The Sons of God and the Daughters of Men

by Stephen Otto

Genesis 6:1-2 states, “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 Yehovah 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.”

Many believers interpret the phrase “sons of God” to refer to angels, suggesting that angels intermarried with earthly women, creating a race of giants. While it is true that the Scriptures use the phrase “sons of God” (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7), to refer to angels, the title also applies to Godly men (Deut. 14:1; 32:5; Psalm 73:15; Isa. 43:6; Hosea 1:10; John 1:12; Rom. 8:14, 19; Phil. 2:15; 1 John 3:1-2). To determine who the sons of God are in this passage, the context is key.

In response to a question about the resurrection, Yeshua said, “...The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection'” (Luke 20:34-36). Yeshua's response indicates that angels do not marry or are given in marriage. Therefore, the phrase “the sons of God” can only refer to male human beings who had relations with the daughters of men, resulting in the birth of giants.

Those who support this interpretation also believe that God sent a flood to purge the Earth of the giants. It is important to note that God created angels as spirit beings (Ps. 104:4; Heb. 1:7), who have appeared in various biblical accounts. However, there is no mention of angels appearing as giants (Gen. 16:7-12; 22:11-18; 32:1-2; etc.). In fact, Hebrews 13:2 states, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” This suggests that for a human being to unknowingly encounter an angel, the angel must appear in a human form, not as a giant.

God is all-knowing, and if it were possible for human beings to marry angels and produce hybrid offspring, He would have included a commandment against such practices in the Torah. While there is no specific command prohibiting angels from intermarrying with the daughters of men, there is a command forbidding Israelite sons of God from marrying Gentile daughters of men.

Deuteronomy 7:1-4 states, “When Yehovah your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, and when Yehovah your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of Yehovah will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.”

The evidence suggests that Genesis 6:1-2 should be understood as follows: “Now it came to pass, when men [Gentiles] began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God [the Israelites] saw the daughters of men {Gentiles], that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.”