Sons of God

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (July 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (October 2021)

Part of a series on the
Bible
Canons and books Tanakh Torah Nevi'im Ketuvim Old Testament (OT) New Testament (NT) Deuterocanon Antilegomena Chapters and verses Apocrypha Jewish OT NT
Authorship and development Authorship Dating Hebrew canon Old Testament canon New Testament canon Composition of the Torah Mosaic authorship Pauline epistles Petrine epistles Johannine works
Translations and manuscripts Dead Sea scrolls Masoretic Text Samaritan Pentateuch Targumim Septuagint Peshitta Vetus Latina Vulgate Gothic Bible Luther Bible English Bibles by language
Biblical studies Archeology Artifacts Dating Historicity Internal consistency People Places Names Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Rahlfs' Septuagint Novum Testamentum Graece Documentary hypothesis Synoptic problem NT textual categories Biblical criticism Historical Textual Source Form Redaction Canonical
Interpretation Hermeneutics Pesher Midrash Pardes Allegorical interpretation Historical-grammatical method Inspiration Literalism Alcohol Conspiracy theory Ethics Capital punishment Homosexuality Humor Incest Muhammad Prophecy Rape Serpents Sex Slavery Violence Warfare Women
Perspectives Gnostic Islamic Quranic Inerrancy Infallibility Criticism of the Bible Biblical authority
Outline of Bible-related topics Bible portal
v t e

Sons of God (Biblical Hebrew: בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים, romanized: Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm,^[1] literally: "the sons of Elohim"^[2]) is a phrase used in the Tanakh or Old Testament and in Christian Apocrypha. The phrase is also used in Kabbalah where bene elohim are part of different Jewish angelic hierarchies.

In the early writings of the Hebrew Bible, both Hebrew: בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים, romanized: Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm, lit. 'Sons of Gods' as well as the (Hebrew: מַלְאָךְ, romanized: mal’āḵ, lit. 'messenger' are aspects of God.^[3] In the earliest records, the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm are in heaven. They are depicted as the heavenly court or the pantheon of religious belief-system of their time.

The phrase is a possible survival of Hebrew Polytheism, in which the Elohists refer to the Divine in a plural (ʾĔlōhīm).^[4] In the Pentateuch, the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm form the Divine council, comparable to the "sons of God" in Canaanite religion.^[5] In the latter, the "sons" are gods or manifestations of the Divine.^[6]

As such, the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm reflected the transcendent aspect of the Divine, but became progressively differentiated from the good aspect of God when the Hebrew religion shifted towards monotheism. In contrast to the mal’āḵ, the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm do not express a mediator between God and humanity.^[7] The fusion of the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm with the mal’āḵ is evident in the Book of Hiob. Here, Satan is both one of the Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm in the heavenly court, as well as a mal’āḵ expressing God's interaction with humanity.^[8]

The "Sons of God" are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible at Genesis 6:1–4.

¹ And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, ² That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. ³ And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. ⁴ 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, men of renown.

— Genesis 6:1–4, KJV

The Book of Genesis tells that the "Sons of God" lusted after the daughters of men and begot a race of giants (Nephilim). These offspring were identified with "the heroes of old men of renown." Then, God sent the deluge to purge the earth from these giants.^[9]

The Book of Psalms refers to God delivering judgement among the gods and causes them to fall for their sins, as God declares that "Gods you may be, sons you all of the Most High, yet you shall die as men die; princes fall, every one of them, and so shall you.". However, there is no indication what the sin was and the Psalms are at least five hundred years after the Genesis was composed, thus written in a different intellectual context. Yet, both refer to the existence of a pantheon and that some of its members sinned. During the Apocalyptic period, these ideas were developed further.^[10]

Claus Westermann claims that the text of Genesis 6 is based on an Ugaritic urtext.^[11] In Ugaritic, a cognate phrase is bn 'il.^[12] This may occur in the Ugaritic Baal Cycle.^[13]

• KTU² 1.40 demonstrates the use of bn il to mean "sons of gods".^[14]
• KTU² 1.65 (which may be a scribal exercise) uses bn il three times in succession: il bn il / dr bn il / mphrt bn il "El, the sons of gods, the circle of the sons of gods / the totality of the sons of gods."^[12]

The phrase bn ilm ("sons of the gods") is also attested in Ugaritic texts,^{[15][16][17][18][19]} as is the phrase phr bn ilm ("assembly of the sons of the gods").^[20]

Elsewhere in the Ugarit corpus it is suggested that the bn ilm were the 70 sons of Asherah and El, who were the titulary deities of the people of the known world, and their "hieros gamos" marriage with the daughters of men gave rise to their rulers.^[21] There is evidence in 2 Samuel 7 that this may have been the case also in Israel.^[22]

