Who were the sons of God and daughters of men in Genesis 6:1-4?

Response

Genesis 6:1-4 mentions the sons of God and the daughters of men. Various theories exist regarding the identity of the sons of God and the reason their offspring with the daughters of men became giants (as implied by the term Nephilim).

The three main interpretations concerning the sons of God are: 1) they were fallen angels, 2) they were mighty human rulers, or 3) they were righteous descendants of Seth intermarrying with wicked descendants of Cain. Supporting the first view is the consistent use of the term “sons of God” to refer to angels in the Old Testament (Job 1:6;Job 2:1;Job 38:7). However, a potential issue arises from Matthew 22:30, which states that angels do not marry. The Bible does not suggest that angels possess gender or reproductive abilities. The other two perspectives do not face this challenge.

The shortcomings of views 2) and 3) lie in the fact that the union of ordinary human males with ordinary human females does not explain why their offspring were described as “giants” or “heroes of old, men of renown.” Moreover, why would God decide to bring a flood upon the earth (Genesis 6:5-7) if God had not prohibited powerful human males or Seth’s descendants from marrying ordinary human females or Cain’s descendants? The impending judgment in Genesis 6:5-7 is connected to the events of Genesis 6:1-4. Only the unnatural, sinful unions of fallen angels with human females would seem to warrant such severe judgment.

As mentioned earlier, the weakness of the first view is that Matthew 22:30 states, “At the resurrection…”ction people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” However, the text does not say “angels are not able to marry.” Rather, it indicates only that angels do not marry. Second, Matthew 22:30 is referring to the “angels in heaven.” It is not referring to fallen angels, who do not care about God’s created order and actively seek ways to disrupt God’s plan. The fact that God’s holy angels do not marry or engage in sexual relations does not mean the same is true of Satan and his demons.

View 1) is the most likely position. Yes, it is an interesting “contradiction” to say that angels are sexless and then to say that the “sons of God” were fallen angels who procreated with human females. However, while angels are spiritual beings «Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?», (Hebrews 1:14), they can appear in human, physical form «And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. », (Mark 16:5). The men of Sodom and Gomorrah wanted to have sex with the two angels who were with Lot (Genesis 19:1-5). It is plausible that angels are capable of taking on human form, even to the point of replicating human sexuality and possibly even reproduction. Why do the fallen angels not do this more often? It seems that God imprisoned the fallen angels who committed this evil sin, so that the other fallen angels would not do the same (as described in Jude 6). Earlier Hebrew interpreters and apocryphal and pseudepigraphal writings are unanimous in holding to the view that fallen angels are the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6:1-4. This by no means closes the debate. However, the view

It is strongly supported by context, grammar, and history that Genesis 6:1-4 describes fallen angels mating with human females.