Let's look at the context for a minute, because the article misses the entire context and does not address WHY the term “sons ofgGod” is even mentioned. It has been said that any very taken out of context, is a pretext. In this case, we are not told the whole story by the author. So let's look at it and ask why the “sons of God” is even there...how it relates to verses surrounding it and who the other characters are in the story. Just to parse the phrase without context misses some other important issues. because God didn't just put this confusing phrase “sons of God” in Genesis 6 for us to ask what it meant, but use the phrase to convey a larger point to the story told in Genesis 6. And when we look at the context, logic says that these “sons of God” must have been something other than mere normal men, or even really holy men. No, something sinister is described in the first part of Genesis 6. For even after the fall in Genesis 3, God never expressed any desire to wipe out all men! Yes, He cursed the man, the woman, the serpent and even the very ground, but NEVER said He wanted to destroy all men.
Only after describing the activities of these “sons of
God” does God want to wipe out ALL men.
So something really evil happens in the first part of chapter 6. Something MUCH worse than the very fall of man!
What was it? Who did it? And why did “they” do it?
So...here goes context...
Here's a summary of the chapters leading to chapter 6...
Gen 1&2 the Creation
Gen 3 the fall & the curses related to it
Gen 4 the generations from Adam and Eve through Enos, including the telling of Cain and Able.
Gen 5 the generations until Noah's sons.
As an interesting aside, I challenge deeper dig, to look up the names of all of Adams descendants from Adam through Japeth, then put the names together end to end, forming a sentence, and see how these names are actually a followup to the proto-evangelian found in Gen 3...declaring the coming Messiah. You'll be blessed. But that is on your own, as I'd rather stick to the topic at hand in this thread. If anyone is interested, lemme know and I'll post the info later.
Back to the topic...
Preceding Genesis chapter six, we have the creation the fall, and the generations of Adam.
Then in chapter six, we have a new event being described. These “sons of God” come to the “daughters of men” and apparently have sex with them...or marry them...or something happens between these two groups of people. Whatever happens is not good in God's eyes.
Here are the exact verses from he KJV...
6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
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.
6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
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.
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.
6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
6:7 And 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.
6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
6:9 These [are] the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God.
6:10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
I know this is a lot to copy paste here, but it is important.
It appears that the story in Gen 6: 1-3 is not directly related to the chapters beforehand other than time line placement.
The characters in the first part are
“men”
“daughters”
“Sons of God”
“Daughters of men”
the LORD
“giants”
“Men” seems fairly obvious to be “people”...people living on the earth. Who multiply and have daughters. It would logically be that these “daughters” are the “daughters of men” that is referred to in v2. Kinda simple so far.
Then, here comes the first real question...
If the “sons of God” is to be ordinary men...born of men...as are the “daughters of men”...why are they not simply called “sons of men”? It seems obvious that they are NOT sons of men at all, but something different. The difference seems to require a completely different term that the one employed to described the normal human female descendents of normal men employed din the context of the same thought. Stated plainly, if these “sons” were normal humans, why does the verse not simply read; “That the sons of MEN saw the daughters of men that they [were] fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose”?
Also, if the term “sons of God” meant really really holy dudes who worshiped and interceded on the behalf of others, then why is whatever these dudes were doing so wicked that God repents that he made men (vv3&5-6)? If it were merely men marrying women, and/or having sex with them, what's the real problem? Why would that be more sinful than what happened in Genesis 3:6?
No, there is something highly sinful going on in the first part of Genesis 6.
Furthermore, these “giants”...what's up with them? Why are they even mentioned? They must have some context to the story, or they wouldn't be there. Furthermore, note the “when”...they were there then “in those days” and also “afterward”, when the “sons of God” procreated with the “daughters of men”. So it appears that the “giants” are related to the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men and were the offspring of this union between the two.
So, it appears that the sinful stuff that angers God has to do with this union between these daughters of men and these “sons of God”. Also, it appears that this offspring are an odd byproduct...that the offspring are a real problem. Why? Because they were taller than they should be? Doubtful.
After all these descriptions about the activities between women and these “sons of God” making these unusual offspring (unusual because they are described completely differently than any other generation’s offspring to this point) we have the description of Noah.
Noah is also descried in an unusual manner...
“But Noah...These [are] the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God.”
Did you catch the “perfect in his generations”?
Whatever the thing that angered God, it is contrasted with the description of Noah and the WAY he is described. First, the link between the two is the conjunction “but”. We're told God is angered, “But Noah...” links the contrast.
So, when we look at Noah and the description of him we get a real good insight as to what made Noah different and what what was so angering the LORD.
Noah was “pure in his generations”...and by describing his sons, we see that the term generations is meant to be his offspring, his bloodline, “...Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”
So...Noah was different from the thing that angered God, in that his offspring were “pure”, uncorrupted, by whatever is the huge sin that God finds in all other men.
Summary...
It is clearly seen that there was some unholy offspring created when these daughters of men had relations with these “sons of God”. Whatever it is, it cannot be accepted that we're talking about normal gals marrying and having children with really holy guys, normal humans. No, whatever was happening was creating an unusual race of giants (AKA nephilim) that God found to be highly unholy and worthy of destroying all of creation. Noah however had a pure blood line and was saved.
So who were these sons of God?
I tend to agree with the fallen angels theory.
Since the dawn of creation Lucifer has attempted every manenr of usurping God's plans. I believe that this was his futile attempt to thwart the coming Messiah by corrupting the blood line. God a gave the proto-evangelian in Gen 3:15. Satan knew of the coming messiah and throughout the OT the story is told of the countless attempts to destroy the Jews completely, corrupt the blood line to thwart God's plans at Calvary.
The idea that the “sons of God” were normal guys, falls short. Furthermore, if the term “daughters of men” means gals born to men, why is is such a strecth to assume that “sons of God” is not sons created by God...angels? And if angels went to have sex with mortal women that would, by definition be a fallen angel, who gave up his first abode.
It is amazing how those who believe in the supernatural, ie things that exist and happen outside our natural laws of nature (physics), by expressing belief int he Creator of all, can jump through so many hoops to try and explain away the supernatural when it happens in real life, or is described so plainly.
As a followup...
It is fascinating that the “giants” are were on the earth in those days...”and also afterward”
When do you suppose “afterward” happened...or is happening...or will happen?
The philistine that as felled by one smooth stone was a giant. There are other hints in the OT that these mutants walked the earth after the flood.
A mystery. For now.
peace!
SDG
The sons of God were the God-fearing descendents of Seth, while the daughters of men are the iniquitous descendents of Cain.
The giants were the Nephilim , see Numbers 13:33, an actual race of men.
Noah was "perfect in his generations" as he was the most righteous man among all the evil ones.