Who were the "sons of God" who married "the daughters of men" and had children who were giants in Genesis 6: 2-4?

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Who were the "sons of God" who married "the daughters of men" and had children who were giants in Genesis 6

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Scholars debate and disagree over the meaning of the obscure reference to "the sons of God" in Genesis 6:1-4. Some people read into these verses the idea that it refers to angelic beings marrying women and producing a race of giants. Christ explained that is impossible, teaching that angels are neither male nor female (Luke 20:34-36)—that is, they are incapable of reproduction.

Humans are clearly the subject in Genesis 6—not angels. God said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh" (verse 3, emphasis added throughout) and, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth" (verse 7). If angels were capable of reproducing as mankind does, their offspring would be spirit, according to the principle of "according to its kind" portrayed in Genesis 1.

The Bible labels the offspring of these marriages "giants" (Genesis 6:4), meaning simply people of giant stature. Similar people are spoken of in later times, most notably Goliath and his family.

How, then, can we understand Genesis 6:1-4? Human beings are also sons of God. We're not referring to becoming spiritual sons of God through conversion, but to the fact that all people are sons of God by creation (Luke 3:38). The attitudes and actions of these "sons of God" were so wrong that they provoked God to send the Flood.

Halley's Bible Handbook raises the possibility that these sons of God were the descendants of Seth. Seth, the Bible records, was made in the image of Adam, who was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26; 5:1-3). Speaking of Seth's descendants, Genesis 4:26 adds, "Then men began to call on the name of the Lord," a phrase that could also be rendered, "called after the name of the Lord"—that is, the "sons of God." If so, the women, "the daughters of men" whom these "sons of God" married were the descendants of unrighteous Cain. By marrying these women, the sons of righteous Seth turned from God, leading Him to say that the entire world was then corrupt (Genesis 6:5-7, 12).

An alternative explanation is that "sons of God" in Genesis 6:2 refers to self-willed men who called themselves "sons of god," not in worship of the Creator, but of pagan deities. Their marriages were in defiance of the Creator God, as they lived contrary to His will. In light of God's characterization of society riddled with violence (verses 11 and 13), we surmise that the men forcibly took the women as wives.

Regardless of which explanation is accurate, the idea that a half-spirit, half-human race resulted from angels marrying women is impossible, according to the Bible.

For more information please watch our BT Daily Video Did angels marry women and produce a race of giants?

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Comments

  • KayC1974

    Messiah did not say that it is IMPOSSIBLE for angels to marry. God did not create angels to marry (there are no female angels) so it's against God's will for angels to marry, which is WHY the sons of God (angels) sinned when they married the daughter of men. The very moment these angels lusted after the daughters of men, they became fallen angels. Angels have the ability to transform into humans and even animals. These sons of God transformed themselves into humans in order to mate with the daughters of men. Jude says that these angels left their first estate, meaning they chose to leave behind their heavenly angelic form for human form for the sake of marrying these women.

  • Dirk Daring

    There is no mention of pre-flood demons or demonic possession anywhere in Scripture or in extra-biblical works. The demonic is a post-flood phenomena. So the question presents itself, what/who are demons? I postulate that demons are angel/mankind offspring that were killed in the flood. They are (like angels and mankind) eternal in spirit. When men (and women) die, they go to one of two possible 'places' and await resurrection and judgment (Luke 16:19-31). Demons do not await judgment, they aren't supposed to exist in the first place. There is no place for them, so they wander the earth in spirit, looking for a place to take up residence. This is why they strive to possess the body of a 'man' (Matthew 12:43-45). On the last day, they will be thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)

  • Dirk Daring

    The original Hebrew words for 'sons of God' is 'bənê hāʼĕlōhîm'. The same word is used in Job 1:6 and 2:1, in both instances the word clearly means angelic/heavenly beings. They present themselves before God – in Heaven. The descendants of Seth obviously can't do that if they are on the earth taking wives.
    At least twice in the New Testament it is mentioned that God sent angels who left their first 'abode' to the Abyss and locked them in chains (2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 1:6). In both instances Sodom and Gomorrah are also mentioned in respect to fornication and 'going after strange flesh'.
    If angels left their first estate/abode and took wives for themselves and had offspring, the children of that union would be part man/part angel.
    It makes sense that God would view them as abominations.
    It makes sense that they would be giants.
    It makes sense that they would be 'men of renown' and 'mighty warriors'.