J. Scharbert associates Genesis 6:1–4 with the Priestly source and the final redaction of the Pentateuch.^[23] On this basis, he assigns the text to later editorial activity.^[24] Rüdiger Bartelmus sees only Genesis 6:3 as a late insertion.^[23]

Józef Milik and Matthew Black advanced the view of a late text addition to a text dependent on post-exilic, non-canonical tradition, such as the legend of the Watchers from the pseudepigraphic version of the Book of Enoch.^[23]

Different source versions of Genesis 6:1–4 vary in their use of "sons of God". Some manuscripts of the Septuagint have emendations to read "sons of God" as "angels".^{[citation needed]} Codex Vaticanus contains "angels" originally.^{[citation needed]} In Codex Alexandrinus "sons of God" has been omitted and replaced by "angels".^[25] This reading of Angels is further confirmed by Augustine in his work City of God where he speaks of both variants in book 15 chapter 23.^[26] The Peshitta reads "sons of God".^[27] Furthermore the Vulgate goes for the literal filii Dei meaning Sons of God.^[28] Most modern translations of Christian bibles retain this whereas Jewish ones tend to deviate to such as Sons of Rulers which may in part be due to Shimon bar Yochai who cursed anyone who translated this as "Sons of God" (Genesis Rabbah 26:7).^[29]

Beyond this in both the Codices Job 1:6 and Deuteronomy 32:8 when the phrase "angels of God" is used in place of where the Hebrew says "sons of God".^[30] For the verse in Deuteronomy the Masoretic Text does not say "sons of God" but "sons of Israel" however in 4Q37 the term "sons of God" is used.^[31] This is probably the root reading for the reading we see in the Septuagint.^[32]

The phrase "sons of the Elohim" also occurs in:

• Job 1:6 bənê hāʼĕlōhîm (בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים) the sons of Elohim.^[33][34]
• Job 2:1 bənê hāʼĕlōhîm (בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים) the sons of Elohim.
• Job 38:7 bənê ĕlōhîm (בְּנֵי אֱלֹהִֽים) without the definite article - sons of Elohim.^[35]
• Deuteronomy 32:8 both bənê hāʼĕlōhîm (בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים) and bənê ĕl (בני אל) the sons of Elohim or sons of El in two Dead Sea Scrolls (4QDtj and 4QDtq); mostly "angels of God" (αγγελων θεου) in the LXX (sometimes "sons of God" or "sons of Israel"); "sons of Israel" in the MT.^{[36][37]: 147 [38]}

Closely related phrases include:

• Psalms 29:1 bənê ēlîm (בְּנֵי אֵלִים) without the definite article - sons of elim (a similar expression).^[39]
• Psalms 82:6 bənê elîon (בְּנֵי עֶלְיוֹן) without the definite article and using ‘Most high’ instead of ēl.
• Psalms 89:6 bənê ēlîm (בְּנֵי אֵלִים) - sons of elim
• A closely related Aramaic expression occurs in Daniel 3:25: bar elahin - בַר אֱלָהִֽין - son of gods.^[40]

The Book of Enoch, the Enochic Book of Giants, and the Book of Jubilees refer to the Watchers who are paralleled to the "sons of God" in Genesis 6.^[41] The Epistle of Barnabas is considered by some to acknowledge the Enochian version.^[42]

That the "sons of God" were separate enough from the "daughters of men" that they warranted such a distinction, has spawned millennia's worth of debate regarding the meaning of the term. Historically, in Jewish thought, this passage has had many interpretations. Here are three:

1. Offspring of Seth: The first references to the offspring of Seth rebelling from God and mingling with the daughters of Cain are found in Christian and rabbinic literature from the second century CE onwards e.g. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Origen, Augustine of Hippo, Julius Africanus, and the Letters attributed to St. Clement. It is also the view expressed in the modern canonical Amharic Ethiopian Orthodox Bible. In Judaism "Sons of God" usually refers to the righteous, i.e. the children of Seth.
2. Angels: All of the earliest sources interpret the "sons of God" as angels. From the third century BCE onwards, references are found in the Enochic literature, the Dead Sea Scrolls (the Genesis Apocryphon, the Damascus Document, 4Q180), Jubilees, the Testament of Reuben, 2 Baruch, Josephus, and the book of Jude (compare with 2 Peter 2). This is also the meaning of the only two identical occurrences of bene ha elohim in the Hebrew Bible (Job 1:6 and 2:1), and of the most closely related expressions (refer to the list above). In the Septuagint, the interpretive reading "angels" is found in Codex Alexandrinus, one of four main witnesses to the Greek text.
3. Deified kings/Tyrant judges: There is also a large consensus within the scholarly community, that the "sons of God" were simply the deified kings of the various Canaanite city-states. These would be the same Canaanite city-states that the later proto-Israelites would eventually flee, before resettling in the Judean highlands.

