The Nephilim

by David Epstein

February 4, 2001

 

Just before the story of Noah comes a strange reference to the Nephilim (Genesis, Chapter 6, verse 4): “The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown”. It’s not apparent whether they are people, creatures, divine beings, or anything else! In any event, this passage is loaded with a lot of questions, content, ideas, and as you’ll see, humerous allusions.

 

First, it says the Nephilim were IN the earth. Were these subterranean beings? Does this point to the existence of a civilization existing inside the earth, a connection to the lost continent of Atlantis perhaps?! This is highly speculative at best; at worst, it’s pandering to metaphysical or historical nonsense! Nevertheless, it’s certainly worth mentioning because the language of the Torah is filled with many interesting references which go against our contemporary scientific knowledge. Remember that Adam originated from the dust of the earth. In this vein, the Nephilim might be descendents of Adam who surfaced from their subterranean dwellings!

 

Second, the phrase “sons of God” can be interpreted in a number of ways. It could mean the men of earth, a poetic description of people in general. Yet take a look at a preceding verse: Genesis, 6:1: “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives, whomsoever they chose.” If the “sons of God” and “men who began to multiply of the face of the earth” are interchangeable descriptions of the same people, then these “sons” married their own daughters. Any sexual relations they had were incestuous. On the other hand, if the “sons” and “men” were different, then the sons actually must be a different species from ordinary people. They have the higher status of being direct descendants of God. They could have come from the high heavens, or were born on Earth, but in either case, this represents some type of breeding between different species.

 

Strange brew indeed! Add to the excitement the possibility that the Nephilim and the “sons of God” might be different species and it becomes further convoluted. And if this mixed species breeding has any semblance of serious ontology, then we are left with some fairly troubling conclusions about our origins as a Chosen People. Were we chosen to be a genetic project, the bizarre offspring of other-wordly beings and women of this earth?

 

OK, careful with that butterfly net!