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The Sons of God in Psalms 82 and Genesis 6: Part Two

 

The sons of God and the Nephilim of Genesis 6:

      Many in the Christian community believe that the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6 are supernatural sons of God and not human sons of God. It is believed that these sons of God were angels that came from the heavenly realm to have marital relations with the daughters of men. It is believed that the men born of these relationships were the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis 6:4.

       While author Michael Heiser is seen in his book “The Unseen Realm” as believing this to be the correct interpretation of Genesis 6, author Ryan Pitterson takes this perspective to a whole new level in his recent books “Judgement of the Nephilim” (2017) and “The Final Nephilim” (2021).   

       Pitterson writes in the introduction to his book “Judgement of the Nephilim” that “These fallen angels (“sons of God”) took human wives (“daughters of men”) and had children with them.  Their offspring-hybrid half-human, half-angel beings known as the Nephilim-were superhuman giants who waged war against humanity and corrupted the human gene pool.”  Pitterson sees these hybrid humans as a blood line of the seed of Satan who have been historically and presently at war with what he calls the blood line of the Messiah. Pitterson has written some 928 pages of material in his two books in an effort to prove his position. 

       I will not attempt in this essay to evaluate Pitterson’s conclusions as to the role of the Nephilim in world history. I will instead evaluate the foundational belief upon which he bases his conclusions. That belief is that the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6 are angels that came from the heavenly realm to have marital relations with the daughters of men which resulted in the birthing of the Nephilim.  Let’s begin by looking at Genesis 6:1-4.

       Genesis 6:1-4: When men (Hebrew: hā·’ā·ām [man/mankind]) began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons (Hebrew: bÿne-ha’elohim) of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the LORD (YHWH) said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."  The Nephilim (Hebrew: han·nə·p̄i·lîm) were on the earth in those days--and also afterward--when the sons of God (bÿne-ha’elohim) went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes (Hebrew: hag·gib·bō·rîm [mighty]) of old, men of renown (Hebrew: haš·šêm [men of name]) (NIV).  Most translations of Genesis 6:4 render hag·gib·bō·rîm as "mighty" as that is what the word means.

       The Hebrew bÿne in Genesis 6:1-4 appears 280 times in the Old Testament (OT) and is a tense of the Hebrew word “ben.” This word, in its various tenses, appears 4,931 times in the Hebrew Scriptures.  Hebrew Lexicons show this word has the basic meaning of “son/male child, “son of a woman.”  The Hebrew ben, in its various tenses, is seen throughout the OT to overwhelming be used to identify human sons of human woman. However, bÿne as in bÿne-ha’elohim (sons of God) is rendered 5 times in the OT as “sons of God.”  Three of these times are in the Book of Job where bÿne-ha’elohim appears to identify supernatural sons of God.  The other two times is in the Genesis passage quoted above where bÿne-ha’elohim may or may not be referring to supernatural beings.

       Job 1:6: One day the angels (Hebrew: bÿne-ha’elohim) came to present themselves before the LORD (YHWH), and Satan also came with them (NIV)

       Job 2:1: On another day the angels (bÿne-ha’elohim) came to present themselves before the LORD (YHWH), and Satan also came with them to present himself before him (NIV).

       Job 38:7: while the morning stars sang together and all the angels (ə·nê-)  shouted for joy? (NIV). 

       The NIV translators render bÿne-ha’elohim as “angels” in the Book of Job. However, the Hebrew in these passages is not the word for angels (mal'akh) but the words bÿne-ha’elohim which mean “sons of God.” It is apparent the NIV translators were assuming the beings referred to here are angels and were interpreting rather than translating.  Most English translations render bÿne-ha’elohim as “sons of God.”  

         The New English Bible (NET), in footnotes to Job 1:6, points out that “In the pagan literature, especially of Ugarit, “the sons of God” refers to the lesser gods or deities of the pantheon. Is it “lesser gods” that are being referred to in Job? 

       The “sons of God” spoken of in Job appear to be supernatural beings as the scene is the heavenly realm where God resides. Many interpreters believe they are angels. In Job 38:7: morning stars are seen as singing together and the sons of God shouting for Joy which appears to be a Hebrew parallelism. In Revelation 1:20 angels are called stars and therefore it is believed the “morning stars/sons of God” spoken of in Job 38 are angels.

       Since Satan is commonly believed to be an angel and Satan is seen as appearing with “the sons of God” in the Job passages, the “sons of God” appearing with Satan are believed to be angels as well.  It must be pointed out, however, that while Satan is seen as having angels (Revelation 12:9), nowhere in Scripture is Satan directly identified as himself being an angel.  The passages in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 that are usually seen as identifying Satan as an angel do not mention Satan.  These two passages are discussed in detail at http://theologicalperspectives.com/origin-and-significance-of-satan-part-one.  

