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Before I start, let me repeat what I say on a regular basis. I am showing the results of my research into Gen 6:4. The most common and popular held belief is that Gen 6:4 teaches that the sons of God, who are either "fallen angels," or "demons," had sexual intercourse with women and the offspring produced were a hybrid race of "giants, extremely tall, monstrous beings called the Nephilim.
Those of you who believe the most popular teaching on Gen 6:4, don't bother reading this. When you deal with people who "know what they know," and are positive they have the truth, to them any type of bible study is a waste of time. It doesn't matter what the study reveals or makes known. They hang on to what they want to believe because their attitude is, "If I believe it, it is true." So, I don't need any replies "proving" me wrong. You believe what you want, I believe what I believe, let's just leave it at that. Second, if you don't like to read, don't even start reading this. This study will be a two-parter, at least. While the verse only has 40 words, give or take based on the translation, it is going to take me many words to break down this verse.
Just because a particular English translation phrases a verse in a certain way, doesn't mean the verse is accurate, based on the English words used. Scripture is made up of words. Words have meaning. In order to comprehend what meaning is being conveyed by the words, we must be able to define the words. The meaning of this verse hinges on two things, who or what are the Nephilim and "the sons of God." This requires research. There is a big difference between finding out the meaning of words in Scripture and letting a Gentile Pharisee tell you what the words mean. The Gentile Pharisees follow the Humpty Dumpty method found in "Alice in Wonderland."
'There's glory for you.' 'I don't know what you mean by "glory", Alice said. Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. 'Of course you don't'- till I tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knockdown argument for you!' 'But glory doesn't mean "a nice knockdown argument",' objected Alice. 'WHEN I USE A WORD,' Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, 'IT MEANS JUST WHAT I CHOOSE IT TO MEAN.'"
What most people are not aware of is that the Hebrew word "Nephilim" is probably the single biggest puzzle that has yet to be solved, and probably never will be. This means that nobody, Scholars, linguists, and Biblical Hebrew experts have ever determined the exact definition of the word. There is no general consensus among the majority. Over time, it has been determined that Nephilim means one of these definitions: To fall, the fallen ones, to fall upon others, causing to fall or violent. Clear as mud, right? Of course, people are not aware of this and it is not taught from the pulpits. Why is this not taught? Because the Gentile Pharisees don't study, don't want to study, are too lazy to study, and don't how to study. They could care less what things in Scripture mean. But, how are you going to know what Scripture means if you don't find out what the things in Scripture mean? How can Scripture be taught properly if the teacher doesn't know what Scripture teaches?
Adding to the confusion is the use of the English word "giants." When we see the word "giant," most associate it with some type of fairy tale humanoid creature of great height and bulk. That is the preferred meaning the Gentile Pharisees believe and promote. Due to the influence of the KJV and the translation used the word "giants," has been a huge part of the wrong understanding of Gen 6:4.
So the natural thing to do is determine what did the KJV translators mean to convey when they used the word "giants" to translate the Hebrew word Nephilim.
From the "KJV Dictionary," Giant, noun. Latin gigas. Greek, probably (probably, not definite proof), "from the earth." The word originally signified the earth-born. The ancients believed that the first inhabitants to be produced from the ground and to be of enormous size.
1 A man of extraordinary bulk or stature.
2 A person of extraordinary strength or power, bodily or intellectual.
Notice, no hint of some supernatural being or hybrid here, restricted to mean humans.
From the King James Bible Dictionary, which was borrowed from Easton's Bible Dictionary.
Heb. Nephilim, meaning violent or causing to fall. These were the violent tyrants of those days, those who fell upon others.
