Who were the sons of god in Genesis chapter 6?

Answer 1

There are a number of suggested theories for the identity of the sons of God, which include evil angels using the bodies of ungodly men, and power-hungry despots.

AnswerIn early West Semitic tradition, El was the father of the gods, and one god was assigned as the patron god of each nation. The "sons of God" referred to in Genesis 6:2 were the sons of El. This family relationship is referred to elsewhere in The Bible, for example in Psalm81, which begins, "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods." .

Answer 2

The Genesis Apocryphon mentions the Nephilim, and makes reference to the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" introduced in Genesis 6. The Apocryphon also elaborates considerably on the succinct statements found in The Bible, and provides valuable insights into the way these ancient stories were interpreted by the ancient Jews.

The copy of the Genesis Apocryphon discovered at the Qumran caves dates back to the 2nd century B.C., but was obviously based on much older sources. When discovered in 1947, it had been much mutilated from the ravages of time and humidity. The sheets had become so badly stuck together that years passed before the text was deciphered and made known. When scholars finally made public its content, the document confirmed that celestial beings from the skies had landed on planet Earth. More than that, it told how these beings had mated with Earth-women and had begat giants.

Is this story myth or history, fable or fact? Specialized research has revealed that many ancient legends have a basis in fact. But to answer the question to our full satisfaction, let us consult the most authoritative document known to man--the Bible.

In Genesis 6:1-4 the "sons of God" are captivated by the beauty of the "daughters of men." They subsequently marry and produce an offspring of giants known as the Nephilim. Genesis goes on to say that these Nephilim were "mighty men" and "men of renown."

"Daughters of men" is a familiar method of designating women in the Bible.

What sort of beings were these "sons of God"?

SONS OF GOD: THREE CATEGORIES
In the New Testament, born-again believers in Christ are called the children of God or the sons of God (Luke 3:38, John 1:12, Romans 8:14, 1 John 3:1). It is only by the divine specific act of creation that any created being can be called 'a son of God'. This explains why every born-again believer is a son of God. It explains also why Adam was a son of God. Adam was specifically created by God, "in the likeness of God made He him" (Genesis 5:1). Adam's descendants, however, were different; they were not made in God's likeness but in Adam's. Adam "begat a son in his own likeness, after his image" (Genesis 5:3). Adam was a "son of God," but Adam's descendants were "sons of men."

In the Old Testament terminology angels are called sons of God while men are called servants of God. In the New Testament this is reversed. Angels are the servants and Christians are the sons of God.

It is thus clear that the term "sons of God" in the Bible is limited to three categories of beings: angels, Adam and believers. All three are special and specific creations of God. As for the use of the term in Genesis 6, since it cannot possibly refer to Adam nor believers in Christ, we conclude that it has to refer to the angels whom God had created.

LIGHT FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT
Two New Testament passages shed further light on Genesis 6. They are Jude 6-7 and 2 Peter 2:4. These verses indicate that at some point in time a number of angels fell from their pristine state and proceeded to commit a sexual sin that was both unusual and repugnant. Jude 6-7 states:
"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh..."

These angels not only failed to keep their original dominion and authority, but they "left their own habitation." Habitation is a significant word: it means "dwelling place" or "heaven." Not only did these angels leave Heaven, they left it once-for- all.

As to the specific sin of these angels, we are given the facts in Jude 7. As in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah it was the sin of "fornication" and it means "going after strange flesh." "Strange" flesh means flesh of a different kind (Greek "heteros"). To commit this particularly repugnant sin, the angels had to abandon their own domain and invade a realm that was divinely forbidden to them.

The mingling of these two orders of being, was contrary to what God had intended, and summarily led to God's greatest act of judgment ever enacted upon the human race.

TEMPTING THE ANGELS
Another New Testament verse may have bearing on Genesis 6. In I Corinthians 11:10, Paul instructs that a woman should cover her head as a sign of subjection to her husband, and also "because of the angels." This observation has intrigued commentators through the years. Why this sudden reference to angels? Could it be a reference to what happened in Genesis 6 where angels succumbed to the inducements and physical charm of the women of Earth? Obviously, Paul believed that an uncovered woman was a temptation even to angels. There is an old rabbinic tradition which alleges that it was the beauty of the women's long hair that attracted and tempted the angels in Genesis.

