I was flipping through the Genesis last night in my Biblical Interpretation class, and I came across Genesis 6. I know that I’ve read the story before, but I don’t think that I’ve ever been as struck by it as I was last night in class. What the hell are the Nephilim?! In the context of the story, it sounds like they are the product of a sexual union between women and ‘the Sons of God,’ but who were they? I have absolutely no answers to these questions. I know that the Nephilim are referenced again in Numbers 13.33 when the girly men who went with Caleb gave their daunting report of
I have heard that the word Nephilim is derived from the Hebrew word for ‘fallen,’ and people take that to understand that they are fallen angels. If I am reading the text right in Genesis, however, the Nephilim refer to the offspring of these Sons of God that are running amok before the flood. If you have any idea what the heck these Giant people are about, I’d love to hear it.
2 comments:
I have wondered on this passage many times too. I just don't know. It sounds a lot like Greek mythology at this time (which can lead some people to question some of Genesis).
Perhaps these "giant" people were the great (to the 24th degree) grandparents of Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neil.
Perhaps not.
Some say that Nephilim can refer to Great/Powerful people. As well, some say that Sons of God refer to the godly line of Seth whereas the sons of men refer to the evil line of Cain.
I tend to read Genesis from a more liberal stance, so I of course don't have much problem with some angels "getting it on" with some humans.
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