Again, no hint or suggestion of any supernatural offspring, nor any description of beings of great height. Do you see that the definitions from each book do not agree with each other? They are not even close. Which one is correct? How do you determine which definition to use? In the case of Evangelicalism, you choose the one that best fits your definition. In other words, the Gentile Pharisees make themselves the experts of what words mean. All of the hundreds of books written on the study of Biblical Hebrew and Greek words mean nothing. All of the lexicons, theological dictionaries, morphology, etymology, root words, cultural meaning, context, syntax, etc., are not important enough to consult or consider. A word in Scripture means exactly what the Gentile Pharisee says it means, right? They are the experts, correct? They all know how to read, write and speak the Biblical languages, yes? They have all spent many, many years studying the original words, in the original languages and are aware of the proper context and cultural meanings of the words, wouldn't you agree? When they say that grace means, "God's riches at Christ's expense," must be the original meaning, right? That must be the best definition! It what has to be the most amazing fact is that hundreds of thousands of Gentile Pharisees, through each doing an independent word study, all came to the same exact definition! Because it wouldn't be that they are simply repeating what others have said, would it? The Hebrew word "grace" has such a depth of meaning that spouting some simplistic acronym doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. What about grace in the O.T.? Was that also at "Christ's expense?" What about the word "meek?" Every single word study book I have looked at defines meek as meaning, humble or gentle. But, apparently, I and all of the word study books are completely wrong. All of the commentary writers, many of whom knew biblical Hebrew and Greek were clueless as to the meaning of meek. Even the writers God ordained to write down Scripture didn't know what meek meant in their own language. Thank God for the brilliant Gentile Pharisees, who know the mind of God and know what God was trying to get across, that God must have been confused. I wonder did God think, "I just can't wait until English is developed as a language and the "pastors" who read and speak English, will finally be able to tell people what I have been trying to say." According to the Gentile Pharisees, who are so brilliant that they can incorporate "taking out the trash" into a biblical meaning, meek means "strength under control." This meaning began to have traction only about 25 years ago. Wow, Scripture was misunderstood for thousands of years concerning the word "meek" until the Gentile Pharisees figured it out! There is no Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek word in Scripture that is defined to mean "unconditional love." Yet, what do the Gentile Pharisees teach? That God's love is unconditional!
Forgive me, but so many lies and false teaching have come from pulpits that I must address some of them as I go through my studies. Back to the Nephilim/giants. To show the diversity of the different beliefs, let me cite some examples.
The New Bible Dictionary: A man of stature.
Smith's Bible Dictionary: persons of great strength.
The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism: ...The overlap of the giant motif with the realm of sexuality and the notions of forbidden unions leads conveniently to the other prominent textual locus for giants in early Jewish literature, namely the fractured myth now present in Gen 6:4 whose fuller lineaments are visible in ancient sources like 1 Enoch and Jubilees. Therein giants are held to be the monstrous offspring of miscegenate unions between human women and a rouge group of divine beings...the giants provoke so much mayhem and murder that God is forced to intervene in the form of a universal deluge. (What is interesting here is that in the entire article, the word Nephilim is never mentioned.)
The NET Bible: The Hebrew word, "Nephilim," is simply transliterated here because the meaning of the term is uncertain. According to the text, the Nephilim became mighty warriors and gained great fame in the antediluvian world. The text may imply they were the offspring of the sexual union of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of humankind," but it stops short of saying this in a direct manner.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible: the products of divine-human intercourse are legendary warriors of renown. They are distinguished here from the Nephilim, a race of giants said to exist prior to and after those times.
The MacArthur Study Bible: The word Nephilim is from a root meaning to "fall," indicating that they were strong men who "fell" on others in the sense of overpowering them. They were already on the earth when the "mighty men" and "men of renown" were born. The fallen ones are not the offspring of the union.
The New Jerusalem Bible: An obscure passage (from the Yahwistic tradition). The author uses a popular story of a race of giants, the Nephilim, the Titians of eastern legend, born of the union of between gods and mortals. The author does not present this as a myth, on the other hand, does he deliver judgment on its actual occurrence; he records the anecdote of a superhuman race simply to serve as an example of the increase in human wickedness which was to provoke the Flood. Later Judaism and almost all of the earliest ecclesiastical writers identify the 'sons of God' with the fallen angels; but from the fourth century onward, as the idea of angelic natures become less material, the Fathers commonly take the 'sons of God' to be Seth's descendants and the 'daughters of men' those of Cain.
Biblical Illustrator: Giants, story of Jack the Giant Killer: written to teach children that they have got to fight giants.