STRANGE PARENTAGE
The off-spring of this union between the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" were so extraordinary that it indicates an unusual parentage. In no way could the progenitors of such beings be ordinary humans. Their mothers possibly could be human, or their fathers, but certainly not both. Either the father or the mother had to be superhuman. Only in such a way can one account for the extraordinary character and prowess of the off-spring.
God's law of reproduction, according to the biblical account of creation, is "everything after his kind." God's law makes it impossible for giants to be produced by normal parentage. To produce such monstrosities as the Nephilim presupposes super- natural parentage.

GIANTS?
"Nephilim" is a Hebrew word translated in the Authorized King James version as "giants." "There were giants in the earth in those days" (Genesis 6:4). It is true that they were giants in more senses than one. However, the word Nephilim does not mean "giants." It comes from the root "naphal," meaning "fallen ones," and most modern versions of the Bible have left the word "Nephilim" untranslated.

When the Greek Septuagint was made, "Nephilim" was translated as "gegenes." "Gegenes" means "earth born.
The Hebrew and the Greek words do not exclude the presence of great physical strength. Indeed, a combined supernatural and natural parentage would imply such a characteristic. Angels, according to Scripture, are known for their power. They are often referred to as "sons of the Mighty" (Psalm 103:20). Therefore, if the ones who sired them were strong and mighty, it could be assumed that their offspring were likewise.

No evidence exists in Scripture that the offspring of mixed marriages (believers and unbelievers) were giants, excelling in great strength and might. No evidence can be found anywhere in history for that matter. Such an interpretation poses impossible assumptions.

When the word "Nephilim" is used in Numbers 13:33, the question of size and strength is explicit. Here we are left in no doubt as to their superhuman prowess. When Joshua's spies reported back from Canaan, they called certain of the inhabitants of Canaan "giants." "And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, which come of the Nephilim, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."

Some commentators have speculated that the Nephilim of Numbers 13 belonged to a second eruption of fallen angels, since the earlier Nephilim had been destroyed in the Flood. And they see an allusion to this in Genesis 6:4, where it states that "there were Nephilim in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men." Could it be that the "after that" was a reference to the Nephilim found in Canaan during the Israelite entry into the land? If so, it could explain why the Lord commanded the total extermination of the Canaanites, as He had earlier ordered the near annihilation of the human race.

NEPHILIM -- NO RESURRECTION
The Book of Isaiah says that the Nephilim and their descendants will not participate in a resurrection as is the portion of ordinary mortals. Isaiah 26:14 reads: "They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise." The original Hebrew word translated "deceased" here is the word "Rephaim." It would have saved a lot of misinterpretation if the translators had left the word as it was in the original. The verse actually reads: "Dead, they shall not live; Rephaim, they shall not rise." The Rephaim are generally understood to be one of the branches of the Nephilim, and God's Word makes it clear that they are to partake in no resurrection. But with humans it is different: all humans will be resurrected either to life or to damnation (John 5:28-29).

We have already seen that the Greek Version of the Old Testament (The Septuagint) translated "Nephilim" as "gegenes;" we shall now inquire how it translates "sons of God." In some of the manuscripts it is left as "sons of God," but in the others-- including the Alexandrian text--it is rendered by the word "angelos." This text was in existence in the time of Christ, but there is no indication that He ever corrected or queried it. Can we not assume from His silence that He agreed with the translation!

ARE ANGELS SEXLESS?
Jude seems quite explicit on the matter: the angels left their own habitation, and gave themselves over to fornication, going after strange flesh. In other words, they were capable of performing human functions--eating, drinking, walking, talking, even sexual activity and fathering children.

