Genesis 6:1-4 is one of the more mysterious and, in some ways, controversial passages in the Bible. They have sparked centuries of debate about (1) the identity of the sons of God, (2) the daughters of men, and (3) the Nephilim, as well as the way we are to understand this story within the broader context of Genesis and scripture as a whole. Beyond the interpretive challenges of Genesis 6:1-4, these verses offer profound theological insights about one aspect of human rebellion—boundary crossing.
While I have my own thoughts on the identities of the sons of God, daughters of men, and Nephilim—which I’ll discuss below—I don’t think we have to come to an iron-clad conclusion about their identities to grasp the theological insights this passage provides. It is easy to get caught up in the tedium of the scholarship. We can miss the forest for the trees. So, as we review some of the interpretive options, we will seek to keep our wits about us so we don’t get caught in the weeds.
Who Are the Sons of God and the Daughters of Men?
Treating the sons of God alongside the daughters of men is important because, whatever conclusion we draw, we need to recognize that there is some distinction between the sons of God and the daughters of men that is supposed to be preserved. While the identity of the sons of God has been the primary focus of scholarship, the relationship between the sons of God and the daughters of men is clearly in view—any interpretation needs to offer an explanation as to why the relationship is inappropriate. That said, here are the options for sons of God and daughters of men:
1. Men from the line of Seth, Women from the line of Cain
This interpretation assumes that the line of Seth is a godly line seeking to represent the Lord. The implication of this interpretation is that the line of Seth was to avoid intermingling with women who might hinder them from being faithful to the Lord.
Understanding the “sons of God” as the line of Seth virtually requires this understanding of the “daughters of men.” This interpretation assumes that these women are from an ungodly line unfamiliar with or in rebellion against God who would keep the sons of God from faithfully following the Lord.
The strength of the interpretation is that it tends to follow the narrative of Genesis, which created a division in the lineage of Adam and Eve’s children in Genesis 4:17-5:32. In addition, the Israelites may be referred to as the “sons of God” in Deuteronomy 32:8 though the interpretation of this passage is problematic. In the Masoretic Text—the Hebrew text of the Old Testament--Hosea 1:10 seems to allude to Deuteronomy 32:8, assuming that the phrase “sons of God” refers to Israel. The Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Old Testament—tends to see the phrase as referring to heavenly beings (Ps 29:1; 89:6). While the “line of Seth/Cain” interpretation is plausible, there is certainly room for other interpretative options.
2. Heavenly Beings, Human Women
This interpretation assumes that “sons of God” refers to heavenly beings. Again, depending on the interpretative conclusions one draws about Deuteronomy 32:8, it could be argued that “sons of God” is used to refer to heavenly beings as early as Deuteronomy. “Sons of God” is used to refer to angels in other books of the Old Testament (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7).
In addition to these references, two New Testament texts need to be considered. Jude 6 references “angels who did not keep within their proper domain.” Given the association with Sodom and Gomorrah’s sexual sins in Jude 7, many view reference to the angels in v. six as referring to Genesis 6:1-4. 1 Peter 3:19-20 is a more explicit reference given the time stamp— “in the days of Noah as an ark was being constructed.” Here, the “spirits in prison” (3:19) could refer to fallen angels.
The boundary crossed would have involved the marital and sexual union of two separate sorts of beings—not of the same kind. As I’ll argue below, heavenly beings mating with human women would have been seen as problematic because of the grasping to overcome human limitations that the union provided. It was a departure from the ordered creation God had created. That disordering prompts God to de-create the world by removing the boundaries he previously set in place between land and water.
3. Human Kings/Peasant Women
This final interpretation is based on the idea that ancient Near Eastern kings are often referred to as “sons of God.” They represented divine authority. The view suggests that the sons of God were powerful rulers abusing their position by accumulating wives (likely from the peasant class) and engaging in polygamy. These rulers, driven by greed and lust, embodied the same sort of prideful rebellion we see elsewhere in Genesis.
While this interpretation is creative, it isn't transparent that we jump to this sort of ancient Near Eastern cultural understanding of the sons of God. Though “sons of God” was used to refer to ancient Near Eastern kings, there is no clear suggestion that polygamy is being practiced in the text or that the union between the sons of God and daughters of men was forced. Apart from suggesting that the kings forced women into marriages, this interpretation also has a difficult time explaining why such a union would be problematic.
