tony mattar
18th June 2010, 02:15 AM
"The Neph'ilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown"
I have heard some people say that the Neph'ilim were the fallen angels, who exactly are the Neph'ilim and what does it mean when it says "mighty men".
DavidObeid
18th June 2010, 06:27 AM
First things first: The Nephilim (giants) aren't the "mighty men". The mighty men are the children of the "sons of God and the daughters of men" (more on this is a moment).
The commentary in the Douay Rheims bible gives a very good answer to who the Nephilim were:
It is likely the generality of men before the flood were of a gigantic stature in comparison with what men now are. But these here spoken of are called giants, as being not only tall in stature, but violent and savage in their dispositions, and mere monsters of cruelty and lust.
The "sons of God" are those humans (most likely descendants of Seth) who remained faithful to God, whereas the "daughters of men" (possibly descendants of Cain) are those who turned their backs on God and shunned his worship. Simple husbandry tells us that the hybrid vigour brought about by their marriages would have resulted in naturally strong offspring.