  • Dirk Daring

    The 'sons of God' are angels. They chose to rebel against God and abandoned their appointments. Instead of being cast down to earth by God as Lucifer was, they simply 'left their first estate' to pursue their own desires.

    I should note that there are many Christians who believe that the 'sons of God' are descendants of Seth who chose to mingle with the descendants of Cain. There are a few reasons why I disagree with that interpretation.

    Why would it be wrong for the descendants of Seth to mingle with the daughters of Cain? Cain was banished - his wife, children and descendants were not. God states no prohibition of mingling between the two generational lines. It is an assumption that the daughters of Cain would be less righteous than the sons of Seth. The Bible clearly states that 'no one is righteous, no one, not one' and that 'ALL have sinned' (Romans 3:10 and 3:23). That includes Seth, his generations and even Noah. David was a man after God's heart, but even he was not righteous. In Scripture, men are imputed with righteousness by faith and repentance just like Abraham. (Genesis 15:6 & Ephesians 2:8-9)

  • T o m

    Jesus said there is no marriage in heaven. We do marry on earth. He did not say angels on earth cannot marry on earth. With regard to fallen angels having no physical substance, what of Jacob wrestling with an angel? Many will argue it was a man since it says man, but Jacob's initial understanding was that it was a man. He later changed that opinion. God allowed Satan to use Satan's powers to harm Job. Satan had power to do anything but kill Job. Why then, is it not possible for fallen angels to have impregnated women? What of men of Sodom wanting to have sex with 2 angels?Giants? We are told "there were giants in the earth in those days", not that they were giant men. Fossils of human footprints have been found alongside those of dinosaurs. The Bible also speaks of the Leviathon, a giant beast, in those days. So, offspring of the sons of God and women were not said to be giants, only that they were reknown of old. Reknown does not mean spiritual, good, wonderful, and not evil. It means famous, perhaps even respected. If the offspring murdered and pillaged, they would be reknown, famous, and respected. Reknown by whom? The evil people of the world who would admire such evil traits.

  • SheepWhisperer

    The "sons of God" were the named individuals of Genesis chapter 5, who had begun to "call upon the name of the Lord" back in Genesis 4. They married unbelievers, most likely were polygamists because they took "wives". They lived 4 hundreds of years each "begatting" sons and daughters (Genesis 5). As a result, their families multiplied into powerful nation states of "mighty men" in conformity to an earth "filled with violence" and as a reaction to the presence of giants as stated by the term "after that". The scripture does not say that they procreated giants themselves.

  • T o m

    This is how I have always viewed the "sons of God" in Genesis 6, however, I have also come to have respect for the view that it could mean fallen angels. I have posted the arguments in support of that view, but personally adhere to the same position you have posted. With either position, it is clear that evil permeated the earth and except for Noah, there were no righteous men left upon the earth. Being righteous with God meant he was demanding righteous behavior from his family, obeying as a family, God's commandments. Therefore, Noah's family was also spared. All things are possible with God and the word of God is infallible. We too often attempt to force God to fit into our concept of our earthly world, but we must remain vigilant to be open to revelations of truth as God reveals them.

  • JUDEMARIO

    the bible is inspired by the Holy spirit, hence, understanding the bible is not by being a scholar or pastor. the same spirit is to inspire it

  • Momoball
    I think these sons of God are angels - not fallen angels. These are angels who did not keep their former domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Jude 1:6. These angels became fallen angels because of what they did. These kind are not roaming around but are in chains. The bible says that when we die, we shall be like angels, in the sense that we do not marry nor do we marry, just like the angels. It doesn't, however say that angels do not have gender. I believe all angels are male and that is why women need a covering on their heads, because of the angels - meaning - in order to identify that a woman is for a man. In the book of Job chap 38:7 when the morning Stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy - these sons of God referred here are angels. Yes, we humans are also sons of God by rebirth but we do not manifest our sonship while in the flesh as it is a spiritual sonship. I dunno I think long time ago, there were angels who came down to the women and had children by them. They were immediately punished by God and in the bible, the children of Israel were instructed to kill the offsprings of this union and these offsprings were the Giants. So who are demons? I think these offsprings since they are also angels and live forever, when they die in the flesh, they still live on in the spirit as disembodied beings who seek to possess the bodies of humans or animals. There is a distinction between fallen angels and demons. Fallen angels do not possess humans but are in the air whereas demons possess humans because they seek a body. Anyways this is my explanation. God bless.
  • Lena VanAusdle

