Sons of God

Genesis 6:1–8 (ESV)

Increasing Corruption on Earth

6 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Genesis 6:9–13 (ESV)

Noah and the Flood

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. 13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

6:1–4. Few places in the Bible have engendered as much discussion and debate among interpreters as these four verses, with the debate centering primarily on the identity of the sons of God and the daughters of men. Several different views have been set forth. (1) The sons of God are angels (as the expression is also used in Jb 1:6; 2:1), described in 6:4 as Nephilim (which derives from the root meaning “to fall,” hence “fallen” angels), and sinned by taking human women (the daughters of men) and begetting children by them. (2) The sons of God are the male descendants of Seth, and the daughters of men are the female descendants of Cain, the sin therefore being that the righteous line of Seth was “corrupted” by intermingling with the “wicked” line of Cain. (3) The sons of God are early rulers, or kings, who established dynasties via polygamous (and thus sinful) marriages to the daughters of men.

INTERESTING ------Though long-standing and popular, the view that these sons of God in v. 2 are angels who sinned by marrying human women is to be dismissed since it makes no contextual sense—whether in the immediate context of v. 3, in which God’s reaction is exclusively toward man, the slightly larger context of what precedes and follows this episode (i.e., Adam’s genealogy and the flood, both focused on man, not the angels), or the broader thematic context of Genesis, this first “half” of which (chaps. 1–11) Genesis 6:3–4 (ESV) 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. represents God’s prosecution of human, not angelic, depravity. Also, the one other occurrence of the term Nephilim, in Nm 13:33, refers to men of large stature (like Goliath), not angels. Nor is there any evidence in Scripture that angels can in fact produce children (see Mt 22:30).

The view that A. the sons of God are righteous “Sethites” who sinned by marrying wicked “Cainite” women is likewise unsubstantiated by context, for there is no indication that Seth or his descendants were more righteous than anyone else, just as there is no indication that the descendants of Cain were more wicked than anyone else.. Neither the expression “sons of God” nor “daughters of man” is used anywhere else in the OT to designate an individual’s spiritual state or orientation. One must also wonder how truly righteous the Sethite line was if they collectively committed such a grave sin as marrying wicked women en masse.

3. The third view is that the sons of God were early rulers who entered into polygamous relationships and established royal dynasties. This is inconsistent with both God’s reaction in v. 3 to all of mankind as well as the larger theme of chaps. 1–11 concerning the depravity of humanity—not just a certain group of men. Nor is there any linguistic evidence, either from antiquity or from the Bible itself, that any group of early rulers or kings were ever called “the sons of God.”

4. A fourth view, consistent with both the context and language of the passage, views men (the sons of God) as “taking” women (the daughters of men) in marriage (for which the expression “to take a wife/woman” is normally used; Gn 28:6; 34:9, 16; etc.). The expression “sons of God” should thus be understood, simply, as an idiomatic designation for men[mankind] reflecting the creation of man first by God, just as the expression “daughters of men” is clearly intended as an idiomatic designation for women (as in Gn 24:13, where the same expression refers to women generally, not wicked women). Likewise consistent with both this contextual understanding as well as its use in Nm 13:33 to denote men of large stature (such as Goliath), the term Nephilim in v. 4 should be understood as an alternative designation of the same group described in the next clause as mighty men (gibborim, lit., “proven warriors”), that is, men who because of their stature and military prowess were objects of infamy (anshe ha-shem, otherwise translated “men of renown”) and of great moment when they “fell” in battle (or caused others to do so). Furthermore, this view is consistent with the following statement expressed by God in response to the activity of vv. 1–2, that My Spirit shall not strive with man forever. Though there is some debate about the meaning of the verb “strive,” the Hebrew has “abide (yadon). “Abide” is supported by the LXX (katameine), the Vulgate (permanebit), and the Arabic translation of the Saadia ben Joseph Gaon (yanghamidu)—as well as by the similar semantic use of the same Hebrew root in 1Ch 21:27, in the noun “sheath” (i.e., that in which the sword “abides”). Whichever view one assigns to the verb, the point of the verse in context is essentially the same. That is, in response to the expanding human population, God dramatically limited the duration that the “breath” (Hb. ruah, otherwise translated here as “spirit”) which He breathed into man (see 2:7) would abide or remain within him in his depraved state. In other words, as an expression of His mercy and love—not judgment—God here (as in His “expulsion” of man from the garden) acted to limit the potential expression of human depravity (and hence to limit His potential judgment) by reducing the human lifespan from the multiple centuries attested in chap. 5 to about 120 years. There is no indication, moreover, that this reduction in lifespan was to be immediate—a steady decline in lifespan is evident throughout Genesis (205 for Terah, 175 for Abraham, 180 for Isaac, 130 for Jacob), ending with the death of Joseph at 110 years (50:22).

