Sons of God

SONS (CHILDREN) OF GOD

I. In the Old Testament

a. Individuals of the class ‘god’

‘Son’ (Heb. bēn, Aram. bar) is commonly used in Semitic languages to denote membership of a class, as ‘son of Israel’ for ‘Israelite’, ‘son of might’ for ‘valorous’. ‘Son of God’ in Heb. means ‘god’ or ‘god-like’ rather than ‘son of (the) God (Yahweh)’. In Jb. 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Ps. 29:1; 89:6, the ‘sons of God’ form Yahweh’s heavenly train or subordinates, though lxx Job calls them angeloi of God (cf. Dt. 32:8 lxx, whence rsv ‘according to the number of the sons of God’ supported by a Heb. Dead Sea Scroll text, 4Q Dtq, against MT ‘sons of Israel’). Similarly the ‘son of the gods’ in Dn. 3:25 is called the ‘angel of the Jews’ God’ in 3:28.

Source: The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, pp 1122–1123

When God’s heart was broken in Eden humans were cast out of direct access to God. When God’s heart was broken again by the mating of sons of God and women.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

Increasing Corruption on Earth

6 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them,

The phrase “came in to” is unfortunately translated to literally mean intercourse. After the flood humans messed it up again with the tower of Babel. God had already kicked us out of Eden, flooded the earth and promised not to again, what was left? Distance. He put the nations under rule of his sons.

English Standard Version Chapter 32

Remember the days of old;

consider the years of many generations;

ask your father, and he will show you,

your elders, and they will tell you.

8  When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,

w

God divided the nations at the Tower of Babel.

English Standard Version Chapter 11

The Tower of Babel

11 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD

They weren’t kind or fair to the people they ruled:

English Standard Version Psalm 82

82 A PSALM OF ASAPH.

1  God has taken his place in the divine council;

Sons of the Most High / Sons of God

English Standard Version Chapter 32

Deuteronomy 32:8