“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that. When the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, me of renown.” (Genesis 6:4). As stated here in the opening verses of the sixth chapter of the book of Genesis, we see something incredible and at the same time very difficult to comprehend. Is it true that giants did indeed walk the earth at one time? Could the sons of God who are mentioned as sleeping with women really be angels? These are just a couple of the mysteries surrounding the origins of the giants, the mighty men of renown.
It is believed by many and even some of the Church Fathers, that the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6 were indeed fallen angels. Other schools of thought identify the sons of God as the descendants of Seth, the holy bloodline of antediluvian patriarchs. Conversely the daughters of men are identified as the descendants of Cain, who the holy sons of Seth were forbidden to mingle with. The sons of God were to separate themselves from the bloodline of Cain, so that through their righteous and holy bloodline the promised Messiah would one day be birthed. Since two distinct peoples who were not allowed to associate or have relations with one another ended up coming together anyway, then it would seem that a genetic abnormality took shape as a result of this forbidden love.
Now if it was indeed a group of fallen angels that mated with human women then these angels would need bodies, specifically male bodies. The Bible explains that man was created from the dust of the earth, but God makes His angels spirits and flames of fire (Hebrews 1:7). So here we see that man was created from something physical and material, whereas angels are created as spirits, something immaterial. Also in order for a child to be conceived the baby needs 23 chromosomes from the mother and 23 chromosomes from the father. If angels are made of a different body than that of human men, wouldn’t they have a different chromosome count? So with a seed unlike human seed, the angels who left their first estate would of had a unique seed possibly causing a genetic abnormality in the offspring of their union with human women.
However, we see in the Old Testament that king Saul was tormented with an evil spirit (I Samuel 16:14), and in the New Testament we see people possessed with evil spirits. The evil angels do not breed with women, but the demons entered the bodies of both men and women. So why would fallen angels impregnate women at one time and just simply enter or possess men and women at another time? We know from scripture that giants were born even after the Flood, so would God of allowed more fallen angels to acquire bodies in order to mate with earthly women, or is there another explanation?
According to Orthodox Christian theology, Noah and his family were to remain celibate during the entire time they were in the ark. However, Noah’s son Ham violated this commandment and the child Canaan was born from Ham’s transgression. Now according to the Bible after the Flood while Noah lay drunk and naked in his tent, Ham saw his father’s nakedness and then went and told his two brothers. This uncovering of a father’s nakedness is explained in Leviticus 18 as sleeping with your father’s wife, one’s own mother. The Bible goes on to state that Noah cursed Canaan and not Ham, even though it was Ham that uncovered his father’s nakedness. Canaan could have possibly received the curse because he was the product of Ham’s sin with his father’s wife.
Whether Ham fathered a son by his own mother, or if he indeed impregnated his wife while on the ark one thing remains, Canaan the son of Ham received a curse. Another son of Ham was named Cush, And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. (Genesis 10:8). Interestingly the Greek Septuagint translates Nimrod not as a mighty one, but as a giant! So it would seem that the genetic abnormality of gigantism was passed on after the Flood by Noah’s son Ham. Also, many centuries later when the children of Israel went to possess the land God promised them, the report came back that there were giants inhabiting the land. On top of it all the name of this land filled with giants, which the Israelites were to inherit, was called Canaan the same name as the son of Ham whom Noah cursed.
In conclusion, it would be more realistic to hold to the belief that giants were initially born through human men and human women. What can also be seen is that giants were the offspring of two different bloodlines. Giants stemming from Ham would also have us recall how Canaan was born to Ham through a forbidden sex act. Whether the giants were birthed from fallen angels or human men, I believe it can be easily argued that the giants were the product of illicit sexual activity.
References:
Brenton. The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English. (London: Samuel Bagster & Sons, Ltd., 1851).
Pitterson, R. Judgment of the Nephilim. (2018).
Porter, J.L. The Giant Cities of Bashan and Syria’s Holy places. (1865).
Rose, S. Genesis, Creation, and Early Man. (Platina, CA: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2011).