Orthodox view on the "Nephilim"

TheLostCoin said:

So, I'm subscribed to a YouTuber named "Pixels and Papyrus," he's a student of Hebrew who does pretty excellent videos - from a scholarly analysis - of trying to analyze and explain some of the weird, seemingly mythological elements of the Old Testament, and his latest video is on the "Nephilim."

The Bible verse in reference is Genesis 6:4.
"In those days were the giants on the earth, and also afterwards, when the sons of God had come in to the daughters of men, and they had borne [children] to them; these were the heroes, who of old were men of renown."

And the question is: "What does 'giants' and 'sons of God' refer to?" Is this referring to a race of giants which were genetically formed from human beings? Or is this actually a reference to the "offspring" produced from "angelic beings" and "women"?

And while we might have an immediate intuition that it's the former, this video argues - pretty convincingly might I add (considering I'm not in stream with scholarly debate) that it's the latter.



So, after seeing this video, multiple questions enter into my mind:

1. Does the Orthodox Church have an official position on this matter?
2. If the "angelic beings" view is the more legitimate view, what do we make of the idea of the War in Heaven before all creation, and the nature of demons - Have demons always been immaterial? Can demons have intercourse and produce offspring with humans? And what do we make of Hell / Hades? Are there some demons in Hades right now, with some roaming the Earth?
3. If the "human beings" view is correct, how do you the argue against the evidence contradicting this view, especially with the fact that the Book of 2 Peter or the Book of Jude seem to quote almost verbatim the Book of Enoch, the Book which seems to accept the "angelic beings" view and is canonical within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church?
4. In light of the Syncretism with Babylonian religion, what does this say about how we ought to view the Book of Genesis in it's literalness?

Thanks.

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Lukaris said:

St. Irenaeus mentions these beings in His overview of the Bible in his work: On the Apostolic Preaching (ca. 170 AD).

Irenaeus, The Proof of the Apostolic Preaching (1920) pp. 69-151.

Chapter 18 of the work.

He quotes the account from 2nd Peter & the book of Enoch.

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and illicit unions took place upon the earth, since angels were united with the daughters of the race of mankind; and they bore to them sons who for their exceeding greatness were called giants. And the angels brought as presents to their wives teachings of wickedness,52 in that they brought |86 them the virtues of roots and herbs, dyeing in colours and cosmetics, the discovery of rare substances, love-potions, aversions, amours, concupiscence, constraints of love, spells of bewitchment, and all sorcery and idolatry hateful to God; by the entry of which things into the world evil extended and spread, while righteousness was diminished and enfeebled.

19. Until judgment came [ie the flood, which is described next]

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"The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and afterward as well, when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown."

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<<9. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. 10. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.>>

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"The Greek, Aramaic, and main Ge'ez manuscripts of 1 Enoch and Jubilees obtained in the 19th century and held in the British Museum and Vatican Library, connect the origin of the Nephilim with the fallen angels, and in particular with the egrḗgoroi (watchers)... In addition to Enoch, the Book of Jubilees (7:21–25) also states that ridding the Earth of these Nephilim was one of God's purposes for flooding the Earth in Noah's time. These works describe the Nephilim as being evil giants."

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Therefore flee fornication, my children, and command your wives and your daughters that they adorn not their heads and their faces; because every woman who acteth deceitfully in these things hath been reserved to everlasting punishment. For thus they allured the Watchers [44] before the flood; and as these continually beheld them, they fell into desire each of the other, and they conceived the act in their mind, and changed themselves into the shape of men, and appeared to them in their congress with their husbands; and the women, having in their minds desire toward their apparitions, gave birth to giants, for the Watchers appeared to them as reaching even unto heaven. [45]

FOOTNOTES
[44] This name, occurring once again in the Testaments (Naph. 3), is one frequently found applied to the angels as the custodians of the world and of men. Thus, in the Chaldee of Daniel (iv. 10, 14, 20: 13, 17, 23, Eng. Ver.), we find the expression R+J+E+, which Aquila and Symmachus render egregoros. The corresponding Ethiopic term is of frequent occurrence in the book of Enoch, not only of the fallen angels (e.g., x. 9, 15, xvi. 1, etc.), but of the good (xii. 2, 3, etc., ed. Dillmann). See also Gesenius, Thesaurus, s.v. R+J+E+.
[45] [Gen. vi. 4; Revised margin, 1 Cor. xi. 10; Jude 6, 7.]

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Be ye not therefore eager to corrupt your doings through excess, or with empty words to deceive your souls; because if ye keep silence in purity of heart, ye shall be able to hold fast the will of God, and to cast away the will of the devil. Sun and moon and stars change not their order; so also ye shall not change the law of God in the disorderliness of your doings. Nations went astray, and forsook the Lord, and changed their order, and followed stones and stocks, following after spirits of error. But ye shall not be so, my children, recognising in the firmament, in the earth, and in the sea, and in all created things, the Lord who made them all, that ye become not as Sodom, which changed the order of its nature, in like manner also the Watchers changed the order of their nature, whom also the Lord cursed at the flood, and for their sakes made desolate the earth, that it should be uninhabited and fruitless.

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Euodius said:

The fact that Angels can't copulate isn't a sufficient critique to dismiss the clear existence of tradition (with plenty of scriptural support) that angels did copulate (somehow) with the daughters of man.

It would seem this is a mystery best accepted, even if 'how' this could be is insufficient. Why is it that an angel could not manifest (as occurs) and impose an alteration on matter (of which accounts of this seem to exist)?

The Sethite interpretation of Augustine is both late and also is insufficient in that the scriptures imply more than a symbolic interpretation of this descent of angels.

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rakovsky said:

I think that Paul in 1 COR. 11 was alluding to the story, and Irenaeus and the Christian "Testament of the 12 Patriarchs" took the story as referring to angels mating with women, so this was either the early Christian idea or the early Christians were open to it.

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