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NASB | Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 6:4 There were Nephilim (men of stature, notorious men) on the earth in those days--and also afterward--when the sons of God lived with the daughters of men, and they gave birth to their children. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (great reputation, fame). [Num 13:33] |
Bible Question:
Good Day, I am reading Genesis 6. In verses 1-4 the Nephilim is mentioned. The bible also makes reference to the sons of God. Are these the same persons and are they (Nephilims) the result of falled angels and mortal women(verse 2)? I've looked through the bible dictionaries found on biblegetaway.com but no real orgin of the Nephilim is given. They say that they are giants but it still is not clear. Thank You, Alexis |
Bible Answer: I really I find the "Sons of God/daughters of men/Nephilim" bit confusing myself so I'm probably not the best person to answer but... The Nephilim were the offspring produced between the Sons of God and the daughters of men (v.4). I got the impression this was not smiled upon for some reason--not knowing who the Sons/daughters refers to I can't comment there. But I think the second part of the same verse "heroes of old, men of renown" clearly suggests they were famous and/or admired by the people of the world--the entire definition of hero/renown, and really in my opinion is in keeping with the concept of 'giant' the idea that they were larger than life/the stuff legends were made of, etc--which to me implies that there may have even been some idolatry going on, and that God clearly did not approve of those allowing themselves to become idols and those doing the idolizing (v.5-6) and regretful enough to contemplate destroying them all (v.7). There's lots of speculation about angel/man and Seth's line/Cain's line mixing and maybe one of those is true and maybe it isn't I have no idea... But it seems intentionally vague and is not a time of one of those long Biblical genologies so I think any answer outside of some possible valuable insight lost in the translation from the Hebrew is really just specualative anyway so go with what rings true to you... But regardless of who they were, there are some clear indications of how they may have been invovled in the prevalence of evil that lead God to destroy them. And the fact that Noah wasn't participating in the idolatry seems to me why he was spared--"Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God." (v.9)--Noah chose to be devoted to a fact which is illuminated not just here within the contrast, but in the following chapters as he unwaveringly places his trust, faith, and obedience in God... I think this idea that you need nothing more than to put God above all things to be sheltered by His grace seems a pervasive theme of the Bible so it rings more poigniant to me... Good luck getting some direction in finding what you seek though. |