Calvin: namely that giants practiced great violence and tyranny...but of certain individuals, who, being stronger than the rest and relying on their might and power to exalt themselves.
Companion Bible Notes: Hebrew. the "men of name." The heroes of Greek mythology.
Adam Clark: Those who had apostatized or fallen from true religion.
Ellicott's Bible Commentary: Giants are apparently a race of men of great physical strength and stature.
Family Bible Notes: Giants; men of great stature.
Geneva Bible Notes: Those who usurped authority over others and degenerated from the simplicity in which their fathers lived.
JFB: the term in Hebrew implies not so much the idea of great stature as of reckless ferocity, who spread devastation and carnage far and wide.
Matthew Poole: Giants; men so called, partly from their high stature, but principally for their great strength and force, whereby they oppressed and tyrannized others.
All of these different explanations. Some similarities, but many differences. I can easily show another 30 examples. Most of the men listed, and others from the past were very brilliant, deep thinkers, logical, and truly sought to study Scripture. In intellectual prowess, ability to think and ponder, reason, and insight, the modern-day Gentile Pharisees compared to the great minds of old, is like comparing a slow-thinking kid in kindergarten, who struggles to learn his ABCs to Einstein, Stephen Hawkins, or Isaac Newton. There is no comparison! The modern-day Gentile Pharisees know how to sound smart, but they just have the gift of gab and their great skill lies in sophistry. They don't know how to think, but they are clever. They are at their best when telling personal stories or telling lame jokes. They are successful only because they teach those who know nothing about Scripture or what Scripture means. They are the blind leading the blind.
Many great minds have sought to determine the meaning of Gen 6:4 for thousands of years. And, as you can see, there is no general, agreed-upon, single answer. Ah, but the modern-day Gentile Pharisees have solved the problem? And they think they know what Gen 6:4 means? And the most amazing thing is they all came up with the same answer! No variations, they all teach the same exact thing! Really, people who don't study, who won't bother to look up and define a word, who look at anything else beyond how their preferred English translation reads? Who think that an English translation is the only source of knowledge they need to study and teach Scripture? That an English translation is sufficient to open up the treasury of Scripture? That Bible study is merely finding a few verses? Those whose extreme arrogance and self-delusion prevent them from even considering that they might not know as much as they think they do? Those who think context doesn't matter? That Scripture is some loose outline and they have permission to fill in the blanks with whatever they want to say? The Gentile Pharisees, instead of being independent thinkers, who have come to their own conclusions, based on their own study, are like the Borg, in "Star Trek, Next Generation. In some way, they are all connected mentally and when one finds a great lie to teach, it spreads to all of the other Gentile Pharisees. Instead of studying, they just repeat what the others are saying!
There are no historical sources or evidence that show that the Nephilim were extremely tall, fairy tale creatures. (YouTube is not proof of anything) Do you know the source of the teaching that presents the Nephilim as tall giants? 1 Enoch and the legends and myths of the Jews. 1 Enoch is not only not included in Scripture, it didn't even make it into the Apograph! In Enoch, the "giants" are said to be 450 feet tall. In the Legends, the "giants" are said to be a mile tall, some had two heads and after they ate all of the animals, they began to eat people! If these sources are "reliable," and "accurate," why isn't this information included in Scripture? Surely Scripture would at least mention the extraordinary height? Because the word "giants" was not used to describe any physical dimensions, rather it was used to describe their characteristics! The word describes their brutal power and actions! These were violent men who fought and conquered others. They used violence and power to dominate others. They fought, often! They took whatever they wanted! If you couldn't beat them, you had best get away from them! These types of men are still in existence today, bikers, gang members, cartels, organized crime, thugs, murderers, etc., all of who use violence to get their way! Men and women who don't care about any type of decency or morality. Rather, they will kill another at the drop of a hat, for any perceived slight, any reason, and not feel an iota of guilt or remorse. If they don't kill you, they will severely beat you.
Another thing people are never told is that the word "Nephilim" could have just as easily been translated as "bully" or "tyrant." Do you know that some English translations don't use the word "giants," but rather just use the word Nephilim? How much confusion would have been avoided if the KJV had used the word "bully" or "tyrant" instead of "giants?" If people read, "and there were tyrants in the land," they would not even think about any type of mythology "giants!" They would have an immediate grasp of what was going on in those days of old.
