Sons Of God are NOT Angels they are humans

Sons Of God are NOT Angels they are humans 

It is a common belief, held by many, that it is the Angels that are referred to as Sons of God in both Genesis 6:2 and 6:4 and that the Angels mated with humans and produced offspring commonly known as the Nephilim who were giants. This is a belief I myself held until I researched this  in more detail. This writing is not dealing with the Nephilim specifically, I shall address them in a separate writing. (Who were the Nephilim)

It may surprise some people to learn that the bible doesn’t actually state that the Angels are the sons of God and in order to believe that it does circular reasoning must be used, meaning it must already be believed that the angels are sons of God and that they mated with human womEn in order for the bible to actually support this belief.

There are a number of other verses that are used to support this doctrine as well and we shall examine each one in detail and in context and I will argue that the Bible never refers to the Angels as sons of God. The Angels did not interbreed with humans and this was not the reason God flooded the earth as many believe.  We must not take any verse or verses on their own and formulate a doctrine based on those selected verses. It has to have biblical support in order to make an interpretation accurate, otherwise we lead ourselves down a dangerous path of building doctrines based on single verses or misunderstanding what the verse is meaning. We must also be willing and open to accept correction if the interpretation and belief we hold can be shown to be incorrect.

First off, I will start with reiterating my claim that the Sons of God are NOT the Angels and the Bible never refers to them as such. The Giants/Nephilim are NOT the offspring of Angel human interbreeding. I will demonstrate that the Sons of God were actually people who believed in God and followed him, except one instance when the sun and the moon are referred to as the sons of God which we will get to later. The giants are exactly that, tall men, powerful and mighty. They have nothing at all to do with being 450 ft tall like as stated in the book of Enoch or as some other bible scholars believe anywhere up to 36 ft. ( see my writing on the book of Enoch ). It is this extra Biblical source that many appeal to as evidence for their understanding, and it is reading this understanding back into the Bible that changes the Biblical narrative of who the sons of God are. 

If you need to go outside the bible in order to come to your biblical doctrine because the bible doesn’t actually state your doctrine then your doctrine is not biblical its that simple.

2 timothy 4:1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 

The book of Enoch is a fable, not truth and certainly not inspired scripture. The truth comes from the words of the Bible itself.

 

The bible says that angels are spirit:

Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

It also says spirits have no flesh and bone, as Jesus stated:

Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have

Therefore we can deduce that angels do not have flesh and bone.

Angels do take on the form of men but there is no verse in the bible that says that they reproduce at all, let alone that they can reproduce with human women. It has to be assumed and asserted that this is even possible. 

The daughters of Men are those without faith, without belief, they are those who do not follow God.

This a very complex doctrine and one that leads us all over the Bible and will open up many new understandings of scripture. It may well challenge many of your beliefs, so I ask that you read with open hearts, minds and Bibles. Everything that is stated will have biblical support.

Job

Let’s start with 2 of the verses where the NIV uses Angels as opposed to the sons of God in the book of Job.

Job 1:6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.7The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” NIV

Job 2:1 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. NIV

It is these verses that are mostly used to support the Angels being the sons of God in the verses in Genesis chapter 6, as the word Angels is used instead of Sons of God and so it is argued that the Angels are the sons of God .

Let’s have a look at those same verses in the KJV where sons of God is used instead of Angels

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
KJV
Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 2And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
KJV

It should be noted that other modern versions such as the ESV, NASB, ASV also read sons of God in these verses in Genesis and in Job 1:6 and 2:1.

The Hebrew words are bə-nê hā-’ĕ-lō-hîm בְּנֵ֣י bə-nê is strong’s word 1121 and means sons הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים hā-’ĕ-lō-hîm, is strongs 430 and means the God. Elohim which means God has the prefix ha which means the , ha elohim means the God.

Angel has its own Hebrew root word מַלְאַ֧ךְ mal-’aḵ strongs 4397 which is not used in these verses.

The NIV has followed the reading of “the” Septuagint in these verses rather than the Hebrew Masoretic text. “The” Septuagint reads angels in these verses.

Job 1:6 Καὶ ὡς ἐγένετο ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἦλθον οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ παραστῆναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἦλθεν μετ᾽ αὐτῶν.

Job 1:6 And it came to pass on a day, that behold, the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them. Brentons Septuagint 

Job 2:1 Ἐγένετο δὲ ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ παραστῆναι ἔναντι Κυρίου, καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἦλθεν ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν παραστῆναι ἐναντίον τοῦ κυρίου.

Job 2:1 And it came to pass on a certain day, that the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came among them to stand before the Lord. Brentons Septuagint

It is argued that the Septuagint reading is older than the Masoretic text and thus preserves the correct wording and so angels are the correct referent in these verses.

