Dr Cathey's Blog, A Perplexing Problem Passage - Genesis 6:1-4, Tuesday, October 11, 2005; As a Hebrew Bible/Old Testament professor I perennially like to engage in discussing a perplexing problem passage (read here enigmatic passage) from the Hebrew Bible. Today our passage is as follows.
וַיְהִי כִּי־הֵחֵל הָאָדָם לָרֹב עַל־פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה וּבָנֹות יֻלְּדוּ לָהֶם׃
וַיִּרְאוּ בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת־בְּנֹות הָאָדָם כִּי טֹבֹת הֵנָּה וַיִּקְחוּ לָהֶם נָשִׁים מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר בָּחָרוּ׃
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה לֹא־יָדֹון רוּחִי בָאָדָם לְעֹלָם בְּשַׁגַּם הוּא בָשָׂר וְהָיוּ יָמָיו מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה׃
הַנְּפִלִים הָיוּ בָאָרֶץ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וְגַם אַחֲרֵי־כֵן אֲשֶׁר יָבֹאוּ בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים אֶל־בְּנֹות
הָאָדָם וְיָלְדוּ לָהֶם הֵמָּה הַגִּבֹּרִים אֲשֶׁר מֵעֹולָם אַנְשֵׁי הַשֵּׁם׃
Now this above passage is none other than the famous Sons of God/Daughters of Men passage in Genesis 6. I have, in the past, collected a number of interesting interpretations on this passage. As best as I can tell the majority of "sane" interpretations fall into three broad categories.
Category One - Cosmologically mixed race. Essentially held by the Early Church Fathers this view argued that the Sons of God were none other than demonic beings which came to earth and married beautiful women. Their offspring were known as the nephilim who were men of renowned. I have often wondered why the offspring did not include some type of women of renowned? This view has largely been abandoned in the modern era. Commentators have exclusively relied on a misinterpretation of a passage in Matt. 22:30 which reads - ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀναστάσει οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίζονται, ἀλλ’ ὡς ἄγγελοι ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ εἰσιν. A close reading of Matthew shows that Christ was speaking about the act of marriage and not intercourse per se. Christ simply says that we will be like the angels in heaven neither given in marriage nor marrying. After all, in the Hebrew Bible, angels eat, sleep, drink, walk, and talk. Lastly, it seems to me that 1 Pet. 3:18-20; 2 Pet. 2:4; and Jude 6-7 all seem to give some type of credence to the idea of "cosmologically mixed race."
Category Two - Religious Mixed Race. This view slowly began to replace the cosmologically mixed race early on. The adherents to this view argue that the Sons of God are none other than the godly line of Seth. They become apostate through their marriage of ungodly Canaanite women. If this is the case - and for the moment I can buy this argument - why is this periscope placed at the beginning of the Flood narrative? How can this act be so evil that the narrator notes
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶמְחֶה אֶת־הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָאתִי מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה מֵאָדָם עַד־בְּהֵמָה עַד־רֶמֶשׂ וְעַד־עֹוף הַשָּׁמָיִם כִּי נִחַמְתִּי כִּי עֲשִׂיתִם׃
Category Three - Sociological mixed race. This view understands the Son's of God to refer to the ancient Near Eastern aristocrats who in essence acted as despots. They "took" for themselves women in order to gain offspring that would essentially carry on their name or dynasty. While this theory does have more to back it up philologically (e.g. Ex. 21:6; 22:8; and Ps. 82:1, 6) I am not convinced that the narrator saw this episode in this fashion. True, the offspring could have been called the Nephilim or even Gibborim but how they play a role in causing Yahweh to bring the great calamity upon humanity I haven't figured out. There you have it. I am not convinced about number two and three is just a bit off for my tastes.
In die dagen waren er [9]reuzen op de aarde, en ook daarna, als Gods zonen tot de dochteren der mensen [10]ingegaan waren, [11]en zich [kinderen] gewonnen hadden; deze zijn [12]de geweldigen, die [13]van ouds geweest zijn, [14]mannen van name.
9. Dat is, mensen van langere statuur en meerdere sterkte dan anderen. Zie Num.13:33. Het Hebr. woord komt van vallen, omdat zij, van God afvallig zijnde, de mensen met allerlei wrevel en tirannie overvielen, God noch mensen vrezende; waardoor een ieder, die hen zag, het hart als ontviel. Dit wordt hier ook verhaald als een bijzondere oorzaak van Gods toorn.
10. Of, gekomen. Hiermede wordt heuselijk en eerbaarlijk bedoeld de bijslaap van man en vrouw. Alzo onder hfdst.16 vs.2, hfdst.30 vs.3, enz.
11. Of, zo hebben zij hun [te weten haren mannen] kinderen gebaard.
12. Of, machtigen.
13. Hebr. van eeuwigheid. Zie Jer.2:20.
14. Dat is, vermaarde, beroemde mannen, die naar het oordeel der wereld grote dingen hadden uitgericht; gelijk integendeel gesproken wordt van mensen van geen naam, Job 30:8.
Gods zonen (Gen 6:4)