Giants in the Bible?
Hello Friends at Present Truth,
Thank you for the work you've gone to to put all that information on your web site. I haven't read it all yet so maybe my question is answered there. If so, please just point me to it. So here goes:
In your "Don't believe" column number 66 (Teaching that angels were once able to have sexual relations with women and produce a race of super-humans is a serious departure from the word of God.) is the one I wonder about. Who then were the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men"? What was the sin that the Sons of God did against the people and against the animals too? And where did the giants come from? Thank you for taking time to consider my questions,
Best regards, Marj Hansen
Hi Marj,
I must ask your indulgence for not answering your email sooner. I can now take some time off to attempt to give you some of the reasons why we here at Present Truth Magazine believe that the "sons of God" mentioned in Genesis 6 were not angels who produced a race of antediluvian super-humans.
Genesis 6:1-5 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 the LORD 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. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
We believe that the key to understanding what is meant in Genesis 6 is found in Genesis 4.
Genesis 4:1-26 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD." Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering.And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. "So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth."
And Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear! "Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me." And the LORD said to him, "Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.
Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son -- Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.
Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah. Then Lamech said to his wives: "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold."
And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, "For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed." And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD.
This account of the events in the life of Cain after he killed Abel is given in the bible in order to show us what direction Cain and his progeny took. They became totally alienated from the Lord and ultimately became completely lawless and apostate. It is at verse 26 that we are told that it is only through Seth, faithful Abel's equally faithful replacement, that "men began to call upon the name of the LORD".
We must keep in mind that it was only faithful Abel who brought a sacrifice which was "acceptable" to the Lord. This animal sacrifice was acceptable because it pointed in faith to the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ, the promised "seed" of Eve who would crush the serpent's head. It is through the line of Seth that the knowledge of the one true God was kept alive in the antediluvian world. In these passages we are shown the two distinct lineages which were being developed.
As the account progresses in Genesis 5 we are shown the development of the lineage of Seth, while the lineage of Cain is ignored. Then we come to chapter six where we see that the entire earth is now densely populated and of all the inhabitants of the earth only Noah is remaining faithful and he alone "finds grace in the eyes of the LORD". It is apparent that even the majority of the Sethites had forsaken the worship of the LORD.
It is within this context that we are told that--
"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. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart." Genesis 6:4-6.
With the background and context of this passage in mind, we must understand this passage. God is showing us that the "sons of God", who should have never intermarried with the pagan children of Cain, were now taking wives from unbelievers and joining with these "daughters of men" in their apostasy. The fact that there were "giants on the earth in those days" should not surprise us at all. The antediluvians were not the ignorant, half evolved prehistoric cave men which modern anthropologists would have us believe them to be. These people lived to be nearly 1,000 years old. They were only a few generations away from Adam and had not suffered from the effects of degeneration and genetic decay from which we suffer today. They were still vibrant, healthy, immensely intelligent and physically near perfect specimens of humanity. It should not shock us to learn that these people were "giants", not only in their capacity to sin and commit evil, but also in their physical appearance. It is only after the flood that the life span and the vitality of the human race began to diminish. These people were still magnificent in stature and ability.
The account here tells us that--
"Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Genesis 6:4-5
We can speculate from this passage that it is very probable that the ancient mythological legends about "god-men" had their basis in the lives of these evil apostates who were totally corrupted in their lives and actions and causing unimaginable suffering and warfare upon the pre-flood peoples. The mythologies of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome were very likely developed from the oral and written traditions which developed and were handed down through the post-flood apostates who came from Noah's son, Ham and then Cush, Mizraim, Canaan, Nimrod, and the apostates who built the tower of Babel.
These giant peoples still survived even unto the days of the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt. Here is a listing of the biblical accounts in the days of Moses and Joshua and following generations:
Numbers 13:32 -14:1 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature . "There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants ); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."
Deuteronomy 2:9-11 "Then the LORD said to me, 'Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.' " (The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim . They were also regarded as giants , like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim.
Deuteronomy 3:8-13 "And at that time we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon '(the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir), "all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and all Bashan, as far as Salcah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. "For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the giants . Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in Rabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit. "And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, and half the mountains of Gilead and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites. "The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of Argob, with all Bashan, was called the land of the giants .
Joshua 12:4 The other king was Og king of Bashan and his territory, who was of the remnant of the giants , who dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,
Joshua 13:12-13 " ...all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants ; for Moses had defeated and cast out these. Nevertheless the children of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maachathites, but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.
Joshua 17:15-18 So Joshua answered them, "If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants , since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you." But the children of Joseph said, "The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel." And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph -- to Ephraim and Manasseh -- saying, "You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, "but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong."
2 Samuel 21:15-22 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant , the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel." Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the sons of the giant . Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature , who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant . 21 So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
1 Chronicles 20:4-8 Now it happened afterward that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines, at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Sippai, who was one of the sons of the giant . And they were subdued. Again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam . Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, with twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot; and he also was born to the giant . So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. These were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
And so from looking over the biblical context of Genesis and other passages, we have drawn our conclusion that:"Teaching that angels were once able to have sexual relations with women and produce a race of super-humans is a serious departure from the word of God."
If you have any questions don't hesitate to email me and I will do my best to answer.
Bill Diehl,
www.PresentTruthMag.com