The modern versions that do not read angels here in these verses in Job, have followed the Masoretic text reading and not the Septuagint reading. We must ask as to why they have done so, despite angels of God being the reading in Codex Vaticanus and Sinaiticus. These two manuscripts form the basis for the readings of the Septuagint. It is primarily on the basis of the reading of these two manuscripts that the longer ending of Mark is rejected. The inconsistency of modern textual criticism. If the reading of the Masoretic text is the correct reading and should be accepted over the reading found in these 2 manuscripts, then it makes no sense whatsoever for the NIV to have the reading angels and only contributes to the confusion.

In Origens Hexepla, however,  we find that Aquilla,  Symmachus and Theodotion all used the Greek Huios (sons) in these verses. These 3 translations were all done in the 2nd century. Origen’s Hebrew reads Bene haelohim.

The Aramaic Targum to Job 1:6 and 2:1 does, however, read divine beings

Job 1:6 One day the divine beings presented themselves before the LORD, and ^aHeb. ha-satan.the Adversary^-a came along with them. Aramaic Targum 

Job 2:1 One day the divine beings presented themselves before the LORD. The Adversary came along with them to present himself before the LORD. Aramaic Targum 

Rabbi Rashi understood Job 1:6 as a reference to angels.

“and the angels of God came to stand beside the Lord to contend with Him, because the expression of standing refers only to judgment, as it is stated (Isa. 3:13): “The Lord stands to plead.” Rabbi Rashi on Job 1:6 

There is no reference to Job 2:1 in the writings of Rabbi Rashi.

Justin Martyr also understood the sons of God in Job to be a reference to angels

“And again, it is written in Job, Job 1.6. as you said yourself, how that the angels came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them.”
Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho chapter LXXIX

 

Now there are a few things that have to be inferred in these verses to make the sons of God mean Angels and allow for that translation. 1) That these are gatherings in heaven. 2) That it is ALREADY believed that the sons of God are indeed Angels ,

The problem with point 1 is there is no mention that this is in heaven in the actual text. It simply says that the sons of God presented themselves before the Lord. There is no reason to assume that this is in heaven, in fact we have biblical evidence to show that presenting before the LORD is done on earth.  We see in Joshua the men of Israel gathering and presenting themselves before the Lord.

Joshua 24:1 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God

Nobody asserts that Joshua and the tribes of Israel gathered together before the LORD in heaven. This gathering is clearly on earth.

There is more proof in Genesis that it is not only in heaven that the bible shows people being in the presence of God:

Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden on earth and hid themselves from the presence of God. So the presence of God can clearly be while on the earth.

We do have the added information in the verses in Job that Satan is also there. God asks him where he has been and he says from going to and fro in the earth.  This could imply that he was on the earth and now he is in heaven during this meeting with God but this has to be read into the text, it does not actually state that he was in heaven and it can just as easily mean if we say the sons of God are human believers, that Satan joined the gathering of the sons of God on earth and that he did so after simply wandering in the earth but now comes to the place where the human sons of God had come to be in the presence of God. In order to ascertain which interpretation is correct it is necessary to put the verses into context.

So let’s look at Job 1 from the beginning . 

Job 1:1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. 2And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. 3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. 4And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

Let’s see if we can put a bit of understanding into this verse and see what conclusions can be drawn from it.
We see in verse 2 Job had 7 sons. And in verse 5 we have the days of their feasting.
We also see that verse 4 tells us that each son had their own day of holding the feast in their own house. 7 sons 7 days. In context,  it is far more likely this is a gathering on earth and this could well be referring to the feast of tabernacles.

Deuteronomy 16:13 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine

Each son had a family meal in their own home 1 each day of the week of the feast of tabernacles
As commanded in Deuteronomy 16:14

Deuteronomy 16:14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

The sons of God, the ones following God and the law had come to gather before the lord as required by the law during the feast of tabernacles in Deuteronomy 16:16.

Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.

Now in Chapter 2 this is simply another gathering 

Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. 2And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

The only way we can get angels to fit in these verses is if we completely ignore the scriptures and the context and assume that this is in heaven without any scriptural support stating that this was indeed in heaven. Even if this was not the feast of Tabernacles, it is clearly a gathering and feast amongst Job and his family on earth.

Now, in reference to the second point it has to be circle reasoned that the sons of God here are Angels based on the belief that the sons of God are Angels in Genesis 6:2 and 6:4 but the belief that they are Angels in those two verses is based on the verses in Job also being Angels so we have verses supporting each other while also being supported by the others and not actually being self supporting. Yet another big loop.

 

Sons of God in Genesis 6

Let’s have a look at these 2 verses in Genesis in the KJV

Genesis 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. KJV

Genesis 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. KJV

Again the Hebrew uses bə-nê hā-’ĕ-lō-hîm which we have already seen means sons of the God and as I stated earlier the NIV has sons of God and not angels in these 2 verses.

Genesis 6:2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. NIV

Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. NIV

As we can clearly see these verses nothing about Angels. A basic reading of these verses do not imply Angels. The angel understanding has to be read into these verses which is eisegesis. At this point the ONLY mention of son of God was in relation to Adam, the human. Thus, this has to be ignored and the preconceived belief has to be read back into the text. I do not believe that anyone reading these verses without reading their preconceived belief back into the text would conclude the sons of God were angels.