The Moody Bible Commentary c. The Measure of True “Spirituality” (6:5–8)

6:5–8. God also stated that every intent (lit., “impulse”) of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually. This verse establishes the principle of human depravity, that humanity not only has the potential of sinning through wicked deeds, but also that everyone already is a sinner postfall because of wicked thoughts. Verse 5 makes clear that God’s assessment of people is based on what they think, as opposed only to what they do. This principle, not surprisingly, is reiterated time and again throughout the Bible as the unchanging ideal, both for Israelites who would faithfully follow the law of Moses (cf. Dt 30:6; Pr 23:7a) as well as for Christians who would faithfully follow “the law of Christ” (Mt 5:22, 28; Mk 7:20–23).

The NASB translates the opening clause of v. 6 as the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth. The expression “was sorry” (Hb., [va-]yinnahem) should not be understood in the sense of “regretted” but rather in the sense of “was pained” or “was sorrowful, grieved, or sad.” God was not “second-guessing” His decision to create humanity, for His decisions and actions are always perfect and exactly as they should be (Nm 23:19; Rm 11:29). God was demonstrating His undiminished concern for humankind. What people do—and even what they think—affects the heart of the One who created them, and He continues to take an active, loving interest in peoples’ lives. From this perspective, the content of vv. 7–8 must be understood: God determined to blot out man … from the face of the land, not merely because he had offended God’s righteous standard, but because such action was necessary for the welfare of man himself, to preserve man from the full effects of his unmitigated depravity. Much as when one severs a gangrenous limb, so will a “stump” of humanity—although imperfect—remain embodied in the family of Noah who, uniquely among the people of his day, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

2. The Flood: Humanity’s Chance to “Come Clean” of Depravity (6:9–9:29)

In this narrative of the flood God made clear that the cause of human depravity is not nurture (environment) but rather nature (who people are as a result of Adam’s sin). For this reason God’s judgment of humanity was executed by means of a flood and not, for example, through disease (2Sm 24:15), war (2Kg 24:10–14), sudden death (Is 37:36), famine, or wild beasts (Ezk 5:17). By wiping out the majority of depraved humanity

6:5–8. God also stated that every intent (lit., “impulse”) of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually. This verse establishes the principle of human depravity, that humanity not only has the potential of sinning through wicked deeds, but also that everyone already is a sinner postfall because of wicked thoughts. Verse 5 makes clear that God’s assessment of people is based on what they think, as opposed only to what they do. This principle, not surprisingly, is reiterated time and again throughout the Bible as the unchanging ideal, both for Israelites who would faithfully follow the law of Moses (cf. Dt 30:6; Pr 23:7a) as well as for Christians who would faithfully follow “the law of Christ” (Mt 5:22, 28; Mk 7:20–23).

The NASB translates the opening clause of v. 6 as the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth. The expression “was sorry” (Hb., [va-]yinnahem) should not be understood in the sense of “regretted” but rather in the sense of “was pained” or “was sorrowful, grieved, or sad.” God was not “second-guessing” His decision to create humanity, for His decisions and actions are always perfect and exactly as they should be (Nm 23:19; Rm 11:29). God was demonstrating His undiminished concern for humankind. What people do—and even what they think—affects the heart of the One who created them, and He continues to take an active, loving interest in peoples’ lives. From this perspective, the content of vv. 7–8 must be understood: God determined to blot out man … from the face of the land, not merely because he had offended God’s righteous standard, but because such action was necessary for the welfare of man himself, to preserve man from the full effects of his unmitigated depravity. Much as when one severs a gangrenous limb, so will a “stump” of humanity—although imperfect—remain embodied in the family of Noah who, uniquely among the people of his day, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

2. The Flood: Humanity’s Chance to “Come Clean” of Depravity (6:9–9:29)

In this narrative of the flood God made clear that the cause of human depravity is not nurture (environment) but rather nature (who people are as a result of Adam’s sin). For this reason God’s judgment of humanity was executed by means of a flood and not, for example, through disease (2Sm 24:15), war (2Kg 24:10–14), sudden death (Is 37:36), famine, or wild beasts (Ezk 5:17). By wiping out the majority of depraved humanity

Rydelnik, M. A., & Vanlaningham, M. (Eds.). (2014). Genesis. In The moody bible commentary (p. 56). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

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