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Who were the Nephilim?
Question: Who were the Nephilim?
Answer: The Nephilim were giants who lived on the earth at one time. They are mentioned in a couple of passages:
Genesis 6:4 "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."
Numbers 13:33 "There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." The descendents of Anak were part of the Nephilim. The ten men who spied out the promised land became fearful of them, because they were so much bigger.
Some people believe the Nephilim were offspring of fallen angels ("sons of God"), who married the "daughters of men." Genesis 6:4 says, "The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose." The intermarriage of fallen angels and women produced giants, according to this theory.
However, the problem with this interpretation is that angels aren't able to reproduce. Jesus said, "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven" (Matthew 22:30). Angels are a different order of creation than humans, so reproduction would be impossible.
Another interpretation is the "sons of God" refer to the godly line of Seth, those who had retained a belief in the living God. The "daughters of men" refer to those from families who had abandoned belief in God. This is probably the more likely view, but doesn't answer the question why their offspring were giants.
We do know the Nephilim were giants, but as to whom exactly they were, we just don't know. Anything beyond that is speculation.
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