Nephilim - Giants: Did Angels and Women Procreate?

I. Introduction

In this article I will answer the most common objection regarding the Nephilim, namely, the claim that it is impossible for angels and women to pro-create. This claim stands on the passage where Jesus said that humans will not marry in heaven, but be like the angels (Matthew 22:30). The second claim is that angels have no physical form. In this video we will answer these objections, and in subsequent articles, discuss the evidence for giants and their bloodlines from Scripture, their demonic plan to stop the prophecy of Genesis 3:15, and later, the global evidence for their existence.

II. Who are the Sons of God, the ‘Beney Elohim’?

What about references to sons of God, the beney ‘elohim (אלהים בני), beney ha’elohim (בני אלהים) and beney ’elim (בני אלים)? These terms are used most commonly to speak of angels, both holy and fallen. For example:

Deuteronomy 32:8 speaks of ‘sons of men’ and ‘sons of God’.

Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:4 All speak of angels. Satan is an angel, a fallen angel.

Psalm 29:1 Angels in the Holy Court.

Psalm 89:5 In the assembly of the holy ones.

Furthermore, we need to distinguish between holy angels who take a temporary form of men in order to perform tasks for the Lord, and angels transforming their bodies in order to procreate, something that was an abomination to God and brought immediate judgment. So firstly, a few examples of angels appearing as men.

Judges 13: 3-7. To Manoah’s wife, the mother of Samson.

1 Kings 19. An angel touches Elijah. Description of angel not given.

Hosea 12:9 Wrestles with an angel.

Zechariah 1:10 and throughout the book. Angel as a man.

Acts 5:19 Angel opens the door.

Acts 12: 7-10 Angel comes to Peter, touches him and walks ahead of him.

Hebrews 13:2. This verse says that people have sometimes given hospitality to angels without realizing that they were angels. They thought the strangers were normal men.

In Genesis 18 and 19, angels not only appear as men, but act as normal human males.

Genesis 18: 2 Three ‘men’, one of them the Lord and the other two angels.

Genesis 18:4 Their feet are washed.

Genesis 2: 8 They ate a meal including cheese, milk and meat.

Genesis 19: 1. It is confirmed that these ‘men’ are angels.

Genesis 19:3 They again eat a meal of bread.

Genesis 19:5 The men of Sodom want to have sex with them.

Genesis 19:8 Lot begs them to not do anything to these men.

Genesis 19: 10 They physically pull Lot into the house, and then strike the others with blindness.

Genesis 19:16 The angels/men take Lot, his daughters and wife’s hands and lead them out of the city.

These angels had bodies like human males. They walked, they washed, they ate, they touched other people, and the men of Sodom desired to have sex with them. Genesis 19:4 tells us that ‘all the men from every part of the city’ both young and old surrounded Lot’s house, demanding that he send them out so that they could have sex with them. This event is foremost in Jude’s mind as we shall see when examining his letter.

III. The Nephilim in Genesis 6

Genesis 6:1-4 states that the ‘sons of God’, the beney elohim saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and chose whomever they will as wives for themselves. This is a literal translation of the Hebrew. Verse 6 tells us more, saying that the sons of God and daughters of men produced children. The term ‘sons of God’ (beney elohim) is used to speak of angels, not human beings, as in Job 1:6 where Satan is mentioned as one of them. Also, the word Nephilim in the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, is gigantic, or giant in English. The Septuagint is the version most commonly quoted by all writers of the New Testament.

If we are going to take the clearest statements of Genesis 6, whoever we believe the sons of God are, they had sexual relations with women and produced the Nephilim, the giants. The very fact that the text distinguishes between sons of God and daughters of men simply does not fit the theory that Scripture is speaking of Seth, as Julian the Apostate claimed in the 4th century AD, for Seth was the son of a man, namely Adam. The Seth theory was adopted by the very influential Augustine of Hippo, and became the common view.

However, there is absolutely no grounding for the Sethite Theory in Scripture, it is pure speculation. The theory confines its discussion regarding the Nephilim/giants to Genesis 6, ignoring the words in 6:4, ‘the Nephilim were on the earth in those days – and also afterward’. There are over 45 verses referring to giants, their descendants, and activities in the Old Testament, and those who hold the Sethite theory simply ignore these references. As a result of this, they have no explanation of why God commanded the deaths of entire specific tribes in the conquest of Canaan.

