Explore Sources

A database of excerpts from ancient documents that
retell the story of the Nephilim & the ‘sons of God’.

BEFORE CHRIST

Excerpts from ancient documents pre-dating Christ…

Overview of Pseudo-Eupolemus’s post-Flood world, linking giants, Babylon, and astral wisdom

Angel

150 BC

Eupolemus

Eupolemus is one of the earliest Jewish writers to retell Israel’s story in Greek, and in a short fragment preserved by later authors he gives a vivid, surprising version of the world after the Flood. In his account, the survivors of the Deluge are giants who found Babylon and build its famous tower; God overthrows the tower and scatters these giants across the earth. The same fragment then turns to Abraham and Enoch, crediting them with the true origins of astronomy and astrology and weaving Babylonian and Greek myths into Israel’s primeval history. None of these details appear in Genesis itself, so they function as later interpretation and expansion rather…

Book of Giants

Angel

C. 200 BC

Unknown

[ . . . ] they knew the secrets of [ . . . ] 3[ . . . si]n was great in the earth [ . . . ] 4[ . . . ] and they killed manY [ . . ] 5[ . . . they begat] giants [ . . . ]

[ . . . ] they defiled [ . . . ] 2[ . . . they begot] giants and monsters [ . . . ] 3[ . . . ] they begot, and, behold, all [the earth was corrupted . . . ] 4[ . . . ] with its blood and by the hand of [ . . . ] 5[giant's] which did not suffice for them and [ . . . ] 6[ . . . ] and they were seeking to devour many [ . . . ] 7[ . . . ] 8[ . . . ] the monsters attacked it.

[ . . . ] flesh [ . . . ] 3al[l . . . ] monsters [ . . . ] will be [ . . . ] 4[ . . . ] they would arise [ . . . ] lacking in true knowledge [ . . . ] because [ . . . ] 5[ . . . ] the earth [grew corrupt . . . ] mighty [ . . . ] 6[ . . . ] they were considering [ . . . ] 7[ . . . ] from the angels upon [ . . . ] 8[ . . . ] in the end it will perish and die [ . . . ] 9[ . . . ] they caused great corruption in the [earth . . . ] [ . . . this did not] suffice to [ . . . ] "they will be [ . . . ]

FIRST CENTURY

Jewish philosophers, historians, and New Testament authors referring to the Genesis 6 story during the first century AD.

Philo of Alexandria writings about the Giants and Angels in Genesis

Angel

C. 20 BC - 50 AD

Philo of Alexandria

Question: On what principle it was that giants were born of angels and women? (Ge 6:4).
Answer: The poets call those men who were born out of the earth giants, that is to say, sons of the Earth.

But he [Moses] relates that these giants were sprung from a combined procreation of two natures, namely, from angels and mortal women; for the substance of angels is spiritual; but it occurs every now and then that on emergencies occurring they have imitated the appearance of men, and transformed themselves so as to assume the human shape; as they did on this occasion, when forming connexions with women for the production of giants.

Exploring the Epistle of Jude and its story of disobedient angels

Angel

1st Century AD

Jude (traditionally)

And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day - just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire.

It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Jude: 6-7, 14-15

Ark above floodwaters with winged figures imprisoned below the earth.

Debated

1st Century

Peter (Traditionally)

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell [Greek: Tartarus] and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2 Peter 2:4-5 (ESV)

EARLY CHURCH

Early church fathers and others who reference and comment on the story of disobedient angels and their sons before the flood.

Tertullian and genesis 6

Angel

160 - 225 AD

One proposition I lay down: that those angels, the deserters from God, the lovers of women, were likewise the discoverers of this curious art, on that account also condemned by God.

Oh divine sentence, reaching even unto the earth in its vigour, whereto the unwitting render testimony!

The astrologers are expelled just like their angels. The city and Italy are interdicted to the astrologers, just as heaven to their angels.

On Idolatry, Chapter 9

The contraries, at all events, of all these (considerations) effect that a man is not to cover his head: to wit, because he has not by nature been gifted with excess of hair; because to be shaven or shorn is not shameful to him; because it was not on his account that the angels transgressed;

Tertullian of Carthage, On the Veiling of Virgins Chapter 7

Bardaisan and Genesis 6:1-4

Angel

154 - 222 AD

Bardaisan

...Freedom has been given to him in greater measure than to any of those elemental bodies of which we have spoken, in order that by this freedom he may justify himself, and order his conduct in a godlike manner, and be copartner with angels, who are likewise possessed of personal freedom.

For we are sure that, if the angels likewise had not been possessed of personal freedom, they would not have consorted with the daughters of men, and sinned, and fallen from their places...