       Whether or not the “sons of God” spoken of in Job are angels, it does seem apparent that these beings are supernatural entities of some kind. Does this mean the “sons of God” spoken of in Genesis 6 are also supernatural entities?  If they are, they are seen as having sex with human women and producing children who some believe are the Nephilim. The Hebrew han·nə·p̄i·lîm rendered Nephilim in Genesis 6:4 is found in only one other place in the OT and that is in Numbers 13:33. 

       Numbers 13:33: And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak (descendant of Canaan), who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

       Nephilim is a transliteration of the Hebrew han·nə·p̄i·lîm. While the exact meaning of Nephilim is unknown, the word is seen as referring to giants and mighty men because of how it is characterized in both Genesis 6 and Numbers 13.  In Genesis 6, Nephilim are seen as heroes and men of renown. In Numbers 13 they are seen as giants. The Septuagint renders Nephilim with a Greek word that means “giants.”

       The Hebrew word rendered “heroes” in the NIV rendering of Genesis 6:4 is hag·gib·bō·rîm which is a tense of the Hebrew gibbor which has the general meaning of “mighty.” This word appears in its various tenses 159 times in the OT. While it is used to refer to the Nephilim in Genesis 6, it is often used to refer to fighting men. Here are several examples.

       2nd Samuel 10:7: And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty (hag·gib·bō·rîm) men.

       2nd Samuel 23:8: These be the names of the mighty (hag·gib·bō·rîm) men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time. Much of 2nd Samuel 23 is about the exploits of the mighty men in David's army.

       1st Chronicles 11:11: And this is the number of the mighty (hag·gib·bō·rîm) men whom David had; Jashobeam, an Hachmonite, the chief of the captains: he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time.

       1st Chronicles 19:8: On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting (hag·gib·bō·rîm) men.

        Joshua 10:7: So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting (hag·gib·bō·rîm) men.

       In 1st Chronicles 7 is listed the sons of Issachar, one of the twelve tribes of Israel.  One of these sons is Tola. During the reign of David, the descendants of Tola are seen as  fighting (hag·gib·bō·rîm) men numbering 22,600.

         The Nephilim are seen in Genesis 6:4 as the  hag·gib·bō·rîm (mighty) men of old. It should be apparent that there were many hag·gib·bō·rîm of old.  Were all these men descendants of the Nephilim?  I would think not. Men in David's army are seen as hag·gib·bō·rîm men. Yet I see no reason to conclude these men were born of supernatural beings having sexual relations with human women.

       While it is generally believed that the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis 6 are the offspring of sexual relations between the “sons of God” and human woman, the text doesn’t explicitly say this.  While the implication is there, the text only states that the “Nephilim were on the earth in those days--and also afterward--when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them.” In Numbers 13:33, the Nephilim are simply seen as the giant sons of Anak. The fact that Nephilim are seen both before and after the flood raises some questions. 

       The Scriptures indicate all land dwelling organisms were wiped out by the Noachian flood except for those in the ark. We must assume the flood wiped out the Nephilim that lived before the flood. The humans in the ark were Noah and his wife along with his three sons and their wives. If the Nephilim where the offspring of sexual relations between supernatural beings and human women before the flood, from where did they originate after the flood?  Were supernatural beings called “sons of God” once again having sexual relations with human women resulting in Nephilim?  There is nothing in Numbers or anywhere else in Scripture that indicates this.   

       In his 2017 book entitled Judgement of the Nephilim, author Rayan Pitterson writes that the Nephilim identified in Genesis 6 came to be through sexual intercourse between angels and human women and the Nephilim seen in Numbers came about as the result of DNA carryover through the wife of Ham, son of Noah. Pitterson sees a mixing of angelic and human DNA occurring in the birthing of the Nephilim.

       Since there is no evidence that angels or other supernatural beings called “sons of God” had sexual relations with human women after the flood. Pitterson has concluded that Nephilim DNA passed on through the wife of Noah’s son Ham who with his wife survived the flood by being in the ark.  Pitterson believes it was through Canaan, the son of Ham and His wife that new Nephilim appeared after the flood. Pitterson sees Canaan and his descendants possessing supernatural sons of God DNA. 

       The belief that the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 are supernatural beings is based on the belief that these are the same type of beings seen as “sons of God” in Job where it appears evident that the “sons of God: mentioned there are supernatural beings.  Since the phrase “sons of God” is nowhere else found in the OT narrative, it is believed the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6 is defined by the “sons of God” mentioned in Job where “sons of God” appear to be supernatural beings.  

