Genesis 6:1–4 — The Sons of God, 120 Years, and the Nephilim

Verse 1 — Humanity multiplies; daughters are born

The Hebrew word adam here refers to humankind collectively, not simply to Adam as one individual. Saying that daughters were born does not suggest that girls had never been born before. It brings women into focus because the next verse describes marriages.

Human multiplication recalls God's blessing in Genesis 1:28. Population growth itself is not identified as sin. Genesis 5 traced life from Adam to Noah, whereas the following passage asks what the growing human world had become before God.

Read Genesis 1:28, chapter 5, and 6:5–8 for context. It is important not to condemn birth or family life merely because corruption appears in the surrounding story.

Verse 2 — Who are the 'sons of God'?

The Hebrew expression is bene ha-elohim (בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים). Three interpretations are widely discussed. The first understands the figures as heavenly beings, pointing to related language in Job 1:6, 2:1 and 38:7. That is a strong lexical parallel, but Genesis does not describe how heavenly beings could enter sexual unions with human women.

The second identifies them with the godly line of Seth marrying women associated with Cain's descendants. This connects Genesis 4–5 with the new story, but the verse does not actually say 'Seth's sons' or 'Cain's daughters.' The third understands the figures as kings or powerful rulers, sometimes linked to ancient Near Eastern royal titles. Yet 'king' and 'ruler' do not appear explicitly in the verse.

Keil and Delitzsch defend a Sethite reading, whereas the NET Bible translation notes argue that the heavenly-being reading better matches the expression in Job. The lexical evidence gives the latter a significant advantage, but the interpretation remains disputed. Matthew 22:30, which refers to angels not marrying in heaven, belongs in any careful comparison. This passage is not a license to invent biological details about angels.

The explicit sequence is that they saw the women as beautiful, selected those they wanted, and took wives. The sequence can be compared with seeing, desiring, and taking in Genesis 3:6, suggesting the peril of desire ruling choice. Nevertheless, 'taking wives' is ordinary marriage language; this verse alone does not prove that every union was an abduction or necessarily polygamous.

Verse 3 — God's Spirit and the 120 years

The rare Hebrew verb behind God's Spirit not remaining with humanity is debated. Some translators understand it as 'remain,' others consider 'strive' or 'contend.' The first emphasizes the divine gift and maintenance of life, while the second emphasizes that God's patience in confronting sin is not endless. The passage does not require every interpreter to adopt one rendering as certain.

The word basar (בָּשָׂר), 'flesh,' can describe mortal human weakness in this context. Human beings cannot sustain their own lives without limit.

Two leading readings of '120 years' are a period remaining until judgment by flood and a limit on human life span. NET Bible notes favor the first because judgment frames the passage and several people subsequently lived longer than 120 years. Even so, the narrative does not explicitly add the sentence 'the flood will come exactly 120 years later'; this remains a contextual interpretation.

Nothing here says that Noah spent 120 years building the ark. A period of time before judgment should not automatically be equated with the ark's construction schedule.

Verse 4 — Nephilim and the renowned mighty men

Nephilim (נְפִילִים) is a transliteration of a Hebrew term whose precise derivation and meaning remain uncertain. It appears in Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:33. The latter associates the name with very large people, which explains translations such as 'giants.' The term does not itself mean 'fallen angels' as an established fact.

The statement that the sons of God 'went in to' the daughters of humanity is a euphemism for sexual intercourse; childbirth follows. The syntax permits readers to connect the offspring with the Nephilim, yet the text does not expressly define the Nephilim as children born from those unions. The NET notes likewise distinguish an implication from a direct assertion.

The Hebrew gibborim can mean mighty ones, warriors, or heroes. Being 'men of name' means being renowned. Their strength and reputation are not the same as divine approval. Genesis 6:5 immediately turns attention to pervasive human wickedness.

The phrase 'also afterward,' together with the later occurrence of Nephilim in Numbers, does not establish that a single Nephilim bloodline survived the flood. A later use of the same designation for unusually large people is possible. The passage gives no basis for speculative bloodline or genetic legends.