Nemesius of Emesa angels

Angel

390 AD

Nemesius of Emesa

"Of the incorporeal beings, only angels fell away, and not all of them, but some only, that inclined to things below and set their desire on things of earth, withdrawing themselves from their relations with things above, even from God."

julius-africanus

Human

AD 160 - 240

“‘When men multiplied on the earth, the angels of heaven came together with the daughters of men.’

In some copies I found “the sons of God”. What is meant by the Spirit, in my opinion, is that the descendants of Seth are called the sons of God on account of the righteous men and patriarchs who have sprung from him, even down to the Saviour Himself; but that the descendants of Cain are named the seed of men, as having nothing divine in them, on account of the wickedness of their race and the inequality of their nature, being a mixed people, and having stirred the indignation of God.

But if it is thought that these refer to angels, we must take them to be those who deal with magic and jugglery, who taught the women the motions of the stars and the knowledge of things celestial, by whose power they conceived the giants as their children, by whom wickedness came to its height on the earth, until God decreed that the whole race of the living should perish in their impiety by the deluge.”

Athanasius of Alexandria the sons of god and nephilim

Human

c. 296–298 – 2 May 373

Athanasius of Alexandria

“From Adam Seth was born, who was the third after Abel, and from Seth Enosh was born.

He hoped to be called the Lord and God. Therefore the children born from him bear the name ‘sons of God’, just like we also from the name of the master Christ are called Christians.

The race of Seth was segregated and not mixed with the race of Cain because of the curse which was laid on him by the God of the universe.

But later, when they observed how beautiful the daughters of Cain’s family were, they became enchanted and took them for themselves as wives, thus ruining their ancestral nobility.”

clement of rome on the nephilim

Angel

debated

"For of the spirits who inhabit the heaven, the angels who dwell in the lowest region, being grieved at the ingratitude of men to God, asked that they might come into the life of men, that, really becoming men, by more intercourse they might convict those who had acted ungratefully towards Him, and might subject every one to adequate punishment...

But when, having assumed these forms, they convicted as covetous those who stole them, and changed themselves into the nature of men, in order that, living holily, and showing the possibility of so living, they might subject the ungrateful to punishment, yet having become in all respects men, they also partook of human lust, and being brought under its subjection they fell into cohabitation with women; and being involved with them, and sunk into defilement and altogether emptied of their power, were unable to turn back to the first purity of their proper nature, their members turned away from their fiery substance: for the fire itself, being exhausted by the weight of lust, and changed into flesh, they trode the impious path downward. For they themselves, being fettered with bonds of flesh, were constrained and strongly bound; wherefore they have no more been able to ascend into the heavens... "

Lactantius and the angels that sinned

Angel

250 - 325 AD

“When, therefore, the number of men had begun to increase, God in His forethought, lest the devil, to whom from the beginning He had given power over the earth, should by his subtlety either corrupt or destroy men, as he had done at first, sent angels for the protection and improvement of the human race; and inasmuch as He had given these a free will, He enjoined them above all things not to defile themselves with contamination from the earth, and thus lose the dignity of their heavenly nature.

He plainly prohibited them from doing that which He knew that they would do, that they might entertain no hope of pardon.

Therefore, while they abode among men, that most deceitful ruler of the earth, by his very association, gradually enticed them to vices, and polluted them by intercourse with women. Then, not being admitted into heaven on account of the sins into which they had plunged themselves, they fell to the earth.“

Eusebius of Caesarea on the Nephilim

Angel

263 – 339 AD

"And this argument is still further confirmed by Plutarch, in the passage where he says that the mythical narratives told as concerning gods are certain tales about daemons, and the deeds of Giants and Titans celebrated in song among the Greeks are also stories about daemons, intended to suggest a new phase of thought. Of this kind then perhaps were the statements in the Sacred Scripture concerning the giants before the Mood[flood], and those concerning their progenitors, of whom it is said, 'And when the angels of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, they took unto them wives of all that they chose,' and of these were born 'the giants the men of renown which were of old.'

For one might say that these daemons are those giants, and that their spirits have been deified by the subsequent generations of men, and that their battles, and their quarrels among themselves, and their wars are the subjects of these legends that are told as of gods. Plutarch indeed, in the discourse which he composed On Isis and the gods of the Egyptians, speaks as follows word for word:

'THEY therefore do better who think that the incidents recorded concerning Typhon and Osiris and Isis refer to sufferings neither of gods nor of men, but of certain mighty daemons... For various degrees of virtue and vice are found in daemons just as in men.’
"

justin martyr and the angels that transgressed

Angel

100 - 165 AD

God, when He had made the whole world, and subjected things earthly to man, and arranged the heavenly elements for the increase of fruits and rotation of the seasons, and appointed this divine law — for these things also He evidently made for man — committed the care of men and of all things under heaven to angels whom He appointed over them.

