Many scholars interpret “the sons of God” in Genesis 6:2 as spiritual beings, fallen or otherwise, and “the Nephilim” as their half-human, colossal offspring, but such an interpretation stands completely opposed to exegeting the text with a literal, grammatical-historical hermeneutic. This study will carefully demonstrate through the surrounding context of Genesis, and the Pentateuch collectively, how to properly understand the reference to the sons of God and the Nephilim. Furthermore, too many scholars have been quick to interpret the 120 years of verse 3 as referring to the newly restrictive lifespan of a man. They frequently direct the reader to Deuteronomy 34:7 and the death of Moses as their anecdotal evidence. This interpretation likewise fails the principles of the literal, grammatical-historical hermeneutic.
This study will demonstrate that with careful application of the literal, grammatical-historical hermeneutic, “the sons of God” are rightly the godly line of Seth in contrast to the ungodly line of Cain. The unauthorized pairing (marriage) between the godly and the ungodly is a common theme in Scripture. This is only its first occurrence. Consider Abraham’s concern to preserve the godly lineage, Genesis 24:3-4; Esau’s pagan wives as a point of contention for Isaac and Rebekah, Genesis 26:34-35; Balaam and Israel’s Harlotry in Moab, Numbers 25:1; 31:16; Moses’s warning of God’s command not to marry secular women, Deuteronomy 7:3-4; Samson’s demise, Judges 14:1-3; 16:1; Solomon’s corruption, 1 Kings 11:1-11; and Paul’s NT command of 2 Corinthians 6:14. The preceding chapters of Genesis illustrate man’s decent into wickedness contrasted in chapter 5 by recounting the godly line of Seth and the climax of God’s response to the sin of mankind in chapter 6 and following. Furthermore, Nephilim is a term found only twice in Scripture. Moses was writing the history of Genesis while he was living the present-day, now historical, accounts of Exodus through Deuteronomy. To properly understand the use of the term in Genesis 6, it must be likewise compared to its use in Numbers 13. In Genesis 6:5-7, Yahweh repeats four times that it is the wickedness of man that he observed, found abhorrent, and intended to destroy. He further clarifies it is the man that he had created, not a half-human colossal hybrid of physical and spiritual descent.
Additionally, this study will demonstrate that the 120 years constrained to man is the period of God’s grace leading up to the wrath of God being poured out upon the earth in the global flood of the earth and the destruction of all living things apart from those saved within the ark. This is easily understood within the context of the pericope of Genesis 6. It is further reinforced by the genealogies of Genesis 11 that demonstrate that the lifespan of man had not been restrained to 120 years. And finally, while also considering the context of Moses’s death the careful reader observes that his experience is prohibitive from becoming the standard of all men.