    The beauty of the Bible is we don't need to come up with our own explanations.
    Although angels are referred to as "sons of God" in Job 38:7 because God is their "Father" through creation. Angels are spirit beings (Hebrews 1:7), not fleshly creatures. They neither marry nor sexually reproduce (Luke 20:34-36). Also, this explanation would violate the principle made clear in Genesis 1 that each kind reproduces only "according to its kind." Furthermore, the risen Jesus explained that "fallen angels," or demons, are not able to manifest themselves materially like He and the righteous angels can (Luke 24:39; compare verses 40-43; Genesis 18:1-8, 16; 19:1). Rather, we see demons in Scripture only possessing individuals or appearing as ghostly apparitions.
    This commentary gives more information regarding the translations of these verses: http://bible.ucg.org/bible-commentary/Genesis/The-antediluvian-world;-God-calls-Noah/

  • Sword4Christ
    For one I can clearly understand how this subject can become cloudy, I struggled with this for some time. However there are some serious questions to consider, if the sons of God refer to the sons of Seth, then God is very inconstant in judgement, I mean if judgement against the whole world came every time godly men had sexual relations with ungodly women by this time there would be no world left to judge. What we do know is this: whatever happened brought server judgement, and apparently whatever happened is what will bring server judgement in the future. Jesus said "for as it was in the days of Noah, for so shall it also be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man." We also know from the bible that those who committed these offenses are locked in everlasting chains in the abyss (2peter 2:4, 1 Enoch 22:4-7) I know this is difficult to accept but this view of the watchers having relations with women was the common view of Enoch, and the old testament saints. It makes sense when we consider that their purpose was to stop the coming Messiah by corrupting the seed of the women (Gen 3:15). Satan knew that the Messiah would be born of a women what better way to try to stop this than by corrupting the seed. If the sons of God refer to the sons of Seth then do we believe that when Satan presented himself in heaven before God in Job 1:6 that Seth's sons were actually with him? Hardly not! This refers to the angelic beings
  • Lena VanAusdle

    Hi! It's important to take the WHOLE Bible into consideration when looking at passages like this. First, Matthew 22:29-30 says, "Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God[b] in heaven." The angels are not capable of reproducing. The next thing to consider is the veracity of the book of Enoch. It is not in the Bible, and therefore, not to be held in the same regard as scripture.

  • Eric Breaux

    Wrong, Jesus response to the sadducees was about levirate marriage specifically. He created marriage and sexual passion for spouses and being alone was the one thing God said during the creation account that is not good. It makes no sense to believe God would change his mind about the ideal state for males and females if he doesn't change. At the beginning God said for us to be fruitful and multiply, giving no indication it was to ever stop. If people interpret Jesus answer to the sadducees as claiming no one will be married anymore, then we can't be married to Jesus after the last resurrection either. Marriage of male and female couples and sexual passion is the most joyful and pleasurable of God's creation, yet so many Christians have claimed that that's the only thing he will not restore, but we get to keep food which is bland by comparison. The ideal of eternal paradise for Christians who are prudes is hell to most other people, including other Christians. Just because some people manage to not care if they can continue having a sinless sexually intimate relationship with someone for eternity, doesn't make it fair to teach that those who do care should somehow not care.