What we actually see in the text of Genesis is a divergent of lineage from Cain and Seth. Cain who killed Able and was banished, and Seth who replaced Able as the “seed”. The narrative gives us the divergence in these two lines. The text of Genesis up to chapter 6 gives us a distinction between these two lineages. There is nothing in the text that then introduces angels, only sons of God and as already stated, to make these sons of God the angels, this has to be read into the text when the text has already given us a narrative that can be understood. If these were angels, then as angels have never been called the sons of God it is again eisegesis to read them as angels without any biblical introduction. Within the text we see that in Genesis 4 after Seth is born men started to call upon the name of the LORD. The context fits better that these sons of God are those calling upon the LORD already introduced in the narrative in comparison to those living ungodly like Lamech who also killed men and took multiple wives. We are told about the violence and bloodshed and how Enoch lived righteously. How mans thoughts were wicked but Go found favour with Noah who at the time was the only righteous along with his family. So the narrative gives us the distinction between good and evil, not angels and humans.

Rabbi Rashi gives 2 explanations in his commentary on Genesis 6:2, although he seems to assert that the correct understanding was that the sons of God were sons of princes and rulers. He then states another explanation is that they were angels.

“THE SONS OF ELOHIM — The sons of princes and rulers (Genesis Rabbah 26:15). Another explanation of בני האלהים is that these were princely angels who came as messengers from God: they, too, intermingled with them (the daughters of men).”
Rabbi Rashi on Genesis 6:2

So Rashi took the sons of God in Job to be angels but sons of God in Genesis to be humans.

Sons of God (sons of the great in Jonathan) is found in the targums to Genesis 6:2 and 6:4

Genesis 6:2 that the sons of the mighty saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, and took to them wives of all whom they pleased
Targum Onkelos

Genesis 6:2 and the sons of the great saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and painted, and curled, walking with revelation of the flesh, and with imaginations of wickedness; that they took them wives of all who pleased them.
Targum Jonathan

Genesis 6:4 Giants were in the earth in those days; and also when, after that the sons of the mighty had gone in unto the daughters of men, there were born from them giants who from of old were men of name.
Targum Onkelos 

Genesis 6:4 Schamchazai and Uzziel, who fell from heaven, were on the earth in those days; and also, after the sons of the Great had gone in with the daughters of men, they bare to them: and these are they who are called men who are of the world, men of names.
Targum Jonathan 

While targum Jonathan has 2 angels falling from heaven, Schamchazai and Uzziel, the targum says that they fell from heaven after the sons of the Great had gone in with the daughters of men. This in no way has the fallen angels being the ones that went in with the daughters of men, in fact, it rather distinguishes the fallen angels from the sons of the great. The angels having clearly fallen after the sons of the great had already gone into the daughters if men. 

 

The JPS Tanakh 1917 reads sons of God in all 4 verses.

 

Josephus  asserted that it was the angels that mated with humans. 

1 “For many angels of God kept company with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians call giants.”

Josephus Antiquities of the Jews book 1 chapter 3

Sextus Julius Africanus, a Christian historian who lived between 160AD-240AD, wrote that the sons of God were in fact the sons of Seth.

 

“

When men multiplied on the earth, the angels of heaven came together with the daughters of men. In some copies I found the sons of God. What is meant by the Spirit, in my opinion, is that the descendants of Seth are called the sons of God on account of the righteous men and patriarchs who have sprung from him, even down to the Saviour Himself; but that the descendants of Cain are named the seed of men, as having nothing divine in them, on account of the wickedness of their race and the inequality of their nature, being a mixed people, and having stirred the indignation of God. But if it is thought that these refer to angels, we must take them to be those who deal with magic and jugglery, who taught the women the motions of the stars and the knowledge of things celestial, by whose power they conceived the giants as their children, by whom wickedness came to its height on the earth, until God decreed that the whole race of the living should perish in their impiety by the deluge.
Sextus Julius Africanus On the Mythical Chronology of the Egyptians and Chaldeans.
Chapter 2

Augustine of Hippo was another who asserted the “Sethite” view.

“Giants therefore might well be born, even before the sons of God, who are also called angels of God, formed a connection with the daughters of men, or of those living according to men, that is to say, before the sons of Seth formed a connection with the daughters of Cain.”

“But that those angels were not angels in the sense of not being men, as some suppose, Scripture itself decides, which unambiguously declares that they were men. For when it had first been stated that the angels of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose, it was immediately added, And the Lord God said, My Spirit shall not always strive with these men, for that they also are flesh. For by the Spirit of God they had been made angels of God, and sons of God; but declining towards lower things, they are called men, a name of nature, not of grace; and they are called flesh, as deserters of the Spirit, and by their desertion deserted [by Him].”
Augustine of Hippo, City of God, chapter 23

 

So now what needs to be shown is that the sons of God in Genesis 6:2 and 6:4 are actually not referencing Angels but humans who believe in God and follow him and therefore removing the support that the sons of God in Job should be translated as Angels.

