Answer: The Nephilim (�fallen ones, giants�) were the offspring of sexual relationships between the sons of God and daughters of men in Genesis 6:1-4. There is much debate as to the identity of the �sons of God.� It is our contention that the �sons of God� were fallen angels (demons) who mated with human females and/or possessed human males and then mated with human females. These unions resulted in offspring, the Nephilim, that were �heroes of old, men of renown� (Genesis 6:4).
Why would the demons do such a thing? The Bible does not specifically give us the answer. The demons are evil, twisted beings�so nothing they do should surprise us. As to a distinct motivation, the best speculation is that the demons were attempting to pollute the human blood line in order to prevent the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. God had promised that a Messiah would come from the line of Eve (Genesis 3:15) who would crush the head of the serpent, Satan. So, the demons were possibly attempting to prevent this by polluting the human bloodline, making it impossible for a sinless Messiah to one day be born. Again, this is not a specifically biblical answer, but it is plausible and not in contradiction to anything the Bible teaches.
What were the Nephilim? According to Hebraic and other legends (the Book of Enoch and other non-biblical writings), they were a race of giants and super-heroes who did acts of great evil. Their great size and power likely came from the mixture of demonic �DNA� with human genetics. All that the Bible directly says about them is that they were �heroes of old, men of renown� (Genesis 6:4). The Nephilim were not aliens, they were literal, physical beings produced from the union of the sons of God and daughters of men (Genesis 6:1-4).
What happened to the Nephilim? The Nephilim were one of the primary reasons for the great flood in Noah's time. Immediately after the Nephilim are mentioned, God's Word tells us this: �The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, �I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth�men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air�for I am grieved that I have made them�� (Genesis 6:5-7). So, God proceeded to flood the entire earth, killing everyone and everything (including the Nephilim) other than Noah and his family and the animals on the ark (Genesis 6:11-22).
Were there Nephilim after the flood? Genesis 6:4 tells us, �The Nephilim were on the earth in those days � and also afterward.� It seems that the demons repeated their sin sometime after the flood as well. However, it likely took place to a much lesser extent than it did prior to the flood. When the Israelites spied out the land of Canaan, they reported back to Moses: �We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them� (Numbers 13:33). Now, this passage does not specifically say that the Nephilim were genuinely there, only that the spies thought they saw the Nephilim. It is more likely that the spies witnessed very large people in Canaan and mistakenly believed them to be the Nephilim. Or, it is possible that after the flood the demons again mated with human females, producing more Nephilim. Whatever the case, these �giants� were destroyed by the Israelites during their invasion of Canaan (Joshua 11:21-22) and later in their history (Deuteronomy 3:11; 1 Samuel 17).
What prevents the demons from producing more Nephilim today? It seems that God put an end to demons mating with humans by placing all the demons who committed such an act in the Abyss. Jude verse 6 tells us, �And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home�these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.� Obviously, not all of the demons are in �prison� today, so there must have been a group of demons who committed further grievous sin beyond the original fall. Presumably, the demons who mated with human females are the ones who are �bound with everlasting chains.� This would prevent any more demons from attempting such an act.
Biblical Commentary by James Burton Coffman... and who is James Burton Coffman? James Burton Coffman (May 24, 1905 � June 30, 2006) was "one of the most influential figures among Churches of Christ in the 20th century."He was known, especially during the second half of the 20th century, throughout the Churches of Christ for his exhaustive writing and study of Old and New Testament scriptures. Throughout his life he served as a preacher, teacher, author, and community leader. Most of his career defined him as a teacher and administrator in school systems, congregational contexts, and even as a military chaplain.
Genesis Chapter 6 Biblical Commentary _ Nephilim
Verse 4
The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them: the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.
The Nephilim were in the earth in those days�
This is a citation of the time when the unlawful marriages proliferated and represents those marriages as an event that followed the appearance of the Nephilim. We must therefore disagree with Willis who thought that the context here suggests that the Nephilim were the children born to the sons of God and the daughters of men, and who became the mighty men of old.On the other hand, the Nephilim existed before and after the sinful marriages came into view.