       Therefore, in both Genesis and Job, the “sons of God” are seen as supernatural beings. Since mention of the Nephilim immediately follow the account of the “sons of God” having relations with human women, it is presumed the Nephilim are the product of those relations and are therefore hybrid humans. 

       Assuming the “sons of God” of Genesis 6 are angels, it must be also assumed that these angels can take on the physiology of human men in order to have sexual relations with human women.  It must also be assumed that angels have some kind of DNA and are able to mix such DNA with human DNA in order to produce hybrid humans.  While there are Scriptural examples of angels appearing as human men, there is nothing in Scripture indicating angels have DNA.  DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) is a human biological component.  There is nothing in Scripture indicating supernatural beings have this or anything similar. This is pure speculation.  

       We have seen that the “sons of God” in Job appear to be angels. If the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 are of the same nature as the “sons of God” in Job, the Genesis 6 “sons of God” would be angels.  Some believe the angels spoken of in Jude and 2nd Peter are the angels of Genesis 6.

       Jude 6: And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

       2nd Peter 2:4:  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (Greek: tartarus) and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

       It is believed the angels of Jude 6 and 2nd Peter 2 are the angels of Genesis 6 because they are seen as having left their assigned abode.  It is believed they did this in order to take up an abode on earth so they could have sexual relations with human women. This is seen as the sin for which they are now being punished by being sent to tartatus.  Tartarus is a Greek word which appears only this once in the NT and is generally translated hell in English Bibles.  It is defined in Greek as a subterranean region where the wicked dead are being punished.  In Greek mythology it is seen as located below Hades and a place where rebellious supernatural beings were confined. 

       One objection to the idea that angels cohabited with human women is that angels are seen as gender neutral and not engaging in marriage relationships.  Matthew 22:30 is referenced where Jesus said “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.” Angels in heaven are seen as not marrying so it is assumed they could not have married human woman.  However, while angels may not marry in heaven, this doesn’t mean they couldn’t have transformed themselves into becoming humans capable of human procreation on planet earth. 

       As already discussed, the phrase “sons of God” is only found in Genesis 6 and in Job.  In Job it is evident the “sons of God” are supernatural beings and probably beings called angels. It is believe that to be consistent in our exegesis of Scripture, the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6 must be the same kind of beings mentioned in Job.

       The book of 1st Enoch, a non-canonical book, speaks in detail of their being an angelic revolt involving angels transforming themselves into human men and having sexual relations with human women.  It must be understood, however, that most scholars believe the book of Enoch was written well after the book of Genesis and therefore may simply be a fictionalized/exaggerated account of the Genesis 6 event.  

       While the passages in Jude and 2nd Peter are often seen as supporting the proposition that angels had marital relations with human women, it must be pointed out that the sin the angels committed is seen as they leaving their positions of authority and appointed abode.  Nothing is revealed as to why they did this or where they went or what they did. We must be careful not to assume the thing to be proved. The thing to be proved is that these angels left their positions of authority and appointed abode in order to have sexual relations with human women. The passages in Jude and 2nd Peter don’t tell us this is the reason they are being punished.

         Returning to Genesis 6, some who argue against the “sons of God” of Genesis 6 being supernatural beings point to the chronology in Luke 3 where in verse 38 the human Adam is identified as a son of God. It is argued that since the male Adam is seen as a son of God in Luke 3, all male humans born subsequent to Adam can be seen as sons of God as opposed to female humans who are simply seen as daughters of men.  This is seen as congruent with the patriarchal society of the time and is felt to adequately explain the “sons of God” phrase in Genesis 6 as pertaining to human males and not supernatural sons of God. 

       However, Adam was a direct creation of God as it is believed angels and other heavenly beings are. Therefore, even though Adam is not of the heavenly realm, it is because Adam was directly created by God that he is called a son of God, a title that would not necessarily apply to those born of men subsequent to Adam. 

      This being said, it is to be noted that humans being seen as sons of God is common in Scripture. God is seen as seeing himself as a father to Solomon and calls Solomon his son (See 2nd Samuel 7:14 and 1st Chronicles 17:13, 22:10, 28:6).  In these passages a tense of the Hebrew ə·nê- is rendered as “son,” the same Hebrew word rendered “sons” in Genesis 6 and in Job.  In Hosea 1:10 the people of Israel are seen as being called the “sons (bə·nê) of God” (el). The same is true in Deuteronomy 14.

       Deuteronomy 14:1: You are the sons (Hebrew: bā·nîm) of the LORD (YHWH) your God (elohim). You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead (ESV, NASB). The Hebrew bā·nîm is a tense of the Hebrew ban and appears 96 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and is mostly rendered “sons.”

