Understanding the Nephilim: Giants in the Bible and Their Role in Israel's History

The story of the Nephilim represents one of the most challenging and debated passages in Scripture. These mysterious beings, mentioned in Genesis 6 and later encountered by the Israelites in the Promised Land, play a crucial role in understanding God's plan and the spiritual warfare that unfolds throughout biblical history.

Who Were the Nephilim?

The Genesis Account

Genesis 6:1-4 describes a disturbing event where "sons of God" took human women as wives and produced offspring called the Nephilim. This passage states: "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."

The text indicates these were not normal marriages but forced relationships - the Hebrew suggests coercion rather than consensual unions. This supernatural transgression crossed the boundary between heaven and earth that God intended to maintain.

Rejecting False Interpretations

Some groups promote what's known as the "serpent seed" doctrine, claiming Eve had sexual relations with Satan and that Cain was Satan's offspring. This interpretation lacks biblical support and has historically been rooted in racist ideologies. When Scripture uses metaphorical language about being "children of the devil," it refers to spiritual allegiance, not literal parentage.

Why Do Some Christians Struggle with This Interpretation?

The Marriage Objection

Many Christians point to Matthew 22:30, where Jesus says angels "neither marry nor are given in marriage" in heaven. However, there's a crucial distinction between "don't" and "can't." Jesus wasn't saying angels are incapable of taking human form or having physical relationships - He was explaining that in the resurrection, there's no need for procreation since no one dies.

The Incarnation Parallel

Ironically, Christians who reject the possibility of supernatural beings taking human form readily accept the Incarnation - God becoming fully human in Jesus Christ. If we can believe the Creator took human flesh, why would it be impossible for created beings to do the same? Throughout Scripture, divine beings appear in physical form, eat meals, and even wrestle with humans.

The Nephilim in Israel's History

The Spies' Report

When Moses sent twelve spies into the Promised Land, they returned with a terrifying report. Numbers 13:32-33 records: "The land through which we have gone to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people we saw there are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim. And we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them."

This encounter shaped Israel's understanding of their conquest mission. They weren't just fighting human enemies - they were confronting the supernatural offspring of rebellious divine beings.

Understanding "Giants"

The Nephilim weren't necessarily twenty-foot-tall monsters. In an ancient world where most people stood around five feet three inches, someone who was seven feet tall would indeed seem like a giant. Consider how intimidating a professional basketball player appears to an average person - that size difference would have been even more dramatic in ancient times.

The Post-Flood Problem

How Did They Survive?

Genesis 6:4 presents a puzzle: it mentions the Nephilim existed "in those days and also afterward." If the flood destroyed all flesh, how did Nephilim appear again in the Promised Land? There are only two viable explanations:

Option 1: Regional Flood - The flood was localized to the ancient Near East, allowing some Nephilim to survive in other regions.

Option 2: Continued Activity - The "sons of God" continued their transgressive behavior after the flood, producing new generations of Nephilim.

Both options require accepting supernatural intervention in human affairs. Some propose a third option involving Noah's lineage, but this lacks strong biblical support.

The Consistency Challenge

We cannot change the meaning of biblical terms to fit our comfort level. If we accept that angels appeared physically throughout Scripture - eating with Abraham, wrestling with Jacob, ministering to Jesus - then we must consistently apply this understanding to Genesis 6.

What Happened to the Nephilim?

Their Ultimate Fate

The biblical narrative suggests the Nephilim bloodlines ended with figures like Goliath and his brothers. These beings represented a supernatural threat to God's plan that had to be eliminated for His purposes to proceed.

Connection to Demons

Ancient Jewish understanding, which Jesus never corrected, held that when Nephilim died physically, their supernatural component became what we know as demons. This explains why demons consistently seek to inhabit physical bodies - they were once embodied beings themselves.

Life Application

The account of the Nephilim challenges us to take Scripture seriously, even when it describes events that make us uncomfortable. God's Word contains supernatural elements that don't always align with modern sensibilities, but our faith must be built on biblical truth rather than cultural preferences.

This week, examine your own approach to difficult biblical passages. Are you willing to accept what Scripture teaches, even when it challenges your worldview? The same faith that accepts Jesus as both fully God and fully man should be able to embrace other supernatural elements in God's Word.

Questions for Reflection:

• Do I approach difficult biblical passages with a desire to understand what they actually say, or do I try to make them fit my preconceptions?

• How does my acceptance of the Incarnation inform my willingness to believe other supernatural events in Scripture?

• What other biblical teachings do I struggle to accept because they don't align with modern thinking?

• Am I consistent in how I interpret similar passages throughout Scripture, or do I change my interpretive methods based on my comfort level?