End of part one.
Those of you who believe the most popular teaching on Gen 6:4, don't bother reading this. When you deal with people who "know what they know," and are positive they have the truth, to them any type of bible study is a waste of time. It doesn't matter what the study reveals or makes known. They hang on to what they want to believe because their attitude is, "If I believe it, it is true." So, I don't need any replies "proving" me wrong. You believe what you want, I believe what I believe, let's just leave it at that. Second, if you don't like to read, don't even start reading this. This study will be a two-parter, at least. While the verse only has 40 words, give or take based on the translation, it is going to take me many words to break down this verse.
Just because a particular English translation phrases a verse in a certain way, doesn't mean the verse is accurate, based on the English words used. Scripture is made up of words. Words have meaning. In order to comprehend what meaning is being conveyed by the words, we must be able to define the words. The meaning of this verse hinges on two things, who or what are the Nephilim and "the sons of God." This requires research. There is a big difference between finding out the meaning of words in Scripture and letting a Gentile Pharisee tell you what the words mean. The Gentile Pharisees follow the Humpty Dumpty method found in "Alice in Wonderland."
'There's glory for you.' 'I don't know what you mean by "glory", Alice said. Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. 'Of course you don't'- till I tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knockdown argument for you!' 'But glory doesn't mean "a nice knockdown argument",' objected Alice. 'WHEN I USE A WORD,' Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, 'IT MEANS JUST WHAT I CHOOSE IT TO MEAN.'"
What most people are not aware of is that the Hebrew word "Nephilim" is probably the single biggest puzzle that has yet to be solved, and probably never will be. This means that nobody, Scholars, linguists, and Biblical Hebrew experts have ever determined the exact definition of the word. There is no general consensus among the majority. Over time, it has been determined that Nephilim means one of these definitions: To fall, the fallen ones, to fall upon others, causing to fall or violent. Clear as mud, right? Of course, people are not aware of this and it is not taught from the pulpits. Why is this not taught? Because the Gentile Pharisees don't study, don't want to study, are too lazy to study, and don't how to study. They could care less what things in Scripture mean. But, how are you going to know what Scripture means if you don't find out what the things in Scripture mean? How can Scripture be taught properly if the teacher doesn't know what Scripture teaches?
Adding to the confusion is the use of the English word "giants." When we see the word "giant," most associate it with some type of fairy tale humanoid creature of great height and bulk. That is the preferred meaning the Gentile Pharisees believe and promote. Due to the influence of the KJV and the translation used the word "giants," has been a huge part of the wrong understanding of Gen 6:4.
So the natural thing to do is determine what did the KJV translators mean to convey when they used the word "giants" to translate the Hebrew word Nephilim.
From the "KJV Dictionary," Giant, noun. Latin gigas. Greek, probably (probably, not definite proof), "from the earth." The word originally signified the earth-born. The ancients believed that the first inhabitants to be produced from the ground and to be of enormous size.
1 A man of extraordinary bulk or stature.
2 A person of extraordinary strength or power, bodily or intellectual.
Notice, no hint of some supernatural being or hybrid here, restricted to mean humans.
From the King James Bible Dictionary, which was borrowed from Easton's Bible Dictionary.
Heb. Nephilim, meaning violent or causing to fall. These were the violent tyrants of those days, those who fell upon others.