       In Isaiah 43:6-7 God refers to the Israelites as sons and daughters.  In a letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty" (2nd Corinthians 6:18). In Matthew 5:44 Jesus is quoted as saying “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

       In the above passages, the word son’s is in every case applied to biological humans and not to supernatural entities.  Therefore, it can be argued that the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6 could very well be biological sons of God and not supernatural sons of God. It must be further pointed out that biological humans are called sons of God a number of times in the NT.

       Matthew 5:9: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.

       Luke 20:36b: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection (ASV).

       Romans 8:14: because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

       Romans 8:12: The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.

       Galatians 3:26: You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

       Luke 6:35: But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

       The Greek word rendered “sons” in these passages is the Greek huios which is defined in Greek Lexicons as “a son, male offspring.”  The passages in Matthew, Romans 8 and Galatians 3 can be seen as man being a son of God in a spiritual sense.  The passage in Luke appears to identify human beings becoming like angels in the afterlife and therefore sons of God in the same manner angels are. The passage in Romans 12 is a looking forward to the sons of God becoming a reality. 

Summary:

      Genesis 6:2 records that “the sons of God” saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and married any of them they chose.” It is claimed that since the term “the sons of God” is found only here and in Job where the phrase “the sons of God” appears to clearly apply to supernatural beings, it must be that the phrase “the sons of God” in Genesis 6 must also be referring to supernatural beings.

       However, as noted above, in Deuteronomy 14:1: humans are clearly called the sons of the LORD (YHWH) God (elohim). We see the same thing in Isaiah 43:6-7 where God refers the Israelites as His sons and daughters.  So while the “sons of God” in Job are supernatural beings, the sons of God in Deuteronomy 14 are human beings. This shows the term sons of God can be applied to humans as well. Therefore it could be human sons of God that are seen in Genesis 6.

       As it turns out, Genesis 6 and Job are not the only passages in the OT were we see sons of God mentioned. I believe the analysis of Psalms 89:5-7 seen in part one of this series provides strong reasons to believe that “the sons of the mighty” in Psalms 89:6  are human sons and not supernatural sons. This passage provides additional evidence showing humans are identified as sons of God in the OT.

       It is to be also noted that the focus of Genesis 6:1-7 is mortal humankind and not supernatural kind. The writer speaks of man increasing in number on the earth and having daughters born to them.  In verse 3, God is quoted as saying “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal.” After speaking of the Nephilim in verse 4, verses 5-6 show YHWH speaking of man’s wickedness on the earth and how he was grieved that He had made man. Verse 7 speaks of God’s plan to wipe mankind off the face of the earth.

       Nothing is said here about the wickedness of supernatural sons of God who supposedly had sexual relations with human women.  Nothing is said here about God being grieved that He had made these supposed supernatural sons who became corrupt and came to earth to marry human women. Nothing is said about God wiping out these corrupt supernatural sons. The entire focus is on the wickedness of human mankind.  I feel this is an important consideration in arriving at any conclusions as to the identity of the "sons of God" in Genesis 6. 

       The contention that the Nephilim of Genesis 6 and Numbers 13 are giants and mighty men because they are hybrid humans having a mixed human and angelic DNA is problematic to say the least. Nephilim are described in Genesis 6 as hag·gib·bō·rîm which has the general meaning of “mighty.” We see hag·gib·bō·rîm in David's army (2nd Samuel 10, 23 and 1st Chronicles 11,19) with no reason to believe they are the product of human women having marital relations with angels. The Nephilim could simply be a class of mighty men born to human women having normal sexual relations with human men just as apparently is the case with the mighty men in David's army 

Conclusion to this series:

        In view of the observations made in both part one and part two of this series, I feel it scripturally tenuous to conclude that the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6 are supernatural beings that facilitated the birthing of human hybrids called Nephilim whose descendants are still active in the world today as Ryan Pitterson contends in his books.  In reading through his two books, I saw many speculations and unproven assumptions being made including a number of non-sequitur arguments presented where the conclusion does not necessary follow from the premise.

       As to the contention of the author of “The Unseen Realm” that the gods and sons of the Most High mentioned in Psalm 82 are supernatural lesser gods, I believe I have provided sufficient evidence that the gods and sons of the Most High in Psalms 82 are human rulers and not supernatural rulers as the author of this book believes.  While Scripture clearly shows there are supernatural beings in the heavily realm that interact with each other and with whom God interacts and there are supernatural entities that interact with humans, I believe the scriptural evidence weighs against this being the case with the “gods” mentioned in Psalm 82.