Nephilim?

[BornInMarch]

I have a few questions concerning nephilim.

First of all, what are the nephilim?
The bible says “the sons of God, seeing that the daughters of men were beautiful, took to themselves wives from all whom they chose.”-Genesis 6:2

Does that mean that they half angels? If that is so, does that mean the fallen angels were cast out for taking advantage of human women?

More importantly, did they have souls? If they did, were they all evil, or were they capable of being good or evil?

These are innocent questions, so please understand that my intent is not malicious.

 

[wiggbuggie]

The Nephilim are giants that were made when angels and humans had intercourse. Part of the reason God send the flood was to rid of the Nephilim. You can read more about it in the book of Enoch.

 

[mikeeh]

First of all, what are the nephilim?

They are the offspring of angels and women, and are considered giants who were killed during the flood.

Does that mean that they half angels?

No, they were mortals.

If that is so, does that mean the fallen angels were cast out for taking advantage of human women?

Yes. God did not give the angels permission to be intimate with women.

More importantly, did they have souls?

No, souls are a gift God gave to humans alone.

If they did, were they all evil, or were they capable of being good or evil?

Whatever you want to believe. They’re more mythology than fact. This is one of the parts in the Bible that was added in without much meaning behind it and is not meant to be taken literally. The nephilim might have been a story created to explain other early species of humans that may have been apart of oral stories long after they went extinct.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephilim

 

[fnr]

I have a few questions concerning nephilim.

First of all, what are the nephilim?
The bible says “the sons of God, seeing that the daughters of men were beautiful, took to themselves wives from all whom they chose.”-Genesis 6:2

Does that mean that they half angels? If that is so, does that mean the fallen angels were cast out for taking advantage of human women?

More importantly, did they have souls? If they did, were they all evil, or were they capable of being good or evil?

These are innocent questions, so please understand that my intent is not malicious.

The following response is largely drawn from the footnotes to Genesis 6 in the New American Bible.

Nephilim are mythical giants that numerous cultures in the ancient world believed to predate humanity. Their reference in Genesis is really somewhat cryptic and ambiguous, and is generally reflective of the “J” (Jahwist or Yahwist) source. It’s placed between the expansion of the human race and the flood. The “sons of God” probably refers to an ancient view that the heavenly world was populated by many beings, some of whom were evil. This story serves to introduce the flood story by showing a constant increase in the wickedness of humanity. Prior to this verse, humanity is described as having lifespans of hundreds of years, while afterward it’s much shorter.

I don’t take the story of the Nephilim as historical.

 

[SyroMalankara]

I have a few questions concerning nephilim.

First of all, what are the nephilim?
The bible says “the sons of God, seeing that the daughters of men were beautiful, took to themselves wives from all whom they chose.”-Genesis 6:2

Does that mean that they half angels? If that is so, does that mean the fallen angels were cast out for taking advantage of human women?

More importantly, did they have souls? If they did, were they all evil, or were they capable of being good or evil?

These are innocent questions, so please understand that my intent is not malicious.

I’ve heard a much simpler answer - sons of God = descendants of Seth; daughters of men = descendants of Cain.

This is from the Ethiopian Tradition, which does consider the Book of Enoch canonical in a sense:

The Ethiopic version of the book of Enoch came to Ethiopia via Menyelik I, son of Mekeda of Saba according to some Ethiopian scholarly sources, others say that it came via Aba Selama [St. Frumentius, 4th Century AD] or the Nine Saints [6th Century AD]. Some say that the book of Enoch was written in 4014 BC [and that it is one of the first OT books] and was part of the Book of the History of Cush.

The ‘sons of God’ are not angels, but children of Henos [Henos was righteous and declared a that no one should be uncovered publicly, as were the children of Cain. He had two types of children: those that married and those that were ascetics] that had angelic abilities, why? They practiced strict ascetism and knew many mysteries, especially those of the earth.

They were in the Holy Mountain [Debre Q’dus] and when they seen the shining faces of the daughters of Cain, they became tempted and had intercourse with them; the daughters of Cain bore children–some of them were small as rats, others were giants–up to five stories tall and some in between. There was chaos and weapons of all sorts were made. This is what caused God to bring a flood upon the earth.

Some consider this story [a very brief one] apocryphal, but this is the typical Ethiopic traditional interpretation of the ‘sons of God’.

A follow up on an Ethiopian Orthodox forum states:

Why are the children of Seth called as fallen angels?

The children of Seth, who were of the children of Adam, dwelt on the mountain, high up (Debr Qidus), while they preserved their virginity, their innocence and their glory like angels; and were then called ‘angels of God.’ But when they transgressed and mingled with the children of Cain, and begat children, many mistakenly said, that angels had come down from heaven, and mingled with the daughters of men. Angels, who are spirits, can not be found committing sin with human beings. This can never happen. If such a thing were of the nature of angels, or satan, that fell, they would not leave one woman on earth, undefiled.