Despite reading angels of God in Job, In Genesis 6:2 Brentons septuagint reads sons of God.

Genesis 6:2 that the sons of God having seen the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose. Brentons Septuagint

In Genesis 6:4 “The” Greek Septuagint  does NOT read angels but rather reads γίγαντες Gigantis  (giants) (It appears twice in the verse.) 

Genesis 6:4 οἱ δὲ γίγαντες ἦσαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, καὶ μετ᾽ ἐκεῖνο ὡς ἂν εἰσεπορεύοντο οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς τὰς θυγατέρας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ἐγεννῶσαν ἑαυτοῖς· ἐκεῖνοι ἦσαν οἱ γίγαντες οἱ ἀπ᾽ αἰῶνος, οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἱ ὀνομαστοί.

Genesis 6:4 Now the giants were upon the earth in those days; and after that when the sons of God were wont to go in to the daughters of men, they bore children to them, those were the giants of old, the men of renown. Brenton Septuagint 

So even if we took the verses in Job to be angels of God, if we use the Septuagint alone, then the referents of Job and Genesis are not the same. The Septuagint differentiates between the referents of Job which it would refer to as angels and those in Genesis which are the sons of God. Those who wish to make these the same referents using the Septuagint must now take the referents in Job, the angels, and apply them to the sons of God in Genesis 6 with no proper justification to do so. Again this is circular reasoning.

 

It must be noted that the reading angels of God is however, found in one Greek manuscript of Genesis 6:2. The reading is found in codex Alexandrinus. BUT this reading in Genesis is not a straight forward reading. Codex Alexandrinus has been altered by a rescriptor. (This means a corrector, in their correction, has completely set aside the original text so that the original is no longer recognisable, rather than simply adding the “correction”. In Genesis 6:2 the rescriptor has inserted the Greek (angels of God) over the original reading which is no longer readable. This clearly shows that angels of God was almost certainly not the original reading of the manuscript. As the original reading is no longer readable we cannot know what the original reading of the manuscript was. Only that the reading that is now found, angels of God in the manuscript is not the original reading.

There are actually a number of reasons why humans and not angels are the correct referent in Genesis 6:2 and 6:4

The offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men are not the Nephilim/giants.

If we look carefully at genesis 6:4 It states that there were Nephilim/giants in the earth in those days when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men and bare children. This verse actually says that the giants were in the earth in those days. 
Which days is this a reference to?
The days that have already been referenced in Genesis 6:1 and 2

Genesis 6:1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

So when men began to multiply is when the giants were in the earth when the sons of God took wives of the daughters of men. 

It does not say that they were in the earth as a direct result of that union, they were already in the earth when this event happened, they are not the children referenced in Genesis 6:4 at all. 

Although mentioned in the same verse, they are actually very clearly being referenced separately and differentiated from the children that were being born. We see that those children, the children of the union between the sons of God and the daughters of men, became mighty men , men of renown but they are referenced as men. It is dishonest to state that this verse alludes to the giants being in the earth because the sons of God had children with the daughters of men, or maybe it is just a simple misreading of the text. The Giants or Nephilim whichever word you wish to use, were not the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men, but were already in the earth when this union took place.

 

Let’s have a look at the words that the children are referenced as becoming , mighty and renown 

The word Mighty הַגִּבֹּרִ֛ים hag-gib-bō-rîm gibbor 1368 strong , valiant or mighty or warrior 

This word appears throughout the OT in many places such as Joshua 10:7

Joshua 10:7 So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him and all the mighty men of valour.

Mighty men of valour means men who were strong and who had fought before:

The word Renown is the Hebrew shem 8034 name 
so men of name well known

As in Joshua 7:9

Joshua 7:9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?

So the children of the union between the sons of God and daughters of men simply became strong men, men who were good in battle and well known, referred to as men. No mention of them being half angel half human and no mention of them being giants.

We have a verse in Hebrews that offers support:

Hebrews 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

This is clearly showing that God has never called an Angel his son or proclaimed himself the father of any of them.

We must also take into account Ezekiel 32:27.

Ezekiel 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

Here we have the Hebrew גִּבּוֹרִ֔ים נֹפְלִ֖ים  gib-bō-w-rîm, nō-p̄ə-lîm. In context this is clearly in relation to the fallen of the uncircumcised, those not following God. They are clearly human. They are called the mighty that have fallen, which is very similar to that in Genesis 

Ezekiel 32: 26 There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living. 27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. 29 Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword.

 

There are also very clear passages that say the sons of God are those that believe, humans not angels, This comes from the new testament.

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 32 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

So sons of God is most certainly a term used to describe believers.

