The episode in Genesis 6:1-4 is quite difficult to interpret and has been the subject of much debate. Although there are various interpretations of this passage, historically two views have dominated the debate: (1) the angelic descent view and (2) the human seed line view.

It is perhaps necessary to note here that our translators have translated seven different Hebrew words by the term giants: nephilim, gibborim, enachim, rephaim, emim, and zamzummim; by these appellations are probably meant in general persons of great knowledge, piety, courage, wickedness, etc., and sometimes men of enormous stature. [It is also notable that the term is later used to refer to the giants who lived in the land of Canaan when the Israelites came to occupy it.

The Nephilim are not necessarily the descendants of the Sons of God and the daughters of men, because the Nephilim were already giants on earth when the Sons of God united with the daughters of men.

In Dr. Peter Gentry’s opinion, Moses is telling us that the Nephilim should not be considered mythological, and did not come from the cohabitation between the Angels and mankind. They were simply large people, similar to the sons of Anak that we see around the biblical Gath area at the time of the conquest of the promised land and again at the time of David. Some historians claim that a common legend or myth in those days was that the great people were not fully human but rather a mixed species of human and angelic procreation.  With this reference to the Nephilim, Moses is demystifying the subject of the Nephilim.

Summary of the Seed-line viewpoint

The seed-line view holds that the godly line of Seth (Gen. 4:25), which has been central to Genesis since Gen. 5:3, begins to marry unbelieving women (“whomsoever they choose”) without reference to their faith. These women would be largely represented by the Cainite line (Gen. 4:17ff.). This seems to be the proper interpretation because it fits the context and avoids strange results. The mention of Nephalim or giants is only a parenthetical mention of their existentiality to disprove the misconception that giants are half human and half angel.

The angelic viewpoint presented

The angelic interpretation is based on the following main arguments:

(1) The “sons of God” could be a reference to angels, as we can see in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. Therefore, this designation can easily be applied to angels. Thus, this designation can easily be applied to angels.

(2) The word nephilim (Gen. 6:4) means giants, which may be the case in Num. 13:33. This term, though debatable, may apply to angels. This term, though debated, may fit this presentation in Genesis 6.

(3) Passages such as 1 Pet. 3:19-20; 2 Pet. 2:4; and Jude 6-7 support this interpretation. Proponents of the angelic view of the “sons of God” find in these three New Testament passages what they consider to be confirmation of their view.

Moses simply states that the Nephilim were a group of people present at that time in history. So far when we meet a very large person we comment, “he is not even human”. But yes, he is.

However, the evidence for this angelic interpretation is not convincing for the following reasons.

The angelic viewpoint evaluated.

(1) The concept “sons of God” can certainly mean angels, but it can also refer to God’s people (Exo. 13:15; Jer. 3:19; Gal. 3:26; etc.). Moreover, Genesis has not mentioned angels up to this point, so their sudden appearance would be surprising, especially since they are not named as angels. But in the final analysis, the beings in Genesis 6 could not be fallen angels and associates of Satan, because they would not be called “sons of God,” they would not die as normal humans… whereas the other giants seen in later times died as normal humans.

(2) The word “Nephilim” (a rare term appearing only three times in Scripture) can be translated as “fallen” and thus can be applied to notorious sinners. Its verb form (“fallen”) appears dozens of times, suggesting its ethical significance.

(3) The New Testament passages do not mention any cohabitation of angels with women, and certainly not their marrying them. 1 Peter 3:19 does not mention angels, but refers to the wicked men of Noah’s time, who were now only spirits until they are reunited with their bodies in the final resurrection seen at the end of Revelation. The other two New Testament passages refer to the original fall of the angels, not to something that occurs later in Genesis 6.

(4) The fact that giants are mentioned in the context of the Nephilim does not help the argument. We see other giants in the Bible, such as the Emim (Deut. 2:10-11), the Zamzummim (Deut. 2:20-21), King Og of Bashan (Deut. 3:11), Goliath (1 Sam. 17:4-7), and more. Some historians hold that a common legend or myth in those days was that the great people were not fully human but rather a mixed species of human and angelic procreation, and some coined the term “fallen ones” or “Nephalim” to refer to this half-species, and Moses wants them to know that these great people already existed at this time, but that they are of supernatural origin.

(5) Jesus teaches that angels do not marry (Matt. 22:30; Mark 12:25), although Genesis 6:2 speaks of these “sons of God” taking wives (cp. Gen. 4:19; 11:29; 12:19; 31:50). Only in this difficult passage of Scripture do we have something that people interpret as angels marrying humans.