The fact that angels do not marry does not in itself prove they are sexless. In Matthew 22:30, Jesus said angels neither marry nor are given in marriage. Finis Drake writes: "It is logical to say...that the female was created specifically for the human race in order that it could be kept in existence; and that all angels were created males, in as much as their kind is kept in existence without the reproduction process. Angels were created innumerable to start with (Hebrews 12:22) whereas, the human multitudes began with one pair."

Even in the next world, when the saints will dwell in their resurrection body and live forever, it does not imply that they will be sexless. The Bible teaches that everyone will have his own body in the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:35-38). No suggestion is made that they will be unsexed. Furthermore, Christ remained a man after His resurrection.

THE ULTIMATE SIN
God made man in His own image, the highest of all His earthly creations. While God said that everything He made was good, He considered man very good. Man had been made for fellowship with God Himself, but he soon turned his back upon his Maker and worshipped the creature more than the Creator. Before many generations, the human race was being polluted by this abominable union with demons. It seemed that Hell and Earth were in league together against the God of Heaven. God's righteous anger was such that He regretted having made man.

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man. ..."(Genesis 6:5-6)

It was specifically because of this ultimate sin that God brought about a deluge of such magnitude that man and beast were drowned from the face of the Earth.

WAS NOAH IMMUNE?
Why Noah and his immediate family were the only ones exempt from this great judgment is significant. Genesis 6:9 says, "Noah was a just man." Genesis 6:9 also says that Noah was "perfect in his generation." Does this mean moral and spiritual perfection? Hardly. Genesis 9:20-23 disproves any such perfection. What, then, does the Bible mean by calling him "perfect"? The Hebrew word is "tamiym" and comes from the root word "taman." This means "without blemish" as in Exodus 12:5, 29:1, Leviticus 1:3. Just as the sacrificial lamb had to be without any physical blemish, so Noah's perfection. In its primary meaning, it refers not to any moral or spiritual quality, but to physical purity. Noah's bloodline had remained free of genetic contamination.

This implies, of course, that all the other families on Earth had been contaminated by the Nephilim. It also proves that the assault of Satan on the human race had been far more extensive than realized. It is no wonder that God pronounced such a universal fiat of judgment.

As for the fallen angels who participated in the abomination, God put them in custody "in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6). This is sometimes interpreted as Tartarus or the "nether realms" (2 Peter 2:4). This would also explain why some fallen angels are in custody and why others are free to roam the heavens and torment mankind.

Such a drastic punishment, both for men and angels, presupposed a drastic sin, something infinitely more evil and more sinister than mixed marriages. It was nothing less than the demonic realm attempting to pervert the human world. By genetic control and the production of hybrids, Satan was out to rob God of the people He had made for Himself.

If Satan had succeeded in corrupting the human race, he would have hindered the coming of the perfect Son of God, the promised "seed of the woman," who would defeat Satan and restore man's dominion (Genesis 3:15). If Satan had by any means prevented that birth, he would obviously have averted his own doom. Satan did succeed to a large extent. It was for this reason that God drowned mankind in the Deluge.

Answer 3

This depends if you are referring to the Old Testament reference to 'sons of God' or the New Testament idea. The first, which relates to a reference in Genesis 6:2 is uncertain and a matter of discussion among Bible scholars with a number of theories being proposed. The latter relates to the fact that male believers are all 'sons of God in Christ Jesus'. They are thus all equal in God's sight although obviously different in their gifts, behaviour, circumstances etc

Answer 4

There are a number of suggested theories for the identity of the sons of God, which include evil angels using the bodies of ungodly men, and power-hungry despots.

AnswerIn early West Semitic tradition, El was the father of the gods, and one god was assigned as the patron god of each nation. The "sons of God" referred to in Genesis 6:2 were the sons of El. This family relationship is referred to elsewhere in the Bible, for example in Psalm81, which begins, "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods." .

Answer 5

They are divine beings associated with God in the heavens in what can be called the "divine council" (Ps. 82:1) or the "council of the holy ones" (Ps. 89:7). In Job, the earliest Greek translation translated sons of God as "angels of God" (Job 1:6, 2:1) and "my angels" (Job 38:7). The phrase "sons of the living God" in Hos. 1:10, however, refers to Israel.