We also have a reference to “sons of men” being a reference to none believers.

Sons of Men are a reference to the Gentiles ..those who do not have God

Ephesians 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

But it can be said that actually the verse in Hebrews states that God has never said to the Angels never have I said I have begotten thee, believers are not begotten, only Jesus was the begotten son. So is the Hebrews verse only saying that God doesn’t refer to the Angels as begotten sons and that they are referenced simply as Sons?

The bible does say believers are sons but that they are also begotten, we are begotten through the word of truth.

James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

1 peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 john 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

2 corinthians 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Believers before Jesus were called sons of God, those who believe in Jesus are begotten sons and daughters of God by adoption

Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Ephesians 1:5 having predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

So, Sons of God are also begotten and as we have seen God has never called an Angel begotten. So it would be reasonable to assume that if the sons of God are also begotten and Angels are not begotten then Angels wouldn’t be sons of God. If they are not sons of God in the NT then it’s reasonable to assume they are not sons of God in the OT.

In fact we have Old Testament verses that would support sons of God to be a reference to humans.

In Hosea 1:10 we have the Israelites, the children of Israel called the sons of the living God which is the Hebrew Bene el hey  בְּנֵ֥י  אֵֽל־  חָֽי׃  

Hosea 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

Referring to the Judges of Israel God calls them the children of the most high

Psalm 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

Ū-ḇə-nê ‘el-yō-wn 

 

Referring again to the Israelites they are called the sons of the LORD (YHWH) their God.

Deuteronomy 14:1 Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

Bā-nîm ’at-tem, Yah-weh, ’ĕ-lō-hê-ḵem;

 

Isaiah 43:6 I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;

 

Deuteronomy 32:5 They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation. 6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?

Children in verse 5 is the plural of Bene (sons) 

While the specific “sons of God” is not used in these verses it is clear that humans are being referred to as sons of God.

 

Marriage

Notice that in Genesis 6:4 it clearly states that the sons of God took wives of the daughters of men

Genesis 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

If these were angels then not only did the angels mate with the human daughters of men, but they actually married them as well.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us that the angels do not marry:

Matthew 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. KJV

Now, yes it can be argued that this is only referencing angels in heaven and doesn’t say anything about those that leave heaven. While this is true it is the only verse that mentions angels and marriage together so to imply that angels can marry outside of heaven is to simply offer an opinion without scriptural support. which is contrary to the biblical attestation regarding angels and marriage.

Marriage was between a man and a woman 

Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Of course, Matthew 22:30 does not say that angels cannot have sex or reproduce. BUT as sex and reproduction was meant to be within marriage it would seem very strange that God would create beings that could have sex and reproduce while they could not marry. Logic would deem this to be contradictory of itself. It is far more logical that if sex and reproduction was only for within a marriage and the angels do not marry that they also would not reproduce or have sex. We certainly get no biblical support for angels being able to do either.

Context of Genesis

 

Now lets look at some more context regarding Genesis chapter 6. In the surrounding context of the chapter we are given the lineage of Cain and Seth in chapters 4 and 5 . Nowhere do angels appear in these chapters.  Lets go back and look at genesis chapter 4.

Cain’s bloodline 

Genesis 4:17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. 19And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

 

Now lets look at chapter 5 where we find the lineage of Adam that passes down through Seth

Genesis 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:4  And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: 5  And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. 6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos: 7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: 9 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. 9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan: 10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: 11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died. 12  And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel: 13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters: 14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died 15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: 16 And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: 17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.

This bloodline of Seth which comes from Adam goes all the way from Seth to Jesus and includes Abraham , Isaac and Jacob as we find out in the Gospel of Luke.

Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, 24 Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph, 25 Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge, 26 Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda, 27 Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri, 28 Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er, 29 Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, 30Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim, 31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, 32 Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, 33 Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda, 34 Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, 35 Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala, 36 Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech, 37 Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, 38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Seth here is stated as the son of Adam who himself is referred to as the son of God.
Seth was Begat in the image of Adam

Genesis 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

Just like Adam was created in the image of God

Genesis 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

The very first usage of son of God in the Biblical text is in direct reference to a human, not an angel.

 

And we see after Seth’s son was born that men started to call upon the name of the LORD 

Genesis 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: and then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

If we compare that to how John explains how to be a son of God 

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Notice here that is says he gave power to become the sons of God. Believers do not become angels. Becoming sons of God clearly cannot mean to become an angel.

People will often point to the verse when Jesus talks about the days of Noah

Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 
this is used to say that the Interbreed race will return on earth at the time Jesus will return 
Having interpreted the bible to include this race they will say that God flooded the earth to rid this bloodline and that Noah and his family were the only ones uncorrupted and so God saved them

But let’s have a look at the verse that tell us what the days of Noah were like

Matthew 24:38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark

There is no mention of an inter species mix in this verse. But we do have marrying and giving in marriage mentioned.