Again, no hint or suggestion of any supernatural offspring, nor any description of beings of great height. Do you see that the definitions from each book do not agree with each other? They are not even close. Which one is correct? How do you determine which definition to use? In the case of Evangelicalism, you choose the one that best fits your definition. In other words, the Gentile Pharisees make themselves the experts of what words mean. All of the hundreds of books written on the study of Biblical Hebrew and Greek words mean nothing. All of the lexicons, theological dictionaries, morphology, etymology, root words, cultural meaning, context, syntax, etc., are not important enough to consult or consider. A word in Scripture means exactly what the Gentile Pharisee says it means, right? They are the experts, correct? They all know how to read, write and speak the Biblical languages, yes? They have all spent many, many years studying the original words, in the original languages and are aware of the proper context and cultural meanings of the words, wouldn't you agree? When they say that grace means, "God's riches at Christ's expense," must be the original meaning, right? That must be the best definition! It what has to be the most amazing fact is that hundreds of thousands of Gentile Pharisees, through each doing an independent word study, all came to the same exact definition! Because it wouldn't be that they are simply repeating what others have said, would it? The Hebrew word "grace" has such a depth of meaning that spouting some simplistic acronym doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. What about grace in the O.T.? Was that also at "Christ's expense?" What about the word "meek?" Every single word study book I have looked at defines meek as meaning, humble or gentle. But, apparently, I and all of the word study books are completely wrong. All of the commentary writers, many of whom knew biblical Hebrew and Greek were clueless as to the meaning of meek. Even the writers God ordained to write down Scripture didn't know what meek meant in their own language. Thank God for the brilliant Gentile Pharisees, who know the mind of God and know what God was trying to get across, that God must have been confused. I wonder did God think, "I just can't wait until English is developed as a language and the "pastors" who read and speak English, will finally be able to tell people what I have been trying to say." According to the Gentile Pharisees, who are so brilliant that they can incorporate "taking out the trash" into a biblical meaning, meek means "strength under control." This meaning began to have traction only about 25 years ago. Wow, Scripture was misunderstood for thousands of years concerning the word "meek" until the Gentile Pharisees figured it out! There is no Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek word in Scripture that is defined to mean "unconditional love." Yet, what do the Gentile Pharisees teach? That God's love is unconditional!
Forgive me, but so many lies and false teaching have come from pulpits that I must address some of them as I go through my studies. Back to the Nephilim/giants. To show the diversity of the different beliefs, let me cite some examples.
The New Bible Dictionary: A man of stature.
Smith's Bible Dictionary: persons of great strength.
The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism: ...The overlap of the giant motif with the realm of sexuality and the notions of forbidden unions leads conveniently to the other prominent textual locus for giants in early Jewish literature, namely the fractured myth now present in Gen 6:4 whose fuller lineaments are visible in ancient sources like 1 Enoch and Jubilees. Therein giants are held to be the monstrous offspring of miscegenate unions between human women and a rouge group of divine beings...the giants provoke so much mayhem and murder that God is forced to intervene in the form of a universal deluge. (What is interesting here is that in the entire article, the word Nephilim is never mentioned.)
The NET Bible: The Hebrew word, "Nephilim," is simply transliterated here because the meaning of the term is uncertain. According to the text, the Nephilim became mighty warriors and gained great fame in the antediluvian world. The text may imply they were the offspring of the sexual union of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of humankind," but it stops short of saying this in a direct manner.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible: the products of divine-human intercourse are legendary warriors of renown. They are distinguished here from the Nephilim, a race of giants said to exist prior to and after those times.
The MacArthur Study Bible: The word Nephilim is from a root meaning to "fall," indicating that they were strong men who "fell" on others in the sense of overpowering them. They were already on the earth when the "mighty men" and "men of renown" were born. The fallen ones are not the offspring of the union.
The New Jerusalem Bible: An obscure passage (from the Yahwistic tradition). The author uses a popular story of a race of giants, the Nephilim, the Titians of eastern legend, born of the union of between gods and mortals. The author does not present this as a myth, on the other hand, does he deliver judgment on its actual occurrence; he records the anecdote of a superhuman race simply to serve as an example of the increase in human wickedness which was to provoke the Flood. Later Judaism and almost all of the earliest ecclesiastical writers identify the 'sons of God' with the fallen angels; but from the fourth century onward, as the idea of angelic natures become less material, the Fathers commonly take the 'sons of God' to be Seth's descendants and the 'daughters of men' those of Cain.
Biblical Illustrator: Giants, story of Jack the Giant Killer: written to teach children that they have got to fight giants.
Calvin: namely that giants practiced great violence and tyranny...but of certain individuals, who, being stronger than the rest and relying on their might and power to exalt themselves.
Companion Bible Notes: Hebrew. the "men of name." The heroes of Greek mythology.