IV. Jude’s Explanation of Angelic/human Pro-creation.

The letters of Jude and 2nd Corinthians are the epistles which give us the answer to how angels were able to pro-create with human women. In Jude verses 4-6 he speaks of certain men who have secretly slipped in among them, godless men who change the grace of God into a license for immorality, and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

Jude’s two concerns are using grace as a license for immorality, and denial of Christ’s Sovereignty or Lordship. Verses 6-8 read as follows:

6 And angels, who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, he has kept in eternal bonds for the judgment of the great day. 7 Just as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet in the same way, these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. (Jude 6-8 NASB)

Verses 6-8 are tied together by the words ‘just as’, and ’in the same way’ and ‘yet in the same way’. Verse 7 begins with the words ‘just as’, and adds ‘in the same way’, and verse 8 ‘Yet in the same way’ or ‘very same way’ as some translate. If we analyze the meaning of verses 7-8, we will know what Jude is referring to as verse 6 is the subject of this ‘same way’.

Verse 8 summarizes these first verses with; Yet in the same way, these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. Here, the two issues are addressed in conclusion, sexual immorality and the rejection of authority, however, please note the reference to angels, for as we shall see, angels feature in at least two of Jude’s other examples, therefore they are a central theme in the apostle’s mind.

As we move backwards we have the account of Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns. The NIV translates their sins as sexual immorality and perversion. This is a poor translation as it doesn’t bring out Jude’s point about going after ‘strange flesh’. A literal translation of ἐκπορνεύσασαι καὶ ἀπελθοῦσαι ὀπίσω σαρκὸς ἑτέρας is, ‘having indulged in sexual immorality and having gone after flesh strange’. Most commentators believe Jude is referring firstly to their homosexuality, and secondly their desire to have sex with the angels who were with Lot.

Please notice that verse 7 begins (in the NIV) with the words ‘in a similar way’. There is no doubt that the verses which follow verse 6 are speaking of gross sexual immorality. If we are to take Jude’s words ‘in a similar way’ and then speak of ‘gross immorality and going after strange flesh’, then we must read verse 7 within that same context.

But the Greek text is more emphatic. The words ‘in the same manner’, do not occur at the beginning of verse 7, but exactly before the words fornication and strange flesh. Jude emphatically ties the sin of the angels (v6) to ‘committing fornication and going after strange flesh’ using the activity of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah as an example.

Now to verse 6. Two sins are expressed of these angels. Not remaining under God’s authority and rule, and deserting their ‘own abode’ (Gr. οἰκητήριον oiketerion). This word is translated ’habitation’ or ‘abode’ and in the NIV, ‘own home’. Good exegesis studies every use of a word in order to find its meaning in context. In the case of ‘oiketerion’ we have only one other place in Scripture in which to see how the word is used.

2nd Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation [oiketerion] which is from heaven. (NKJV)

Notice please that we have several other words for ‘tent, house and building’ here. All of these words are speaking of the habitation of our spirit or soul, not about a place we live physically, but the body we will have when we have this new body which is from heaven, for human flesh cannot enter heaven. And when the apostle Paul speaks of the transition from one body to another he uses οἰκητήριον, oiketerion. Paul is speaking of our bodies here, not about a place where our bodies will be as the next verses testify. He makes these same arguments in 1 Corinthians 15:35-56. The soul, or essence of the person is housed in this earthly tent, but it will be transformed into this special habitation, a heavenly body.

We have no other passages of Scripture to compare this word. Why does Paul use it? Because the transformation of an earthly body into a heavenly one is a unique experience to Christians and no others.

So why is Jude using this word when speaking of angels? He contrasts the sins of the men of Sodom and Gomorrah with the sin of the angels who are being kept in chains awaiting judgment (see also 2 Peter 2:4). The Sodomites’ sin was to indulge in sexual immorality and go after strange flesh. ‘Strange flesh’ is the literal translation from Greek and it means to go after a kind of flesh which is not the same as your own.

In the case of the men of Sodom, they were living in sexual immorality/homosexuality, and when they saw the angels who had the form of men, they ordered Lot to hand them over so that they could rape them. The angels were not human beings, they were ‘strange flesh’. Surely, if Jude was referring only to their homosexuality he would have used the term ‘same flesh’. Furthermore, they rejected Lot’s offer of his daughters who were of the same human flesh, and demanded the strange flesh of the angels, such was the depth of their depravity.

In the same way, the angels abandoned their ‘angelic bodies’ (Jude 6) and went after strange flesh, the flesh of human women. Just as we will be transformed into new, heavenly and immortal bodies, a new habitation of our souls, these angels abandoned their bodies and God’s authority, and took on bodies which could procreate with human women. This is the clear teaching of Jude and his use of oikaterion is his explanation of how this transformation occurred.