Christian writers such as Justin Martyr, Eusebius, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Commodianus believed that the "sons of God" in Genesis 6:1–4 were fallen angels who engaged in unnatural union with human women, resulting in the begetting of the Nephilim.^[1] Some scholars view Jesus' comment in Matthew 22:30 that angels in heaven do not marry, as a refutation to this view.^[1]

Other early Christians believed that the "sons of God" in Genesis 6:1–4 were the descendants of Seth.^[1] Augustine of Hippo subscribed to this view, based on the Chronographiai of Julius Africanus in his book City of God, which refer to the "sons of God" as being descendants of Seth (or Sethites), the pure line of Adam. The "daughters of men" are viewed as the descendants of Cain (or Cainites). Variations of this view were also received by Jewish philosophers.^[43]

Traditionalists and philosophers of Judaism^[44] in the Middle Ages^[45] typically practiced rational theology. They rejected any belief in rebel or fallen angels since evil was considered abstract. Rabbinic sources, most notably the Targum, state that the "sons of God" who married the daughters of men were merely human beings of exalted social station.^[46] They have also been considered as pagan royalty^[1] or members of nobility^[47] who, out of lust, married women from the general population. Other variations of this interpretation define these "sons of God" as tyrannical Ancient Near Eastern kings who were honored as divine rulers, engaging in polygamous behavior.^[1] No matter the variation in views, the primary concept by Jewish rationalists is that the "sons of God" were of human origin.^[46]

Most notable Jewish writers in support for the view of human "sons of God" were Saadia, Rashi, Lekah Tob, Midrash Aggada, Joseph Bekor Shor, Abraham ibn Ezra, Maimonides, David Kimhi, Nachmanides, Hizkuni, Bahya Ashur, Gersonides,^[48] Shimeon ben Yochai, and Hillel ben Samuel.^[49]

Ibn Ezra reasoned that the "sons of God" were men who possessed divine power, by means of astrological knowledge, able to beget children of unusual size and strength.^[47]

Jewish commentator Isaac Abrabanel considered the aggadot on Genesis 6 to have referred to some secret doctrine and was not to be taken literally. Abrabanel later joined Nahmanides and Levi ben Gerson in promoting the concept that the "sons of God" were the older generations who were closer to physical perfection, as Adam and Eve were perfect. Though there are variations of this view, the primary idea was that Adam and Eve's perfect attributes were passed down from generation to generation. However, as each generation passed, their perfect physical attributes diminished. Thus, the early generations were mightier than the succeeding ones. The physical decline of the younger generations continued until the Flood, to the point that their days were numbered as stated in Genesis 6:3. It was immoral for the older generations to consort with the younger generations, whereby puny women begot unusually large children. Nephilim was even considered a stature.^[43]

Jacob Anatoli and Isaac Arama viewed the groups and events in Genesis 6:1–4 as an allegory, primarily for the sin of lust that debased man's higher nature.^[50]

• Angel of the Lord
• Anunnaki
• Archangel
• List of angels in theology
• Devaputra

• Douglas, J. D.; Tenney, Merrill C.; Silva, Moisés (2011). Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Revised ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0310229834.
• Davies, Jon, ed. (1995). Words remembered, text renewed: essays in honour of John F. A. Sawyer. Sheffield: JSOT Press [u.a.] ISBN 1850755426.
• Darshan, Guy "The Story of the Sons of God and the Daughters of Men: Gen.6:1–4 and the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women", Shnaton: An Annual for Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies 23 (2014), 155–178 (in Hebrew; Eng. abstract)
• DDD, Editors: Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter W. van der Horst (1998). Dictionary of deities and demons in the Bible (DDD) (2., extensively rev. ed.). Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9004111190. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Jackson, David R. (2004). Enochic Judaism. London: T&T Clark International. ISBN 0826470890.
• Wright, Archie T. (2004). The origin of evil spirits the reception of Genesis 6.1–4 in early Jewish literature. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 3161486560.
• Bamberger, Bernard J. (2006). Fallen angels: soldiers of satan's realm (1. paperback ed.). Philadelphia, Pa.: Jewish Publ. Soc. of America. ISBN 0827607970.
• Jung, Rabbi Leo (2004). Fallen angels in Jewish, Christian, and Mohammedan literature. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Reprints. ISBN 0766179389.

• Catholic Encyclopedia: "Son of God"
• Jewish Encyclopedia: "Son of God"