Ken Ham Answers “Who Were the Nephilim?”

So, I swallow hard, and here goes—let’s talk about the Nephilim! I’ve been asked about my views many times, so I have decided to give them. Of course, sometimes people ask for my views on something, so I give my view to them, and then they get upset with me.

Since this is not an issue of biblical authority, AiG doesn’t take an official position on the exact meaning and identification of the Nephilim.

Now, before I get into this, please know this is not the official position of Answers in Genesis. Since this is not an issue of biblical authority, AiG doesn’t take an official position on the exact meaning and identification of the Nephilim. But this is my personal view (which is also laid out in my family commentary Creation to Babel).

Okay, here goes! In context, this passage about the Nephilim appears after creation and the fall and right before the account of the flood.

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. (Genesis 6:1–4)

This has been a much-debated passage of the Bible. Christian scholars have taken a number of different positions on what these verses mean. As this section doesn’t impinge on any major doctrines, the ministry of Answers in Genesis doesn’t take an official position on the identity of the Nephilim, but our speakers and researchers have their own personally preferred positions. The position I personally lean toward is given below, as I have done my best to negotiate through these verses, including reading many different scholars’ commentaries on these verses.

Remember, God has put these verses in Scripture for our learning, so there must be a reason for them to be included.

The context of these verses is to relay the extent to which wickedness had come to prevail on the earth. One of the ways this happened has something to do with people marrying. I like to take as straightforward an interpretation as possible without trying to complicate things (e.g., Proverbs 8:8–9; 2 Corinthians 4:2).

It seems to me the simplest explanation is that the line of Seth (which could have been referred to as “sons of God” because they were godly and called upon the name of the Lord) started marrying the line of Cain (the “daughters of men”—women who were beautiful but ungodly). Such mixing of spiritual light and darkness destroys families. We see a warning of this with the godly Israelites entering into ungodly Canaan (e.g., Deuteronomy 7:1–4; 1 Kings 11:2). In the New Testament, we are also warned in 2 Corinthians 6:14:

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Malachi also warned about such marriages (godly and ungodly) in Malachi chapter 2.

Because of the sin nature of every human being, such mixing could easily lead to increasing ungodliness.

Because of the sin nature of every human being, such mixing could easily lead to increasing ungodliness. As an example, that was the case of the otherwise godly and wise King Solomon, who was led into idolatry and sin by his pagan wives (1 Kings 11:1–11; Nehemiah 13:26). Therefore, God judged him. That should be a stern warning for us to ensure we obey God’s rules in regard to marriage and the training of children.

Associated with this description of these marriages is the mention of Nephilim. We read,

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. (Genesis 6:4)

Who were the Nephilim? Certainly, the description may imply that they were of great stature (perhaps giants in the build of their bodies), greatly feared, and were well-known, presumably for extreme wickedness. Perhaps they were certain individuals of the offspring resulting from this mixing of “the sons of God” and the “daughters of man” who became extremely evil. An interesting point concerning the Nephilim is the phrase, “and also afterward.” It seems to me this is referring to after the flood, as Nephilim are mentioned once again in Numbers 13:33 (though it is spelled differently in Hebrew):

And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them. (Numbers 13:33)

The Nephilim in Numbers 13 were indeed giant in stature as the text indicates.

By the time of the flood, there was so much ungodliness that God describes it this way:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. (Genesis 6:5–8)

So certainly, the first four verses of Genesis 6 are a lead-up to this situation of rampant wickedness. Personally, I can’t accept (as some do) that wicked angels mated with humans. Angels don’t reproduce and don’t have human DNA. To me, it’s more logical and simpler explanation that when godly and ungodly mix in marriage, it doesn’t take long for the godly legacy to be lost! Thus, by the time of Noah, there was extreme wickedness.

Regardless of the position one takes on understanding these particular verses, it is certainly a warning from God as to what happens when sin is allowed to rule over us.

Regardless of the position one takes on understanding these particular verses, it is certainly a warning from God as to what happens when sin is allowed to rule over us. It’s a reminder to make sure we raise up godly generations who call upon the name of the Lord and have boldness and courage to stand for God and his Word without compromise.

All the way through Scripture, we read of examples where the people of God compromised God’s Word with the pagan beliefs of the nations around them, and it destroyed them—and God judged them for it. We also see examples of where the people of God married ungodly people, and it destroyed families. This has been a problem since the beginning. It’s another reminder to know God’s Word, obey what he instructs us to do, and be aware of how sin is crouching at the door for each one of us to destroy us.

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Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.