Noah was a descendant of Seth and he was just man, perfect and he walked with God

Genesis 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Just which is the Hebrew word tsaddiq (tsad-deek’) which means just , righteous

The word perfect is  תָּמִ֥ים tā-mîm strong’s 8549 means complete or blameless

It does not mean that his DNA was uncorrupted, but his faith, his belief in God was undefiled. 

To walk with God means to follow God and live how he has commanded

Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Deuteronomy 8:6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him

as Enoch did 

Genesis 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

 

Enoch also was a descendent of Seth.

If we look at this with the interpretation, that this is humans, then Jesus would be saying that at the end then again the sons of God, believers, would again be being led astray through their marriages with non believers of God and worshipping other gods. Carrying on lives without God.

But we are told that this happened before and after the flood. If we take the interpretation that this is angels mating with humans then we are forced to say that God failed in his attempt to rid the earth of this hybrid mix race as there is no verse after the flood to say that the angels came back to mate with humans after the flood. This is just something that would be of necessity. Of course it could be that the line of this interbreeding survived the flood. In fact there are Jewish wrtings that claim this. It was stated that Og, survived the flood by holding on to the Ark.

The immediate verse after. in  Genesis 6:5 it says that man’s crime was wickedness and thoughts of evil

Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Again no mention of inter species breeding

We are told before the flood the whole earth was corrupt 

Genesis 6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth
בָּשָׂ֛ר bā-śār strong’s 1320 .  Flesh in this context means mankind , all mankind was corrupted

Corrupt being the hebrew וַתִּשָּׁחֵ֥ת niš-ḥā-ṯāh; strongs 7843 and means gone to ruin,

 

We get more information in the verse where it says the earth was filled with violence. 
So mankind had gone to ruin, was wicked and violent.

This does not mean that the physical flesh had been corrupted through inter species reproduction, which is never stated, but that mankind had gone to ruin. Mankind was wicked and violent.

Further demonstrated in the next verse

Genesis 6:13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

God again says the earth is filled with violence not a hybrid angel /human race.

This is referring to God’s holy line not living Godly but being corrupted by those of the unbelief and it is for that reason that God says he will destroy them, not because they have mated with angels.

Let’s look at the judgement of the flood and what God says about it.

Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

If the reason for the flood was the angels mating with the daughters of men then this wouldn’t just be the wickedness of man but also the angels but nowhere is there any mention of any anger , or repenting of creating the angels and there is no mention of any punishment for them for their part in the act especially as it would have been them that had left their habitation in heaven to come to earth to mate with humans.

 

In Genesis 6:4 where we are told that the giants were in the earth in those days, we find also that they were in the world after those days also.

Genesis 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

If these are angel human offspring and God destroyed the world because of it, then we must also accept that after God destroyed the world through the flood because of this interspecies breeding except from Noah and his family, that the angels must have come down and mated with the humans a second time after the flood. This is something the Bible never mentions, neither is there any punishment given by God for this new occurrence of interbreeding. We must then believe that God destroyed the world because of this interbreeding but then doesn’t even make note of it after it happened again.

If you have read my writing on the Nephilim, you will know that the Nephilim in Numbers 13:33, where we find the Nephilim referenced after the flood,  had human fathers. If the Nephilim had human fathers after the flood then this would prove that the Nephilim in Genesis 6 must also have had human fathers, as the same beings are being stated as having been before and after the flood.

However, if we understand that Genesis 6:2 and 6:4 are referring to the intermixing of the believers and unbelievers this is something that did happened after the flood and that we can demonstrate through scripture.

God forbade the Israelites, his people,  from marrying into the other nations. This was because they would turn them from following the LORD God to following other gods

Deuteronomy 7:1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; 2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: 3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. 4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

 

And that is exactly what we see happen time after and time again:

The story of King Solomon is a perfect example of this.

1 kings 11:1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; 2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go into them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.

Solomon took wives of the nations that God had forbidden, those that did not follow after God and they turned him away from God.

3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

Solomon did evil things when he was turned away from following God by these wives

6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. 7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.

And he was punished by God for this evil doing

1 kings 11:9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, 10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. 11 Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

Solomon’s kingdom was removed from him.

12 Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. 13 Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.

 

And in Nehemiah chapter 13 there is more affirmation of this forbidden intermarriage and a recollection of what Solomon did.

Nehemiah 13:23In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: 24And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people. 25And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. 27 Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?

Over and over the bible references these marriages between believers and non believers

Ezra 10:1Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. 2And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. 3Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

We even see the command not to mix belief with non belief the new testament

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?15And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Again, over and over the Bible states the intermixing of believers and non believers and not about interspecies mixing between angels and humans.

 

Angels leaving heaven. 

There are verses that talk about the angels leaving heaven and these are used as support for the doctrine.

Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Again, when we first look at this passage it can certainly be seen to support the theory but again it requires the support of the other verses. If we examine it on its own then it simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

First off the passage only says that the angels kept not their first estate and habitation 
Estate is ἀρχὴν archēn strongs 746 and means rule or ruler beginning and Habitation is οἰκητήριον oikétérion 3613 means dwelling place. 

