Who ARE the Nephilim?
Are they fallen ANGELS?

Q. What is your understanding of Genesis 6:4 which mentions people known as the Nephilim. Who were they? Were they fallen angels?

(Submitted by: Lisa)

A. Your question concerns a scripture which is well-known to many Bible students. The scripture is:

"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. " (Genesis 6:4)

Let's see what we can find out about this verse.

The word "giants" means the following, from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible #5303:

nephiyl (nefeel'); or nephil (nefeel'); from 5307; which means properly a feller, i.e. a bully or tyrant.

So it really doesn't mean a giant like the one in Jack and the Beanstalk but rather a bully or tyrant, of large stature. We have plenty of those around today. If we look in Bible dictionaries like Nelson's we will see something like the following:

NEPHILIM, a word of uncertain meaning (Genesis 6:4; Numbers 13:33), (NIV, NEB, NASB, RSV translations), translated as giants by the KJV and NKJV. Some scholars believe the Nephilim were descended from famous rulers, outstanding leaders, and mighty warriors who lived before the Flood. These men, so the theory goes, gathered great harems and were guilty of the sin of polygamy. The Nephilim were the product of these marriages. (from Nelson's Bible Dictionary, (c) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

The ISBE Encyclopedia states:

NEPHILIM: This word, translated "giants" in the King James Version, but retained in the Revised Version (British and American), is found in two passages of the Old Testament one in (Genesis 6:4), relating to the antediluvians; the other in (Numbers 13:33), relating to the sons of Anak in Canaan.

In the former place the Nephilim are not necessarily to be identified with the children said to be borne "the daughters of men" to "the sons of God" (verses 2, 4); indeed, they seem to be distinguished from the latter as upon the earth before this unholy commingling took place). But it is not easy to be certain as to the interpretation of this strange passage. In the second case they clearly represent men of gigantic stature, in comparison with whom the Israelites felt as if they were "grasshoppers." This agrees with (Genesis 6:4), "the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown."  (from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft)

Some people think that Genesis 6:4 refers to fallen angels intermarrying with human women and having children. This is impossible, since all angels are not only composed of spirit essence but are also sexless, including Satan. That is why Satan has so perverted sex since the fall of Adam and Eve. Jesus confirmed the inability of angels of having children, in referring to the seven brothers who all married the same woman at different times and none of them had children:

"'In the resurrection, therefore, to which of the seven will she be wife?  For they all had her.'  But Jesus answered them, 'You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.' " (Matthew 22:28-30, RSV)

So Christ states clearly that those who attain the resurrection of life will not marry, but will be like the angels, who also have not been given the gift of marriage. Only human beings have the gift of marriage and procreation. And this was given to human beings to teach them the value of true love and faithfulness to one mate, as God and Christ are and have always been faithful to the church. God grants human beings the great gift of reproducing themselves by having children, which God is also planning to do through human beings in the resurrection.