Discover Becket Cook’s take on Genesis 6:1-4 as he interviews biblical scholar, Michael Heiser. Uncover the linguistic clues and historical shifts that underpin this intriguing view.
Introduction
Becket Cook, a theologian and biblical scholar, was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. He studied at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas and earned a Master of Arts in Theology from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in 2017. Becket actively engages in ministry, often speaking at churches, universities, and on his YouTube channel, The Becket Cook Show.
In his YouTube interview with Michael Heiser titled “The Supernatural Realm: Interview with Dr. Michael Heiser – The Becket Cook Show Ep. 41,” Cook emphasizes that the “sons of God” were supernatural beings who intermingled with human women, leading to the corruption and eventual destruction of humanity.
The Historical Perspective
“The ‘sons of God,’ this phrase, the ‘bene Elohim’ or the ‘bene ha Elohim,’ is used everywhere else in scripture that it’s found, of supernatural beings, members of the heavenly host. And, you know, everybody accepted that at face value until, you know, the 300s A.D., right up just before the heyday of Augustine.”
Early Christian and Jewish writers believed that the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 were supernatural beings. This view persisted until the 4th century AD when Julius Africanus proposed that the “sons of God” were godly men from the line of Seth, a view that Augustine later popularized.
The Challenges of the Sethite View
Implicit Misogyny
“…we don’t really want to talk about the women because it makes all the women unbelievers, I guess, if all the godly ones are the men of Seth, and everybody else must be ungodly.”
The Sethite view categorizes the “sons of God” as righteous men from Seth’s lineage, indirectly labeling the “daughters of men” as unbelievers. This gender-based interpretation raises concerns about implicit misogyny.
Inexplicable Origin of Giants
“Guess how, you know, Nephilim is translated? It’s ‘gigantes,’ it’s giants. We don’t get giants from, like, you know, two normal couplings and all this sort of stuff, like it doesn’t make any sense.”
Another challenge is explaining the origin of the Nephilim. If the “sons of God” were merely human men, it’s difficult to justify how their unions with human women resulted in giants, as the scripture suggests.
Connecting Ancient Flood Stories
“What Annus did was he said, you know, nobody’s really gone back and looked at the flood stories from Mesopotamia and asked, is the weird stuff in verses, you know, the first four verses, can we find those elements in these stories? You know, before we even get to the flood, what about the first four verses, all the weird stuff? And lo and behold, we can.”
Amar Annus, a cuneiform scholar, published research in 2010 that challenges common assumptions about the origins of these stories. Annus identified elements within the first four verses of Genesis 6 in Mesopotamian flood stories, particularly the Atrahasis Epic, which introduces deities known as the Apkallu.
Before the flood, the Apkallu were fully divine and played a crucial role in human civilization. When the greater gods decided to destroy humanity, the Apkallu interbred with humans to preserve their knowledge, leading to their post-flood state as giants.
The Shortcut to Humanity’s Destruction
“The apkallu, the knowledge that they taught, you can actually find in cuneiform tablets… There’s astrology, there’s arts of seduction, there’s idolatry, there’s a whole list of things and lo and behold those are the things that are condemned in Jewish literature.”
The Apkallu’s teachings included astrology, seduction, and idolatry, which are condemned in Jewish literature. These teachings were seen as corrupting humanity and leading to their self-destruction.
Conclusion
After discussing with Michael Heiser, Becket Cook concludes that the “sons of God” were angelic beings. This interpretation aligns with scriptural usage, linguistic implications, and connections between flood stories.
Navigating through abundant information, it’s crucial to discern reliable sources. Chasing The Giants aims to provide dependable data and research on the ‘sons of God.’ Through these efforts, we seek to uncover truths resonating with the core message of the Bible.
Watch Becket Cook’s commentary with Michael Heiser titled “The Supernatural Realm: Interview with Dr. Michael Heiser – The Becket Cook Show Ep. 41” on YouTube to know more.