So we can definitely see that certain Angels left heaven and the rule of God their beginning place but that is all that this verse actually states. It doesn’t say they bred with humans and created a hybrid race. 
Only when used with the support of all the other verses can this verse be used to support the other verses and we have already seen that those verses do not in fact support this verse.

It will often be highlighted that if we continue on in Jude we see that there is a comparison with Sodom and Gomorrah

Jude 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

The men of Sodom and Gomorrah chasing after strange flesh when they wanted to sexually assault the angels that had come to Lot’s house. Men with angels.

The problem with this is that the men of Sodom and Gomorrah did not know that the 2 angels were in fact angels, they thought they were men. We must also remember that they did not actually commit the act of sexual assault on the angels, there was intent but not the actual act itself. So this cannot be comparing the act but rather the punishment. The punishment of the flood, the punishment of Sodom and the punishment of the angels typology is in reference to punishment, of which we are given examples.

Genesis 19:5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

The strange flesh that they went after was that of unknown men. It was the fornication in verse 7 that is the key word. They wished to fornicate with strangers. It is not the fact they were angels that was being referenced at all. There is no verse that supports that it would have in fact been possible for the men to actually commit the act that they were intent on committing. There is also no verse that supports angels are 1) physically capable of mating with human woman or 2) being able to breed with human woman and mixing DNA. There is no support to say that angels even have DNA like humans.

But we shouldn’t stop at verse 7 we will get even more detail when we continue on the book of Jude.

Jude 1:8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.

Here we get a much clearer understanding, those that corrupt themselves and verse 11 tells us those that have gone in the way of Cain, Cain murdered his own brother, they ran after the error of Balaam. Balaam was hired by Balaak the King of Moab to pronounce a curse upon Israel.

Numbers 22:2And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. 

The curse that Balaak tried to put upon Israel was used by God for good

Nehemiah 13:2 because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing.

Jude 1:11 also mentions those that “perished in the gainsaying of Core.”

This is a reference back to when Kore rebelled against Moses

Numbers 16: 1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: 2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown

The refence in this verse to the men who were famous, men of renown cannot be ignored here, a clear example of how men or renown simply means well known.

The context of the chapter is about being corrupted and becoming ungodly, not following after the one true God, not interbreeding species. If Jude had wanted to make the connection between the angels mating with humans then he would most certainly have referenced Genesis 6, which he does not.

 

A passage in 2 Peter is also used

2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

Of course the sin of the angels being that they mated with humans has to be read into the verse as it makes no mention of this in the text itself. A basic reading of this text does not give the sin of the angels as mating with the humans. The Bible actually does not say this at all. All the verses that are used by those that claim angels did mate with humans have to be read with that pre conceived belief interjected into the text.

Rather, the clear reference here is stated in verse 6 “making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;”

If we read further on into 2 Peter we will again get conformation of the corruption that is being referenced.

2 Peter 2:13And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness

Living unrighteously, no mention of the mixed unification between angels and humans. Peter, like Jude,  makes no refence to Genesis 6. Those that assert that Genesis 6 is in reference must read into these passages their preconceived beliefs into them.

The reference to the flood is a typology of the punishment, as is the reference to Sodom.

The angels that sinned left their worship of God, their rightful place and followed after Satan.

Putting all the information that has been shown here alongside the explanation of who the Nephilim were and the demonstration that the book of Enoch is not scripture but a fable, there simply is no basis on which to assert that the sons of God in Genesis 6 and anything other than humans, even if we were to understand the Job 1:6 and 2:1 to be referring to angels.

 

But we have still have 1 verse left to answer Job 38:7 which is actually probably the best support for the interpretation of Angels as sons of God.

 

Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? KJV

The Hebrew here is bə-nê ’ĕ-lō-hîm.

Let’s see Job 38:7 in the NIV

Job 38:7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? NIV

 

The Septuagint reads angels

Job 38:7 ὅτε ἐγενήθησαν ἄστρα, ᾔνεσάν με φωνῇ μεγάλῃ πάντες ἄγγελοί μου.

Job 38:7 When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice. Brentons Septuagint

Again if we take the Septuagint reading of angels in this verse to be correct, this verse just like the other 2 verses in Job, cannot be used as support for the reading of angels in Genesis 6.

There are 2 possible answers that I can see to how the sons of God is the correct reading in this verse while not referring to angels.

 

The first allows for the sons of God to be another referent to believers.

in verse 6 we get a reference to the corner stone.

In the Biblical texts the corner stone is always a reference to Jesus.

The sons of God shouting for joy is a prophetic pronouncement.

Remember this is God questioning Job and demonstrating that he is God and who is Job to question him. So God asks him were you there when I created the world and when The corner stone was laid?

One is a reference back to the creation and the other a future reference.

God states that he knows the end from the beginning

Isaiah 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world which is clearly prophetic.

Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 

 

We are told that believers were chosen in Jesus before the foundation of the world

Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 

So the question regarding being there when the sons of God shouted for joy is not a past event but a prophetic event.

God speaks of future things as if they were

Romans 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

God had said to Abraham that he had made him the father of many nations

Genesis 17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

This is clearly a prophetic statement but God states that he has already done it.

 

 

I shall now offer another possible explanation as to why sons of God is the correct reading yet the verse is not referring to angels and so the sons of God in this verse are not angels.

 

So let’s take a closer look at the context of this verse. We shall start at verse 1.

Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
2Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. 5Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

In context, Job 38:7 is most definitely referring to the creation of the Earth. God is asking Job where he was when God created the earth. There is clear mention to the morning stars and the sons of God singing and shouting for Joy which happened at the time of creation. So if the sons of God are human believers how can this be true in this occurrence as there were no human believers when the earth was created as at this time there were obviously no humans at all?

If the sons of God in this verse are not human believers but angels, then this would certainly offer at least some support to be able to understand sons of God as being angels in the verses in Genesis.

It is my understanding that the sons of God in this verse are not in fact humans or angels but rather they are the sun and the moon.

So where do I get this understanding from? The context. As we have already seen this is very clearly the creation that is in reference, but let’s continue the context

If we Continue on to verse 8 , 9 and 10

Job 38:8 Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
9 When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it,
10 And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
KJV

We see that God is using metaphoric language here, the sea doesn’t have doors. The clouds are not clothes. Is the darkness really a swaddling band? Obviously not. 

Let’s look at verse 35

Job 38:35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?

Of course, the lightning doesn’t really speak:

The sons of God referenced in verse 7 are also metaphorical not literal.

If we look at the Hebrew of this verse, we will see that Elohim in Bene Elohim, does not have the prefix ha, unlike the other 4 verses in question, this to me is drawing a distinction between those 4 verses and this one. Separating them from each other.

Job 38:1 בְּרָן־יַ֭חַד כֹּ֣וכְבֵי בֹ֑קֶר וַ֝יָּרִ֗יעוּ כָּל־בְּנֵ֥י אֱלֹהִֽים׃

So now lets add a little more support for this understanding.

In James God is referred to as the father of lights

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

The word for father is πατήρ Patér 3962 father, (Heavenly) Father, ancestor, elder, senior.
If we look at this word in the strong’s concordance it tells us that Definition 3. God is called the Father, a. τῶν φώτων (A. V. of lights i. e.) of the stars, the heavenly luminaries, because he is their creator, upholder, ruler, James 1:17.

Pater definition 3

It is clearly stating that the usage of Patér in this verse is a direct reference to God being the father of the luminaries, sun and moon. So God is then biblically referred to as the father of the sun and the moon, meaning the heavenly luminaries are sons of God.

The heavenly luminaries are the sun and the moon
Dictionary .com luminaries 
a celestial body, as the sun or moon.

This goes back to genesis 1:16

Genesis 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

At the time of creation. This verse is referencing the creation of the stars and the 2 great lights.

The verse in Job is also referencing the creation where the stars are mentioned along with the sons of God, the sun and moon, just as in this verse in Genesis. stars, sun and moon.
When we put the verses together we see that this becomes more clear.

In Bob we are told that the sons of God are shouting, they are in the heavens praising God. Obviously the sun and the moon do not shout or praise God.

As already shown this is metaphorical language as used in the immediate context.

In Psalm 148 we find the sun and the moon praising God.

Psalm 148:1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.2 Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. 3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.

Again we have the stars mentioned along with the sun and moon

The word praise is the hebrew word halal hawlal strong’s 1984 means to shine

So the sun and the moon are praising God by shining, doing what God had made them to do, and so in a metaphorical way, following God. The sun and the moon distinctly separated from the Angels but linked to the stars just as we see the sun and moon linked with the stars in Job 38

There is other biblical support for this metaphorical understanding. The creation of God is often described in this way.

Isaiah 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Mountains and hills do not sing and trees do not clap their hands

Psalm 65:13 The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing. 

So the valleys shout and sing. Clearly metaphorical. The word for Shout is Rua 7321 and is the same word used for what the sons of God are doing in Job 38.

 

Now, obviously this is my understanding of the meaning and referents of Job 38:7. While I do believe it has good biblical support it may not convince everyone.

However, even if we do take angels to be the referent in all 3 occasions of Job, none of these verses support the understanding that Genesis 6 is also referring to angels. The NIV’s rendering of Genesis 6:2 and 6:4 as angels is not based on the evidence nor the Greek or Hebrew readings but rather is inserting the belief that angels mated with humans into the verses. It is therefore a presuppositional reading.

When we look at the actual text and context of Genesis 6, along with the correct understanding of who the Nephilim are and also that the book of Enoch does not contain factual information but is simply nothing but mythology there is nothing on which to base the belief that angels mated with humans and produced giant mix-breed offspring.

 

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