But the angels transgressed this appointment, and were captivated by love of women, and begot children who are those that are called demons; and besides, they afterwards subdued the human race to themselves...

Whence also the poets and mythologists, not knowing that it was the angels and those demons who had been begotten by them that did these things to men, and women, and cities, and nations, which they related, ascribed them to god himself, and to those who were accounted to be his very offspring, and to the offspring of those who were called his brothers, Neptune and Pluto, and to the children again of these their offspring. For whatever name each of the angels had given to himself and his children, by that name they called them.

Commodianus on Genesis 6

Angel

C 250 AD

Commodianus

When Almighty God, to beautify the nature of the world, willed that that earth should be visited by angels, when they were sent down they despised His laws. Such was the beauty of women, that it turned them aside; so that, being contaminated, they could not return to heaven. Rebels from God, they uttered words against Him. Then the Highest uttered His judgment against them; and from their seed giants are said to have been born.

By them arts were made known in the earth, and they taught the dyeing of wool, and everything which is done; and to them, when they died, men erected images.

But the Almighty, because they were of an evil seed, did not approve that, when dead, they should be brought back from death. Whence wandering they now subvert many bodies, and it is such as these especially that ye this day worship and pray to as gods.

iraneaus of lyons and illicit unions of angels

Angel

130 – 202 AD

Irenaeus of Lyons

And for a very long while wickedness extended and spread, and reached and laid hold upon the whole race of mankind,

until a very small seed of righteousness remained among them and illicit unions took place upon the earth, since angels were united with the daughters of the race of mankind;

and they bore to them sons who for their exceeding greatness were called giants. And the angels brought as presents to their wives teachings of wickedness, in that they brought them the virtues of roots and herbs, dyeing in colors and cosmetics, the discovery of rare substances, love-potions, aversions, amours, concupiscence, constraints of love, spells of bewitchment, and all sorcery and idolatry hateful to God;

by the entry of which things into the world evil extended and spread, while righteousness was diminished and enfeebled.

Sulpicius Severus on The Nephilim and The Angels

Angel

C. 363 – 425 AD

“When by this time the human race had increased to a great multitude, certain angels, whose habitation was in heaven, were captivated by the appearance of some beautiful virgins, and cherished illicit desires after them, so much so, that falling beneath their own proper nature and origin, they left the higher regions of which they were inhabitants, and allied themselves in earthly marriages.

These angels gradually spreading wicked habits, corrupted the human family, and from their alliance giants are said to have sprung, for the mixture with them of beings of a different nature, as a matter of course, gave birth to monsters.

God being offended by these things, and especially by the wickedness of mankind, which had gone beyond measure, had determined to destroy the whole human race."

ephrem the syrian sons of god

Human

306–373 AD

Ephrem the Syrian

He called the sons of Seth sons of God, those who, like the sons of Seth, had been called “the righteous people of God . The beautiful daughters of men whom they saw were the daughters of Cain who adorned themselves and became a snare to the eyes of the sons of Seth.

Then Moses said, they took to wife such of them as they chose, because when they took them, they acted very haughtily over those whom they chose, A poor one would exalt himself over the wife of a rich man and an old man would sin with one who was young. The ugliest of all would act arrogantly over the most beautiful.

athenagoras of athens and the angels and giants in genesis

Angel

133 - 190 AD

For this is the office of the angels — to exercise providence for God over the things created and ordered by Him…

Just as with men, who have freedom of choice as to both virtue and vice… so is it among the angels.

Some, free agents, you will observe, such as they were created by God, continued in those things for which God had made and over which He had ordained them;

but some outraged both the constitution of their nature and the government entrusted to them… these fell into impure love of virgins, and were subjugated by the flesh, and he became negligent and wicked in the management of the things entrusted to him.

Of these lovers of virgins, therefore, were begotten those who are called giants.

jerome nephilim

Angel

342 - 420 AD

"Giants. In the Hebrew, it has the following: Falling ones (that is, annaphilim) were on the earth in those days. And after these things, when the sons of the gods used to go in to the daughters of men and breed with them, these were the mighty ones from the beginning, men called by name. Instead of falling ones or giants, Symmachus translated ‘violent ones’. The name falling ones is indeed fitting both for angels and for the offspring of holy ones."