(6) Angels are beings of a different order, since they are spirit beings (Heb. 1:14). When they would take on a visible, tangible form, they would do so only for a time and would certainly not possess human DNA that would allow procreation while dwelling on earth. Jesus even cites a seemingly obvious principle in John 4: that which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. There is no procreation between species, much less between humans and spirits. Angels do not procreate, nor do they have the power to create something physical, such as a sperm.

(7) In Genesis 6 God’s judgment is directed against men, not angels (Genesis 6:3, 5-6, 13).

(8) Grammatically In Hebrew, a continuous narrative of events begins each sentence with the Hebrew word we translate as “And.” Note this in the narrative of Genesis chapter one. “Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And there was evening, and there was morning} 6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven: and. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 9  And God said, Let the waters that are under the firmament be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11And  And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, and herb yielding seed, and a fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.” Thus the narrative continues. But note that this pattern varies when the narration is interrupted by a parenthetical insertion that is not part of the narrated story.

Let’s go back to Genesis 6 with more narration, Genesis 6 “1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply upon the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 And the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they took them wives of all that they desired. 3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for he also is flesh: but his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4 In those days there were giants in the earth; and also after this, when the sons of GOD came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare them sons, they became mighty men, men of renown. 5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of their heart was only evil continually.

Verse 4 is a parenthesis to explain a reality at this time. There already existed the giants.

נפלים nephilim , fde נפל naphal , “fell away.” Those who had apostatized or fallen away from the true religion. This word, which appears only in the plural, is translated “giants” in many translations, one in Genesis 6:4 , relating to the antediluvians; the other in Numbers 13:33, relating to the sons of Anak in Canaan.

The Nephilim are not necessarily identified with the children said to have been born “of the daughters of men” for “the sons of God” (Genesis 6:2, Genesis 6:4); indeed, grammatically speaking they seem to be distinguished from the latter as on earth before this unholy mixture took place. But it is still not easy to be sure of the interpretation of this strange passage.

In the second case, the Nephilim clearly represent men of gigantic stature, in comparison to whom the Israelites felt as if they were “grasshoppers.” This agrees with Genesis 6:4, “the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.” The Septuagint translates the original word by γιγαντες, (giants) which literally means earth-born, and which we, following them, call giants, which we generally conceive to mean persons of enormous stature. But the word, when rightly understood, makes a very just distinction between the sons of men and the sons of God; those were the nephilim, the fallen men born on earth, with the animal and diabolical mind. These were the sons of God, born from above; sons of the kingdom, because sons of God.

The same became mighty men – men of renown – גברים gibborim , which we translate as mighty men, properly means conquerors, heroes, from גבר gabar , “prevailed, was victorious” and השם אנשי anshey hashshem, “men of name,” ανθρωποι ονομαστοι, Septuagint; the same as we translate men of renown, renominati , twice called, as the word implies, having one name which they derived from their fathers, and another which they acquired by their daring exploits and enterprises.

The disobedient person is allowed (by God) to unite with the Fallen/Disobedient Spirit as punishment, as mentioned in Revelation as the Lake of Fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

The fallen spiritual influence on Men in bodies of flesh is not what has occurred in Genesis 6:1-4. since Jesus said that what is flesh is flesh and what is Spirit is spirit the two states do not mix at the procreative level.

Ro 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men, doing that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves the recompense due to their error. 28 And because they would not retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 full of all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, greed, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; murmurers, 30 slanderers, haters of God, despisers, proud, boasters, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, violators of the covenant, without natural affection, unforgiving, without mercy: 32 Who, knowing the judgment of God, that they that do such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Compare Romans 1:27-32 with Jude 1:7.

Jude 1:7 As Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities likewise, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 8 So also these unclean dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

Sodom and Gomorrah are similar to the angels who abandoned their first condition.

The most obvious interpretation of the nebulous passage is that the Nephilim were present at that time, and it seems to indicate that Moses is purposely showing us that they were not the offspring of the union but simply a group of people who were present at that time. Hence, it debunks the misconception that the Nephilim were half angel half human.

The text also allows that the existence of the Nephilim is not related to the sin of the angels, and that they were ‘on earth’ both before and after the angelic incursion.

“The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of man and they bore them sons. These were the mighty men of old, the men of renown.”

The Bible places the blame for the world’s problems on human rebellion and disobedience toward God’s covenant, not on an angelic incursion of Genesis 6. Only during Israel’s silent years, when the uninspired books of the Apocrypha were written, does the idea that the nephalim were half-spiritual creatures appear. The rest of the Book of Enoch and the Apocrypha attempt to integrate the pagan belief of Greek mythology into the scriptural account, trying to introduce the idea that the myths of pagan deities and the Old Testament are in agreement.