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The Reference Desk | Who Were the Nephilim?

The Reference Desk Series 2025

A handful of verses in Genesis 6 have sparked a good bit of controversy among scholars in both Judaism and Christianity. Genesis 6:1-4 (CSB) says,

When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.

This text brings several questions to the surface, the most prominent being: Who are the sons of God and the daughters of men? Most theologians agree on the identity of the women in the text which is a small miracle in itself! They are believed to be human women. The debate mainly revolves around the identity of the “sons of God.” While a small minority might categorize them as royalty (a line of kings), most scholars believe they are either angels or men.

We will take a brief look into each of these views to explore the arguments on both sides. But before we do, it’s important to remember godly men and women have disagreed about this text for centuries. I want to encourage you to think deeply and form your own view while holding it loosely—with humility.

I also want us to remember that extrabiblical books—like 1 Enoch or the Book of Giants—are informative sources, but they are not inspired Scripture. While these books do help us understand the worldview of those who lived centuries before us, that doesn’t mean the author’s interpretation was correct.

“Sons of God” as Angels

In this view, the “sons of God” (Genesis 6:2) were angels who went outside the bounds of God’s commands and procreated with human women, producing superhuman giants who were half angel and half human. They are referred to in the text as Nephilim, a title derived from the original Hebrew word naphal, which means “fallen.”1

Those Who Hold This View Might Cite the Following Evidence:
  1. The original language – The Hebrew for “sons of God” is bene Elohim.2 This term is most often used in Scripture to refer to heavenly beings, in such passages as Job 1:6 and Job 2:1. In Job 38:7, the sons of God (bene Elohim) shouted for joy when the earth’s foundation was laid, before humans were created! The related Hebrew term bene elim is also used in Psalm 29:1 and Psalm 82 to refer to supernatural creatures. However, Psalm 82:6 seems to use the term bene Elohim to refer to humans; so, while it’s most often used of angels, there is room for disagreement on its use in Genesis 6.
  2. The age of their position – Understanding bene Elohim in Genesis 6 as fallen angels is the oldest historical position and most popular view in ancient Judaism and the early church. In addition, writings from the third century BC expound upon this view in extra-biblical resources like the Book of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees, the Book of Giants, and the writings of Josephus.3 The view of bene Elohim as human men didn’t surface until the fifth century AD when the church was defending the supremacy of Christ in light of angel worship.4
  3. New Testament connections – Those who see the “sons of God” as angels would also cite New Testament references such as 1 Peter 3:18-22 as confirmation that the spirits in prison from Noah’s day are the same fallen angels in the Genesis 6 account. They might also make connections between the sons of God as fallen angels in 2 Peter 2:4-5 and Jude 6.
  4. Context of the verses – Proponents of this view would see the account of the Nephilim as a prelude to the flood, explaining the need to wipe out corruption from the earth.
  5. Parallels with the fall of man – Many who hold this view would make a connection between Genesis 3—the fall of man—and Genesis 6—the fall of angels. Here are some connections they acknowledge:
    • In Genesis 1:28 people were instructed to be fruitful and multiply while in Genesis 6:1 it tells us that people had increased on the earth.
    • In Genesis 2:24 marriage was spoken of just before the fall while in Genesis 6:2 we find conversations about marriage between the sons of God and daughters of men just before the flood.
    • There is also a similar construction in the Hebrew that we might miss in English. In Genesis 3, the people saw (ra’ah in Hebrew) the fruit was good (towb in Hebrew) and they took (laqach in Hebrew) resulting in consequences—separation from God. In Genesis 6, the sons of God saw (ra’ah in Hebrew) the daughters of men were beautiful/good (towb in Hebrew) and they took (laqach in Hebrew) wives for themselves which resulted in consequences—a worldwide flood.

“Sons of God” as Human Men

A contingent of theologians, pastors, and Christ-followers view the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 as godly human men—the descendants of Seth who intermarried with ungodly human women—the daughters of Cain. They see the Nephilim as those born of these ungodly unions—fallen ones.

THOSE WHO HOLD THIS VIEW MIGHT CITE THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE:
  1. Old Testament support – Those who see the “sons of God” as men would point to Genesis 4:25–5:32 and Genesis 4:1-24 as indicating two distinct lines of human descent from Adam—the godly line of Seth and the ungodly line of Cain. They might also present the argument that God’s people are sometimes called God’s sons in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 14:1; Jeremiah 3:19).
  2. Context of the passage – Proponents of this view could place Genesis 6:1-4 as a summary of chapter 5 rather than a prelude to the flood. They might see it as a recap that the sons and daughters of Adam have greatly increased in number, married, and continued to have children. They would point out the emphasis in the passage on humans not angels. It is humans that the spirit of God will not contend with forever (Genesis 6:3). God sees the wickedness of the human race and evil of the human heart (Genesis 6:5).
  3. New Testament connections – Jesus said in Matthew 22:30 that angels in heaven do not marry, nor are they given in marriage.
  4. Less controversial – Early church fathers like Augustine and John Calvin championed this view and it was carried into the Middle Ages as less “disturbing” to comprehend.
  5. Lack of clear connection to giants – The text of Genesis 6 does not clearly state that the Nephilim are actually the offspring of the bene Elohim so there is no need to provide an explanation for their superhuman size in this view.

Other Questions

What does it mean that their days would be 120 years?
  • Some might say that the 120 years was the length of time until the flood would come since we know people after the flood often lived 500 years or more. They may cite 1 Peter 3:18-20 where it mentions that God was patient in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared.
  • Another view would contend that after the flood, lifespans eventually became closer to the 120 years mentioned in Genesis 6. This didn’t happen overnight, instead it was a gradual decrease. For example, Noah’s son Shem died when he was 600, but his grandson only lived 438 years. Further generations continued on this downward cycle with Abraham living to 175 and Moses to 120.
If the Nephilim were wiped out by the flood, how were they still around in Numbers 13?
  • Some contend that Noah had giant DNA so that through Ham giants descended through Nimrod (Ham’s descendant).
  • Others might say that fallen angels continued to procreate with human women after the flood creating more Nephilim. While the Nephilim are only mentioned by name in Genesis 6 and Numbers 13, we find references to giants in Deuteronomy 3:11 (King Og had a massive bed), 1 Samuel 17:4 (Goliath), and 2 Samuel 21:16-22 (a giant warrior and his sons).

We may not have conclusive answers to any of our questions regarding Genesis 6 or the Nephilim, but we can trust that God revealed as much of the information as He intended for us to have. We can seek unity with those on the other side of our views seeking to understand their positions with humility.

This article was written by Melissa Spoelstra. Check out her new Bible study on Angels to learn more.

Angels Bible study by Melissa Spoelstra

In this 8-session Bible study, join Melissa Spoelstra as she traverses the terrain of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation to learn about angels—who they are, what they do, and what they have to do with you. There’s no reason to fear or ignore what’s happening in the supernatural, unseen realm—we can live with confidence that God is in control of it all. Angels is a call to put your hope in the God of angel armies who reigns over heaven and earth. Learn more about the study!

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Works Cited

  1. Strong’s H5307: nāpal, Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5307/csb/wlc/0-1/.
  2. Strong’s H1121: bēn, Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1121/csb/wlc/0-1/
    Strong’s H430: ‘ĕlōhîm, Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h430/csb/wlc/0-1/.
  3. K. A. Mathews, Genesis 1-11:26, vol. 1A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 325–326.
    J. A. McGuire-Moushon, “Angel, Critical Issues,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
    Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1–15, vol. 1, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1987), 139.
  4. John H. Walton, Genesis, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), 291.