  • Malachi 3_16-18
    Hi Jane2014, I would recommend that you carefully re-read the article above, looking up the verses that are mentioned. As it points out, there are two different uses in Scripture of the term “sons of God.” You are correct; the Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35), but looking at Bible verses in their context, and also looking at related verses in other parts of the Bible, helps us to understand what is meant in each case. As the article pointed out, spirit beings cannot and do not father children (Lk 20:34-36). The first use of “sons of God” means simply being fathered as a human by God. In this sense, Adam was referred to in the Bible as the “son of God” (Lk 3:38). This terminology also looks forward to the incredible future we have of becoming spirit-composed sons of God in His Family (1 John 3:1-2). The second meaning refers to our becoming spiritual sons begotten by God’s Holy Spirit when we are converted. We cannot become sons of this degree unless we have the Spirit, are led by that Spirit, and continue to walk by that Spirit (1 John 3:1-3, and Rom 8:14-17 – the verses you quoted). There is no indication that the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6 were spirits or even converted humans, and therefore sons of God in the latter and spiritual sense, because God did not condone their actions; in fact, their taking wives of their own choosing seems to have contributed to the evil conditions described in the subsequent verses.
  • Jane2014
    The Sons of God marrying daughters of men was signifying that those who had the gospel in their life, and knew the truth, were marrying people of foreign faiths, and foreign ideals. As it says in Psalms 82:6 “I have said, Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.” We also find in Romans 8:14-17 "14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Thus, in plain text we see that we are the children of God, and the Sons of God. And we know that scripture cannot be broken, and there are two witnesses to this account, therefore, I know that the account that we are Sons of God is true. Therefore, if the Sons of God marry daughters of men, it means that they are marrying out of their faith, and taking people out of their religion to be their companions, and thus why wickedness ensues in the next few verses. As for the giants, well, it was talking about the size and stature of the people they were marrying.
  • Redeemed777
    Vince , angels are ministering spirits they can not procreate including those ( 1/3 ) who followed satan. And remember the 1/3 fell along with satan from the beginning and the (2/3)good angels would have not taken daughters of men to wife even if they had the means to. So that would leave fallen angels except one thing there that does not float God would have not called fallen angels His sons ,God called them "satans angels" they were no longer ministering spirits serving God however they did remain ministering spirits but not for God they were minstering spirits serving satan Those(men) that walked according to God were His sons they were the offspring of Seth but they too fell into sinful lust because they were an offspring of Adam and Eve who fell and everyone after them were born in sin (flesh) absent of the Holy Spirit of God therefore its written "Yea must be born again" ;of the Spirit of God. Those born again of Christ Yeshua are sons (children of God) Genesis 5:2 both man and woman were called Adam (mankind) Therefore in the NT all born again of Christ Yeshua are "sons of God" When we are gathered up to the Lord we will be like angels that is never dying and never marrying or given in marriage
  • vince thompson

    Mt. 22:30 describes how "angels of God in heaven" behave, not how fallen angels would behave. The phrase "Sons of God is a very old phrase and only appears in the two oldest books in the Bible, Gen & Job. Clearly in Job 38:7 "Sons of God" refers to angels so if for no other reason than to be consistant in translation it warrants a deeper look. This period of time on earth was preflood and quite early in demons experiance with man. Mankind must have presented quite a tempting toy for a group of beings banished from heaven by the very Being these weak creatures were fashioned after. Manipulating them and possessing them was likely quite a sport for them. We see many examples of demon influence and possession of men and beasts throughout the Bible. While I doubt that a cross species mating occured for all the complications it would present later, it's not impossible to conceive of the idea that fallen angels considering men as pets to be managed, looked at the giants which, as you point out, already existed and sought out men and woman who carried the Giant Gene and possessed them for the purpose of spawning more giants. They obviously accelerated the corruption of man until "the thoughts of his heart was only evil continuously." How much pleasure they must have had at the expense of these little God lookalikes! This theory while only a theory, not only allows you to more consistantly and less subjectively explain a rare phrase of the OT, it also helps explain two difficult NT passages.
    1Peter 3:18-20 describes Christ apparently correcting misbehaving spirits during this exact timeframe who after being disobedient in some way were being restrained while Noah built the ark. If these spirits had done as I proposed earlier, they would certainly have earned a preaching to and maybe even a stern warning complete with a sign as a reminder to them as to who the woman was created for, which brings me to the 2nd difficult scripture my theory clears up;1Cor 11:9-10. Here a peculiar addition to the end of vs 10 perplexes all who read it,"because of the angels" Paul states the man was not made for the woman but the woman for the man and then says that a womans long hair is a sign or symbol of this,"because of the angels"! Just like the rainbow was a sign that God would never destroy man with a flood again, might woman's hair be a sign to the angels not to touch the woman!

  • T o m

    Just curious how this was posted with well over 1200 characters.

  • mwhdvm

    Website update sometime in the last 5 years (after the post in question) limiting posts to less than 1200 characters.

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