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In a previous article, I looked at the mysterious text that introduces the Flood narrative in Genesis 6. It involves the “sons of God” marrying the “daughters of men,” and it mentions a group known as the Nephilim. It also involves several other matters, and I identified seven mysteries to solve:
1) Who are the “sons of God” in this passage?
2) Who are the “daughters of men”?
3) Why does God say that man’s “days shall be 120 years”?
4) Who were the Nephilim?
5) What is the relationship joining the sons of God, the daughters of men, and the Nephilim?
6) Why does the text say the Nephilim were on the earth “in those days, and also afterward”?
7) Do these events have anything to do with the Great Flood, which this passage introduces?
In the previous post, we were able to solve one of these mysteries (number 4): based on the way the Nephilim and their descendants are described in the biblical text, they appear to have been people who were unusually tall, or “giants.”
But now let’s see if we can answer more of these questions. The one I’d like to focus on first is Question 3, or why God said that man’s “days shall be 120 years.”
Some have taken this to be a declaration that man’s lifespan would decrease from the centuries-long lifespans of the pre-Flood patriarchs (Gen. 5). This is possible, but there are problems with the proposal.
Continued below.
1) Who are the “sons of God” in this passage?
2) Who are the “daughters of men”?
3) Why does God say that man’s “days shall be 120 years”?
4) Who were the Nephilim?
5) What is the relationship joining the sons of God, the daughters of men, and the Nephilim?
6) Why does the text say the Nephilim were on the earth “in those days, and also afterward”?
7) Do these events have anything to do with the Great Flood, which this passage introduces?
In the previous post, we were able to solve one of these mysteries (number 4): based on the way the Nephilim and their descendants are described in the biblical text, they appear to have been people who were unusually tall, or “giants.”
But now let’s see if we can answer more of these questions. The one I’d like to focus on first is Question 3, or why God said that man’s “days shall be 120 years.”
Some have taken this to be a declaration that man’s lifespan would decrease from the centuries-long lifespans of the pre-Flood patriarchs (Gen. 5). This is possible, but there are problems with the proposal.
Continued below.
7 Mysteries About the Nephilim
They are one of the most mysterious peoples in the Old Testament. Let's pull back the curtain and answer some of the open questions about the Nephilim.