Scriptural
Studies
Are The Nephilim Fallen Angels or a Hybrid Race?
Genesis 6:1-6 is not about fallen angels or hybrid race!
By Nab B. August 8, 2023
“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.” (Gen 6:4)
Believe it or not, everything hinges on the word nephilim! A red flag should be raised whenever translators leave certain words untranslated; words such as Nephilim, Lucifer, Baptism, Rapture, Apostasy, etc.
Nephilim is a common descriptive noun that should have been translated as "fallen ones". By leaving it untranslated, the reader is mentally deceived to accept a certain doctrine. Brilliant deception in my opinion!
On The Word Nephilim
The "nephilim" is word #5303 in Strong’s Concordance which is defined as "giants" (not so accurate definition)! The root word of nephilim is word #5307 ‘naphal’ which is a very common verb that means to fall or lie. Nephilim occurs 3 times, but the root word (naphal) occurs 435 times. An example of how naphal is used is when a tree falls or a man falls to the ground.
So, translators intentionally left Nephilim untranslated and capitalized to appear like a proper noun denoting a hybrid human-demonic giant race!
Who were The Sons of God?
The argument which says that the phrase "sons of God" applies only to angels has no support. Here are two arguments against it:
"Sons of God" can also apply to humans as shown by these verses. (Ex 4:22-23; Deut 14:1; Jer 3:19).
"Sons of God" or "sons of Elohim" could also mean "sons of the nobles and men of high rank." Elohim often means mighty ones as shown by these verses:
"Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods [Elohim]?" (Ex 15:11)
"I will bring judgment on all the gods [Elohim: mighty] of Egypt." (Ex 12:12)
"If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges [Elohim]." (Ex 22:8)
"If one man sins against another, the judge [Elohim] shall judge him." (1 Sam 2:25)
"Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty [Elohim]." (Psa 29:1)
Who Are These Nephilim?
Nephilim simply means the fallen ones. They are not a hybrid race of giants! They were tyrannical human beings. But fell from what? They fell dramatically from God’s ways and his purpose for man. These supposed “sons of God” went on a rampage having multiple women (polygamy), violence, possible rape, bullying, corruption and tyranny.
This early fall of man (nephilim: fallen ones) was so great that God was forced to say this about man:
“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.” (Gen 6:5)
“The Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” (Gen 6:6)
“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” (Gen 6:11)
“God saw the earth...it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” (Gen 6:12)
Now, you would think if there was a demonic connection to this, the scriptures would have said so. But there is NOTHING mentioned! Zero! Note the underlined words in the 4 passages above. They were all about:
Man's wickedness,
Man's evil heart,
Man's violence,
Man's corruption.
You don't need to go far to guess who the "nephilim" were:
"The same became mighty MEN who were of old, the MEN of renown [men of the name]." (Genesis 6:4)
Did you catch that? They were mighty, violent, tyrant MEN, who wanted to be "MEN of renown" or "Men of the name"—of fame and power. They were the sons of very corrupt mighty human parents called "sons of god" (sons of Elohim: or mighty ones) (see v. 2). They showed their might through tyranny and likely led others into all kinds of mischief.
“In Those Days, and Also Afterward”
What about the argument that “The nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward.”? Keep in mind, that the writer (Moses) was looking back on events that happened and comparing them to what occurred in his day. This is important and advantageous.
The passage simply means that these fallen people ("sons of god" or "sons of Elohim" or "sons of mighty ones") were the mighty ones living at the start of that corruption shown by the phrase "in those days". The same people existed "afterward" or after their corrupt and wicked children were born. Then all together (parents and offspring) were called the "nephilim", "mighty ones", "men of fame" and " men of renown".
There is another possibility: The writer (might) have pointed out that the spirit and attitude of these fallen men before the flood also existed after the flood. Perhaps he had in mind the builders of the Tower of Babel who were also "Mighty...men of renown", who said:
“Come...and let us make a NAME for ourselves.” (Genesis 11:4)
The phrase "make a name" is the same as "men of renown."
The word renown is the Hebrew word SHEM which means NAME. Name means “fame, reputation, authority”. ( Hebrew 'SHEM' #8034 ). It denotes a higher rank or position.
Jesus prophesied that the spirit and attitude that prevailed in Noah’s day would be the hallmark of the “last age”. He was not speaking of the appearance of a hybrid race!
The Nephilim in Canaan!
Then you get Christians talking nonsense about a remaining hybrid demonic race in Canaan! The 10 spies came back with an exaggerated report to scare their kinsmen saying:
“There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak [neck: perhaps being taller than usual], and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Num 13:33)
The translators should have used "nephilim" or "fallen ones" in the above verse instead of "giants". To the Israelites, the Canaanites were a fallen people (not from the sky!). They were heathens, corrupt, and tyrants.
The Genesis account indirectly tells us that even though the nephilim were very strong people, they did not threaten the spies; otherwise, how could they walk into their supposed demonic cities, see them face to face, and still be able to bring a hefty amount of food without a scratch on them?
They were not a hybrid demonic race, 500 feet tall. In fact, in one fell swoop, Joshua, “Came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron.” (Josh 11:21) In his battle with them, there was no mention of any extraterrestrial encounters that Joshua had to face.
The Nephilim Are Not Fallen Angels!
Some might argue that they were half men and half demons! First, there is no proof of that. What is established and known is this: God ordained that no such intermixing can exist between different species, let alone between a human and a demon! The best proof comes from the highest authority, Jesus, who said,
"They neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven."
There you have it. Case closed! Celestial beings cannot procreate, straight from the mouth of Jesus.
I tackled this subject because of what is believed about the nephilim or the "fallen ones" among many Christians. Some leading figures in Christianity make "merchandise" of misinterpreted scriptures by selling books, movies, TV series, documentaries, and loads of interviews on Christian and non-Christian networks!
There is no hybrid human demonic race hiding somewhere to appear again. We should leave these fabled stories behind and stick to the original and intended meaning of the scriptures.