[Jerome, Hebrew Question on Genesis]

Augustine on the sons of god and the giants

Human

354 - 430 AD

Augustine of Hippo

THE SONS OF GOD WENT IN TO THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN, AND THEY BROUGHT FORTH CHILDREN. — They also often ask how angels could have sex with the daughters of men, of whom the giants are said to have been born, although some manuscripts, not only Latin but also Greek, read not of the angels, but of the sons of God. To solve this question some have claimed that they were just men, and so it could also be said of them that they were angels. Scripture, for example, says about John, who was a man: Behold, I send my angel before you to prepare your way. (Mt. 11:10; Mk. 3:1) But the problem is knowing how giants were born through sex of men, or how they could be joined with women, if they were not men, but angels. With regard to the giants, that is to say, very large and very strong men, I think that there is nothing strange in that they could have been born of men, because even after the flood they existed; as a matter of fact, in our own day there have also been some individual humans incredibly large, not only men but also women. It is therefore more credible that righteous men, called angels, or sons of God, (Cf. Gen. 6:2) moved by lust, sinned with women, instead of angels, who could not commit that sin because they lack bodies; although certain demons have been evil with women, so many things are said and by so many people, that it is not easy to decide on an opinion on this question. [Question 3]

Augustine | Questions on Genesis Chapter 6

Clement of Alexandria and His Perspectives on the Angels that Sinned in Genesis 6

Angel

150 - 215 AD

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA

For the mind is carried away by pleasure; and the unsullied principle of reason, when not instructed by the Word, slides down into licentiousness, and gets a fall as the due reward of its transgression.
An example of this are the angels, who renounced the beauty of God for a beauty which fades, and so fell from heaven to earth.

The Paedagogus, Book 3

And we showed in the first Miscellany that the philosophers of the Greeks are called thieves, inasmuch as they have taken without acknowledgement their principal dogmas from Moses and the prophets.
To which also we shall add, that the angels who had obtained the superior rank, having sunk into pleasures, told to the women the secrets which had come to their knowledge; while the rest of the angels concealed them, or rather, kept them against the coming of the Lord.

The Stromata, or Miscellanies Book 5

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Procopius of Gaza | Sethite View | 465 to 528 AD

It is also written ‘Angels of God’. Some say that this is said about fallen powers; the mingling of angels with women, however, is impossible and against nature… Scripture calls the chosen race ‘angels’ or ‘sons of God’, namely the ones who originated from Seth and Enosh, and they are called such because of their holiness.

Procopius of Gaza

Book of the Cave of Treasures | Sethite View | c. 600 AD

And the sons of Seth had intercourse with the daughters of Cain; and they conceived by them and brought forth mighty men, the sons of heroes, like towers,

Hence early writers have erred and written, “The angels came down from heaven, and had intercourse with mankind, and from them were born mighty men of renown,”

But this is not true; they have said this because they did not understand,

Now see, my brother readers, and know that this is neither in the nature of spiritual beings, nor in the nature of the impure and evil-doing demons who love adultery;

for there are no males nor females among them, nor has there been even one added to their number since they fell. If the devils were able to have intercourse with women, they would not leave one single virgin undefiled in the whole human race.

Book of the Cave of Treasures 18

George Syncellus | c. 800 AD

Interesting because he retells both the Sethite intepretation AND the angelic one in great details. Basically quoting the book of Enoch in detail and ascribing it to Enoch.

Here is the full text of the Chronology but in Latin and Greek. 

https://archive.org/stream/georgiussyncell01nikgoog/georgiussyncell01nikgoog_djvu.txt

Al Tabari | Angel View | c. 839 - 923 AD

The angels were astonished at the acts of disobedience committed by the human beings on earth, claiming they would do better than them.

Therefore, God challenged the angels to choose two representatives among them, who would descend to earth and be endowed with bodily desires.

During their stay on earth, they fell in love with a woman named Zohra (often identified with Venus). She told them she would become intimate with them if they joined her in idolatry and tell her how to ascend to heaven.

The angels refused and remained pious.

Later they met her again and the woman this time stated she would become intimate with them if they drank alcohol. The angels thought that alcohol could not cause great harm and therefore, they accepted the condition.

After they were drunk, they became intimate with her and after noticing a witness, they killed them.

On the next day, Harut and Marut regretted their deeds but could not ascend to heaven anymore due to their sins, as their link to the angels was broken.

Thereupon, God asked them, either their punishment shall be in this world or in the hereafter. They chose to be punished on earth and therefore were sent to Babel as a test, teaching humans magic but not without warning them that they were just a temptation.

 

DIG DEEPER

Learn more about these writers and what they wrote. Understanding why they wrote what they did is key to finding reliable answers to giant questions.

Greg Lanier

Greg Lanier

Greg Lanier surveys the Watchers and Seth–Cain interpretations of Genesis 6, presenting the Watchers view as the earliest and most abundant Second Temple reading without clearly endorsing either tradition.

Wes Huff

Wes Huff

Wes Huff views Genesis 6 as ambiguous about the Nephilim and treats the Book of Enoch as non-canonical Jewish expansions, rejecting Ethiopian canon myths.

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch were 19th‑century conservative Lutheran Old Testament scholars whose multi‑volume Commentary on the Old Testament has shaped generations of interpreters. In their exposition of Genesis 6:1–4, they argue that the “sons of God”...