Genesis 6:2 strongly suggests that the angels’ primary motivation was lust, that they ‘saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and took of them any they chose’. The Hebrew word ‘took’, in this verse can mean many things, including to seize, take by force, lay hold of, or to marry, however, the words ‘took whomever they chose’ strongly suggests that at least some of these women were taken by force. Jude’s tying this event to Sodom with the words ‘in the same way’, and the fact that the Sodomites desired to rape the angels, adds strength to this argument.

V. Non-canonical Material: 1st Enoch

In Jude verses 14-15, the apostle quotes the book of Enoch. This fact is disturbing for many, but the truth is that Enoch was considered to be inspired by many in the early Church, at least in part, or in its original form, although it has been added to. Enoch gives some very specific details about the topic we are discussing, and offers other insights that are important. Consider this quote from chapter 6: 1-6.

ENOCH 6:1 And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then swore they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon… (From The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, translated by R.H. Charles)

Jared is the fifth generation from Adam (Genesis 5:15). What is obvious from Enoch’s account are the following:

1. That Enoch confirms that these angels lusted after human women and desired to procreate.

2. That they knew this deed was a great sin and would have consequences.

3. That 200 of them swore an oath together to go through with this plan.

4. That they descended on Mount Hermon where this transformation took place.

Why is Mount Hermon important here? Is it just a coincidence that Jesus ascended to Mount Hermon, where He was transfigured before Peter and John? The word used for transfiguration comes from the root meaning a metamorphosis, a changing from one body to another. Jesus’ human body was transformed into the likeness of His pre-incarnate body, the body He had before He took on human flesh. The purpose of this was for the disciples to see with their own eyes who He really was, and hear the Father’s voice, “This is my Son, whom I love. With him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” (Matthew 17:5).

According to 1st Enoch, Mount Hermon is the place where the 200 angels descended to undergo their metamorphosis, to change their bodies in order to carry out their plan—a plan which rejected God’s authority over them and led humanity into utter wickedness, a depth of evil that brought about the global flood.

Jesus took His disciples to this very same place and showed them who He is, the one who came to destroy the devil’s work by taking on human flesh, was made for a little while a little lower than the angels, and to free humanity from death caused by sin—caused by rejecting God’s authority (Hebrews 2:5-18).

VI. The Importance of Recognizing the Nephilim in Scripture.

Why is this topic of the Nephilim important? For many reasons. Atheists often point to the destruction of women and children under the command of Joshua in the conquest of Canaan. Why did God command such a thing? There are only two times in all of human history when the Lord destroyed, or commanded to be destroyed, everything that had breath. The first was the global flood, and the second in the conquest of Canaan. In both of these cases, the Nephilim were involved.

The Nephilim’s influence in Genesis 6 was such that God said that every thought of man was only evil all of the time, and in Canaan, these people were under the same influence—sacrificing live children and even breeding children for this very purpose. My video entitled “Genocide in Canaan: Yes, No or Why?” covers this topic.

Link to video: Genocide in Canaan: Yes, No or Why?

Secondly, we need to understand that the first prophecy in Genesis 3 is about a child who would crush the serpent’s head, meaning, destroy Satan’s authority over death and mortality. This was a spiritual battle. God destroyed that global influence with the great flood, but the Nephilim returned for Genesis 6:4 says they were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, meaning, after the flood. We have biblical evidence for their origins after the flood as well, but the important thing to realize is that they congregated in one particular place: the Land of Canaan, the land promised to Abraham from whom the child, the Messiah, would come.

The Nephilim fortified the cities, and when Moses sent the spies the people heard their report and refused to trust the Lord. I suggest that Satan knew God’s prophecy to Abraham that his descendents would spend 400 years in slavery and then be brought to the Promised Land (Genesis 15), and that through him, all nations would be blessed. Satan used that 400 years to prepare; his plan was to destroy the Jewish people and stop the child who would crush his head.

There are about 45 references to Nephilim/giants in Scripture. In the next article we will explore their bloodlines and ancestry, the practices of those who lived under their influence, and the tribes which interbred with them.

In a third article we will look at some of the vast amount of evidence for giants in ancient cultures, discuss the religions they initiated, and some of the mysteries of the ancient world.

If you are interested in seeing how the Nephilim feature in almost every ancient culture of the world, and are mentioned in the Vedas, Gathas, Avestas, and other ancient texts, you will find this in my textbook ‘Religion: History and Mystery’.

https://stevecopland.com/religion-history-and-mystery-book

Steve Copland