The mighty men that were of old�
Some of the older versions render this word as giants instead of mighty men. Although it is likely that the men in view were men of great physical stature, the thought appears to pertain more to their exploits of daring and violent deeds. This could be a reference to the Nephilim already mentioned, but Keil and others thought that the reference is to the sons of the mixed marriages. In neither case, is there any reference to angelic or superhuman progenitors of these mighty men.
Such views are due solely to the error of commentators who have been obliged to insert them here to save their angelic marriages!F9 As to the meaning of mighty men, the most probable interpretation is that which understands them as men of violence, roving, lawless gallants. The term in Hebrew implies not so much the idea of great stature as of reckless ferocity, impious, and daring characters, who spread devastation and carnage far and wide.
The current century has witnessed the appearance of the same type of mighty men: Kaiser Wilhelm, Benito Mussolini (Il Duce), Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse-tung, etc. Such men were referred to in this verse as men of renown! Some dependable exegetes believe that the teaching here indicates that these (or at least some of them) were posterity produced by the mixed marriages, but, if that is the understanding of the place, there could have been no connection between these men of renown and the Nephilim, already mentioned as existing when those marriages occurred. In any case, the alleged union between supernatural and human beings is absolutely foreign to everything in the Bible, and particularly to this passage.
Verses 5, 6
And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
What is visible here is the total corruption of humanity. The very citadel of human life, the heart, which in Hebrew thought meant the mind, was devoted exclusively to the contemplation of evil, and there were no exceptions. Furthermore, there were no men anywhere (with the exception noted in Gen. 6:8) who varied from this pattern; and there were not even any occasions when any man left off the mental pursuit of wickedness! It would be difficult to devise a sentence that would any more effectively portray the corruption of humanity than does Gen. 6:5. That this is the result of the judicial hardening prophesied by Gen. 6:3 in which such a condition was foretold in the projected withdrawal of the Spirit of God from "striving with" man, is dramatically evident.
THE FIRST HARDENING OF HUMANITY
The entire Bible deals with the phenomenon of Judicial Hardening, and this is the first instance of it. Only four such occasions are evident in the Holy Scriptures, the others being: (2) the hardening of the entire pre-Christian world (Abraham excepted), as explained in Rom. 1; (3) the hardening of the whole of mankind (except a remnant) at the time of the First Advent of Christ, and (4) the final judicial hardening of the entire world just prior to the Second Advent of Christ, as depicted in Rev. 16.
Note:
The Hardening of humanity prior to the Flood
God's answer: The Flood
Exception: Noah
The Hardening of Rom. 1
God's answer: His Chosen People
Exception: The True Israel
The Hardening of mankind including the Jews
God's answer: The First Advent of Christ (mercy)
Exception: The remnant of the first Israel
The Hardening of the whole world (Rev. 16)
God's answer: The Second Advent of Christ (judgment)
Exception: The redeemed "in Christ"
It is fitting enough, and absolutely in accord with what is revealed in the prophets that the judgment should finally come at the end of the fourth Great Transgression of humanity. We believe that the peculiar expression found eight times in the opening chapters of the Book of Amos is explicitly related to the sequence given above. That expression is:
"For three transgressions of Damascus, yea for four, I will not turn away the punishment..." -- Amos 1:3.
This expression is repeated verbatim, (only the name of the offender being changed in each reference) no less than eight times; and in each case was followed by the imposition of divine judgment and punishment against the offender. As it was with them, who appear here as prophecies and tokens of the ultimate judgment upon all mankind, so shall it be with the entire Adamic race, which is now headed for its fourth and, we believe final, hardening prior to the Second Advent and final judgment before the Great White Throne. Certainly, we may dismiss as mere lack of discernment the scholarly dictum that this eight-times-repeated warning in Amos was merely a literary device of the prophet. In each instance of his use of it, he said, "Thus saith Jehovah." Gen. 6:6, And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
What is meant here is that, "God in consistency with his immutability, assumes a changed position in respect to changed man."F12 The expression that God repented (Jonah 3:10), or as here, "It repented Jehovah," cannot refer to any change in God; for as Malachi put it, "I, Jehovah, change not" (Malachi 3:6).
Verse 7
And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
The hardening and corruption of all mankind having become total and final, God announced the summary punishment and destruction of it; but before announcing the nature of the destruction, he indicated Noah as an exception, through whom a new beginning for mankind would come.