Adam Clark: Those who had apostatized or fallen from true religion.
Ellicott's Bible Commentary: Giants are apparently a race of men of great physical strength and stature.
Family Bible Notes: Giants; men of great stature.
Geneva Bible Notes: Those who usurped authority over others and degenerated from the simplicity in which their fathers lived.
JFB: the term in Hebrew implies not so much the idea of great stature as of reckless ferocity, who spread devastation and carnage far and wide.
Matthew Poole: Giants; men so called, partly from their high stature, but principally for their great strength and force, whereby they oppressed and tyrannized others.
All of these different explanations. Some similarities, but many differences. I can easily show another 30 examples. Most of the men listed, and others from the past were very brilliant, deep thinkers, logical, and truly sought to study Scripture. In intellectual prowess, ability to think and ponder, reason, and insight, the modern-day Gentile Pharisees compared to the great minds of old, is like comparing a slow-thinking kid in kindergarten, who struggles to learn his ABCs to Einstein, Stephen Hawkins, or Isaac Newton. There is no comparison! The modern-day Gentile Pharisees know how to sound smart, but they just have the gift of gab and their great skill lies in sophistry. They don't know how to think, but they are clever. They are at their best when telling personal stories or telling lame jokes. They are successful only because they teach those who know nothing about Scripture or what Scripture means. They are the blind leading the blind.
Many great minds have sought to determine the meaning of Gen 6:4 for thousands of years. And, as you can see, there is no general, agreed-upon, single answer. Ah, but the modern-day Gentile Pharisees have solved the problem? And they think they know what Gen 6:4 means? And the most amazing thing is they all came up with the same answer! No variations, they all teach the same exact thing! Really, people who don't study, who won't bother to look up and define a word, who look at anything else beyond how their preferred English translation reads? Who think that an English translation is the only source of knowledge they need to study and teach Scripture? That an English translation is sufficient to open up the treasury of Scripture? That Bible study is merely finding a few verses? Those whose extreme arrogance and self-delusion prevent them from even considering that they might not know as much as they think they do? Those who think context doesn't matter? That Scripture is some loose outline and they have permission to fill in the blanks with whatever they want to say? The Gentile Pharisees, instead of being independent thinkers, who have come to their own conclusions, based on their own study, are like the Borg, in "Star Trek, Next Generation. In some way, they are all connected mentally and when one finds a great lie to teach, it spreads to all of the other Gentile Pharisees. Instead of studying, they just repeat what the others are saying!
There are no historical sources or evidence that show that the Nephilim were extremely tall, fairy tale creatures. (YouTube is not proof of anything) Do you know the source of the teaching that presents the Nephilim as tall giants? 1 Enoch and the legends and myths of the Jews. 1 Enoch is not only not included in Scripture, it didn't even make it into the Apograph! In Enoch, the "giants" are said to be 450 feet tall. In the Legends, the "giants" are said to be a mile tall, some had two heads and after they ate all of the animals, they began to eat people! If these sources are "reliable," and "accurate," why isn't this information included in Scripture? Surely Scripture would at least mention the extraordinary height? Because the word "giants" was not used to describe any physical dimensions, rather it was used to describe their characteristics! The word describes their brutal power and actions! These were violent men who fought and conquered others. They used violence and power to dominate others. They fought, often! They took whatever they wanted! If you couldn't beat them, you had best get away from them! These types of men are still in existence today, bikers, gang members, cartels, organized crime, thugs, murderers, etc., all of who use violence to get their way! Men and women who don't care about any type of decency or morality. Rather, they will kill another at the drop of a hat, for any perceived slight, any reason, and not feel an iota of guilt or remorse. If they don't kill you, they will severely beat you.
Another thing people are never told is that the word "Nephilim" could have just as easily been translated as "bully" or "tyrant." Do you know that some English translations don't use the word "giants," but rather just use the word Nephilim? How much confusion would have been avoided if the KJV had used the word "bully" or "tyrant" instead of "giants?" If people read, "and there were tyrants in the land," they would not even think about any type of mythology "giants!" They would have an immediate grasp of what was going on in those days of old.
End of part one.
