1:12, Romans 8:14, Romans 8:19, Philippians 2:15,
and 1 John 3:1-2. See also Hosea 1:10.
C6 The godly line of Seth left
their position and sought the evil
line of Cain,
as in Nehemiah’s day (Nehemiah
13:23-27). Solomon
was led astray as well (1
Kings 11:1-8). The
consequence of doing
so resulted
in God’s anger and
then His punishing them.
There
are tens maybe hundreds of interpretations, so study the Bible and
take the most reasonable understanding. This is not an issue of
arguing among fellow Christians.