The expression sons of God employs a Hebrew idiom in which son(s) refers to participants in a class or state of being, and the second word describes the class or state of being. Thus in Genesis 5:32, Noah is said to be a "son of five hundred years," meaning he was 500 years old. In English an adjective often best translates the second term, so that "divine beings" rather than "sons of God" would be a better rendition of the Hebrew. This accords with the NRSV's translation "heavenly beings' for "sons of gods" in Ps. 29:1; 89:6.

Divine beings associated with God in the heavens in what can be called the "divine council" (Ps. 82:1,NRSV) or the "council of the holy ones" )Ps. 89:7, NASB). In Job, the earliest Greek translation translated sons of God as "angels of God" (Job 1:6,2:1) and "my angels" (Job 38:7).

Additional Answer:

The term 'sons of God' is first used in Genesis 6 and is defined in verse 4 as follows:

Genesis 6:4 New King James Version (NKJV)

4 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.

Some scholars have postulated that the 'sons of God' were those in Nimrod's association - big men, mighty hunters - some saying Nimrod was the world's first leader of men who was very large and strong warriors, with Nimrod being black or dark in skin tone. These associates are thought to all be of the children of Ham - rebellious and selfish. Even Nimrod's (Marduk) father was the first to be called 'Bel' meaning confusion. They were the leaders of the first great apostasy post the Flood.

On the other hand, the term 'daughters of men' are thought to be women of the children of Shem who was considered by many to be righteous and obedient to God's laws.

Answer 6

First Answer

The sons of God are angels or angelic beings, they began to lust after the daughters of men (mortal women).

Another Answer

There were only two families in the years before the flood, the sons of God and the daughters of men ( Genesis 6:1-8 ). The descendants of Seth were the sons of God ( Genesis 4:25 ; Genesis 5:3-32 ). The descendants of Cain were the daughters of men ( Genesis 4:9-23 ).

Answer 7

it means Jesus.

Answer:In Psalms 82:1, they are divine beings associated with God in the heavens in what can be called the divine council or the council of the holy ones. In Job 1:6, the earliest Greek translation translated sons of God as angels of God and my angels. In Hosea 1:10 the phrase "sons of the living God" refers to Israel. The expression "sons of God" employs a Hebrew idiom in which "son(s)" refers to participants in a class or a state of being, and the second word describes the class or state of being. Thus in Genesis 5:32, Noah is said to be a "son of five hundred years," meaning he was 500 years old. In the New Testament, "sons of God" always refers to human beings who do God's will (Matthew 5:9, Romans 8:14,19).

Answer 8

This is a difficult question. Genesis mentions women mating with "sons of God," or "son of the mighty," depending on translation. It is possible that these were normal humans of high status; one legend says they were fallen angels.

Answer 9

Your question employs a mistranslation. The Hebrew word Elohim may on occasion refer to judges (Exodus ch.21), angels, rulers or other powers. Like Adonai, it is not an explicit name of God. In the verse which you quoted, tradition states that the bnei elohim refers to the early descendants of Seth, who still possessed some of the strength and beauty of Adam (Ramban [Nachmanides] commentary, ibid, quoting a midrash).

Answer 10

To the Semitic peoples of the Syro-Palestinian region, each country had its own god. So, Israel and Judah also had their own God. These were the sons of the supreme god, El. But the word El (plural: Elohim) also just means god or God. So the sons of God were the gods of each of of Israel's neighbours. Genesis 6:4 tells us that when these sons of God mated with the daughter of men, their children were mighty men, giants. This mirrors Greek mythology, where the sons of the Greek gods were mighty men.

It appears that to the people of Israel, Yahweh (YHWH), the national God of Judah, YHWH (Yahweh) was a son of El. In time, Yahweh took on the aspects of the supreme god El, so that they became interchangeable in the Israelite pantheon. The 'Elohist source' of Israel, writing in what was to become the Book of Genesis, called the God of Israel Elohim, identified from the plural by the singular context or singular verb. The supreme God and father of all gods had become the God of Israel.

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