These three interpretations are relatively common with the first two generally being viewed as the most likely. Despite the difficulties associated with interpreting Deuteronomy 32:8, the New Testament texts tend to suggest that the “sons of God” are divine figures and that the “daughters of men” are human women. While some may object to this conclusion based on Jesus’s assertion that “in the resurrection, they [resurrected humans] neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven” (Matt 22:30), we should note that Genesis 6:1-4 concerns the crossing of certain boundaries that would have disrupted the God-established order of the world.
Genesis 6 and Boundary Crossing
Throughout Genesis 1, God is described as seeing that the various aspects of creation he has just made are good (Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). The meaning of the phrase is the sense of determining or judging. It isn’t just about passively observing something. In “seeing” that what he has created is good, God is determining it as good.
In Genesis 3, the woman sees that the tree of knowledge and good and evil is good for food and desirable for making one wise and takes the fruit and eats it. Here, the woman makes a judgment independent of and in opposition to God. She determines that the fruit God has forbidden (Gen 2:17) is good.
Genesis 6 contains a similar pattern, though with less context—we have to infer why the union between the sons of God and daughters of men is problematic. Still, the pattern is clear enough: the “sons of God” see that the daughters of men are good (normally translated as beautiful, but the same word as “good” in Hebrew) and take whichever they choose. The repetition of the pattern suggests that the narrative is confronting a similar underlying problem—a boundary that God has set is being transgressed.
The idea of boundaries is slightly different than the way we normally think about rebellion or sin. In essence, when we look at the creation narrative, we see God distinguishing between different kinds. Light is separate from darkness (1:3), waters above from waters below (1:6-8), earth from water (1:9-10), etc. God’s creation involved setting things in order—creating distinct entities that needed to stay within a particular set of boundaries.
Transgressing those boundaries would create disorder. Consider, for instance, when God determines “it is not good that the man should be alone,” he brings all the animals to Adam to see what he will name them (Gen 2:19-20). Even so, “there was not found a helper fit for him” (2:20). The man did not need any old companion but one “fit for him,” so God created woman. Though distinct from man, woman was “fit” for the man. The animals were not fit to be man’s “helper.” Attempting to force them into that mold would be against nature.
In Genesis 6:1-4, we see a divine boundary being transgressed. The sons of God and the daughters of men were to remain separate. It presents the transgression of a divine boundary that these are two groups, whoever we say they are, that do not belong together. Their union is incommensurate with God's created design—the distinctions God has made are being blurred. So, even without identifying who the sons of God and the daughters of men are, we can see at least two things.
First, the sons of God and daughters of men are separate and distinct groups. They are male and female (a sex-based distinction), but they also come from a different place (a filial- or origin-based distinction). The sons of God have a different “lineage”—either the line of Seth or as heavenly beings created directly by God—than the daughters of men. We aren’t dealing with the sons of God and the daughters of God or the sons of man and the daughters of man.
Second, we see a judgment that results in disorder. In the case of the man and woman in the garden, we have the curse on all creation and the separation from God’s presence (Gen 3:8-24). The blurring of boundaries in Genesis 6 results in the multiplication of evil (6:5). While it isn’t necessarily clear in Genesis 6:1-4, it is possible to suggest that a similar motivation lies behind the see-good-take patterns in Genesis 6:1-4 and Genesis 3:1-7. In the latter, the woman is offered the opportunity to transcend the limitations of humanity and to “be like God” (3:5). The former—particularly if we view the “sons of God” as heavenly beings—might point in the same direction with humans opting into relationships with heavenly beings so that their offspring could transcend human limitations.
Again, Genesis 6:1-4 has a number of other interpretive challenges that would need to be considered. As such, these suggestions should be taken as tentative. It is important not to oversimplify these narratives.
When we transgress God’s boundaries, we live in disorder. God has distinguished and separated the various aspects and entities of creation according to his own judgment. That judgment is infinitely wiser than our judgment.
Instead of accepting the boundaries that God has created and maintaining His distinctions, we too often decide that transgressing those boundaries is actually a good thing. Our willingness to transgress God’s boundaries is an aspect of human rebellion. As boundaries are blurred and distinctions are made unclear, the world becomes increasingly difficult to navigate because we don't know where to go. We don't know how to move. We don't know what we're doing.
When we are restored in Christ, we begin to see the world in new ways. We begin to recognize that living under Christ’s authority is not limiting but liberating. We see that living in God’s created order—following the way, the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6)—helps us make theological sense of the world.
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