Troublesome TopicTHE NEPHILIM WERE MORE THAN SIMPLE GIANTS

Genesis 6:4

Translation

The NEPHILIM were on the earth in those days

(and also after that),

when the SONS OF ELOHIM

Go to footnote number 1

went in to the daughters of men and they bore them children. Those were the mighty men of old,

the men of renown.  (See comments below.)

Paraphrase

The GREAT BIG BULLIES WHO BOWED DOWN TO FALSE GODS AND FORCED OTHERS TO BOW DOWN TO THEM AS GODS were on the earth in those days  (and also after the flood). This was because the MIGHTY ONES AMONG THE FOLLOWERS OF GOD approached those who were committed to following man’s sinful nature and had sex with them, and of

course children were born from these relationships. Those children grew up to be famous for being ruthless and power-hungry, of whom many stories have been told.  (See comments below.)

Human genes at that time were very rich and one of the possible characteristics of an offspring was that of exaggerated size – giants. The word Nephilim probably came to mean “giants” because that was their most obvious physical characteristic. Yet I choose to focus on the root meaning of “bow down,” therefore, I believe the true Nephilim possessed several characteristics which made them more adept at forcing others to bow down to them –

They were large and strong,

brutal,

political geniuses,

skilled inventors and builders,

and possibly demon possessed.

They were able to convince the people that “if you follow me, we will accomplish great things together, but if you don’t follow me, bad things will happen to your personal physical being.” They were the “perfect storm,” if you will.

The next lesson is: What Is the Main Point of Genesis 6:1-4?

Footnotes

1: “sons of Elohim”

The paraphrase column combines the two ideas that I think are being implied by this phrase; these men had been followers of God, and they were also giant men who had risen to positions of leadership among their relatives. (See my full-length comment after verse two for the reasons why the phrase “sons of God” is not likely to refer to angels in this passage.)