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NASB | Genesis 6:2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 6:2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and desirable; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose and desired. |
Bible Question: who are the sons of God |
Bible Answer: Some considerations when examining the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 These are some things to keep in mind when seeking to understand what actually happened before (and after) the flood. Terminology - - - Sons of God The term "sons of God" is used in a technical sense throughout the Bible, referring to those who are created by God, as opposed to whe are born from another: Adam (Luke 3), angels (fallen and not)(Gen, Job), and Christians (John 1 and others). A simple word search will verify this. Is there a Biblical reason to define "sons of God" in this passage as different from all other usages in the Bible, which all agree with each other? Is there anything that tells us that the "sons of God" in Gen. 6 refers to a particular group of people, to the exclusion of another group of people? Daughters of Men What about the "daughters of men”? This is an unspecified classification, beyond that they were the daughters of men. Since the text does not add additional qualifiers, such as “the daughters of (ungodly) men”, or “the daughters of (Cain’s descendant’s) men”, then should we add those qualifiers? I would not add what is not found in the text. And if we are talking about a “Godly line of Seth”, they had to all disappear for it to be true that only Noah was found righteous. Outcome- - - Giants If the "sons of God" were the sons of Seth, and the "daughters of men" were the daughters of Cain, then why would their children be any different than any others? The indication is that these children shared common traits that set them apart from the other children. When did a believer marrying a non-believer cause their children to be born "giants", or whatever else the "nephilim" were? Teachings of Angels- - - In Jesus’ discussion with the Saducees, Jesus specifically said "angels in heaven" neither marry nor are given in marraige. Why was this distinction needed? Jude 1:6-7 "And those angels not having kept their first place, but having deserted their dwelling-place, He has kept in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of a great Day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them, in like manner to these, committing fornication, and going away after other flesh, laid down an example before-times, undergoing vengeance of everlasting fire." This passage tells us that there were angels that left their "dwelling place", or in the Greek, "oiketerion". This word is used only one other time in the New Testament, in 2 Cor. 5:2 "For also in this we groan, greatly desiring to be clothed with our dwelling place out of Heaven," speaking of our heavenly body. So these angels somehow left their heavenly bodies, apparently. Jude goes on to tell us about the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, and that they "went after other flesh", "sarkos heteros", or "flesh of a different kind". We know that just before the destruction of Sodom, the men of Sodom demanded that Lot hand over the two angels, that they might have sex with them. So it would seem from Jude that there were angels who left their heavenly bodies, who went after others who were not angels, to have sex with. For this sin, they were placed in chains, held for judgment. Peter also wrote of angels that would seem to be the same ones: 2 Peter 2:4 "For if God did not spare sinning angels, but delivered them to chains of darkness, thrust down into Tartarus, having been kept to judgment;" If the "sons of God" in Genesis 6 are fallen angels, we have the story behind these passages. If not, we can only wonder when it was that angels did these things. For me, this is the kind of harmony I look for in Biblical interpretation. The "sons of God" fathered children with the "daughters of men". Angels who left their own dwelling and went after different flesh are chained awaiting judgment. |