Gen. 6:1-4 – Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

The word “giants” in the passage above is, in certain translations (ASV, NIV, ESV), rendered “Nephilim.”  This word is found in only one other passage of scripture.  In Numbers 13 the twelve spies, who had gone in to spy out the land of promise, were giving their report.  Note what they (besides Joshua and Caleb – Num. 14:6-9) said:

Num. 13:31-33 – But the men who had gone up with him [Caleb] said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

In verse 33 we see the sons of Anak described as “the giants” or “Nephilim” being descendants of those spoken of in Genesis 6:4.

Who were these “men of great stature?”  Some have proposed that the Nephilim were the result of physical unions between angels (“sons of God” – Gen. 6:2, 4) and human beings (“daughters of men” – Gen. 6:2, 4).  This theory, however, does not mesh with other plain passages of scripture which speak to the nature of angels.

• Angels are spirits (Heb. 1:14).  They do not possess flesh and blood.  You recall that Christ, after His resurrection, when appearing to His disciples stated “a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” (Luke 24:39)

• Jesus stated that angels do not marry like we do as human beings (Matt. 22:30; Mark 12:25).

It is also interesting to note that the wording in Genesis 6:4 does not necessarily infer that “the giants” were the offspring of the unions of “the sons of God” and “the daughters of men.”  It could be read so as to suggest that they simply existed as contemporaries to such offspring.

The conclusion we must draw is that the “Nephilim” or “giants” were human beings “of great stature.” (Num. 13:32)  They are described as “mighty” and “men of great renown.” (Gen. 6:4)

As a quick aside, evidence suggests that Goliath was a descendant of Anak and, as such, one of the last Nephilim we read about in the pages of scripture.  In Joshua 11:21-22 we read that “Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains: from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod.”  Note that the only remaining descendants of Anak (“Anakim”) after Joshua’s conquest were in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.  We are told in 1 Samuel 17:4 that Goliath, the Philistine champion, was from Gath.  Just how great of stature was he?  Six cubits and a span equates to roughly 10 feet tall!

One last question remains to be answered.  Who were the “sons of God” and “daughters of men” spoken of in Genesis 6:2 and 4?

The most reasonable view is that the “sons of God” has reference to the descendants of Seth who served the Lord faithfully.  Genesis 4:26 states: “And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.”  To “call on the name of the Lord” is to render obedience to the Lord.

Rom. 10:13-16 – For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”

In the passage above, “calling on the name of the Lord” is a prerequisite for salvation.  It is accomplished by hearing, believing, and obeying God’s instruction.

Those living faithfully to God are consistently referred to as “children of God” throughout the scriptures:

Deut. 14:1 – You are the children of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead.

1 John 3:1 – Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

It is logical to conclude, then, that godly men went in to ungodly women which ultimately resulted in those who were godly being corrupted (Gen. 6:5-6).  Herein is yet another lesson for us today!  “Evil company corrupts good habits.” (1 Cor. 15:33)