Greek Myths and the Nephilim

Photo by Dom Fou on Unsplash

I have been curious about the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis 6. I'm not exactly sure who these are, but there are some scholars who suggest that these were the children of fallen angels and humans. That is one of the theories being put forth. It's possible though I can't understand how that could have happened. Nonetheless, the Bible speaks of these giants as men of renown and heroes of old. Which got me thinking that perhaps they were the references for epic myths like the story of Gilgamesh or the Greek demigods and heroes.

Another explanation that I thought would be more reasonable and less on the fantastical side is that these were just extraordinary humans. They probably demonstrated feats that no mere human could have done back in those days. So, people inflated their reputation and told stories about their exploits, just as how actual myths start. However, that doesn't explain the passage that says that the sons of God got together with the daughters of men and had children with them.

You see, my issue with the view that the fallen angels were the ones who had children with women is the fact that these are spiritual beings, aren't they? How is it possible for any of them to mate with human females? Surely, there were corporeal manifestations of angels such as the angels who showed up to Abraham and Lot, or the angel of the Lord that wrestled with Jacob. But is it possible for them to have a child with humans? Even if they were already fallen, is it still a possibility? I don't know, and that's what baffles me.

If we were to interpret it literally, that's the only way to interpret it with any intellectual consistency, right? We can also say however, that sons of God may refer to the humans within the line of Seth, who was chosen to be the line from which the Messiah will come. Meanwhile, the daughters of men referred to the line of Cain. That's another theory that people have explored. However, I believe that the Jewish interpretation of the Nephilim is still the first theory that they were fallen angels.

In that case then, the only issue that I'm having is whether they're able to have children with human women. Let's say that were the case, does that mean that spiritual beings can take human form? Or did they just possess men so that they can impregnate women? I'm still confused about the logistics of this, but I know it's not something that I should really focus on, nevertheless it's interesting to ponder about. So, if that were the case, then it's possible that the myths and legends we hear about might have originated from these ancient hybrids between angels and men.

It's also possible that the reason why the world became so violent that God needed to wipe the whole earth except for Noah and his family were these Nephilim. Surely, sin was already rampant back in those days, but perhaps with their inhuman feats, they greatly intensified the effects of sin. Perhaps, God wanted to protect humanity from the excesses of depravity that the Nephilim will bring into the world, so he brought them to extinction. Obviously, if their lineage were to continue, they would bring all sorts of mutations in human genetics, so much so that we might live in a world of monsters and demons. But that's all speculation, and the stuff of imagination. We can't know for sure since they were all wiped out in the flood.

It's definitely a question that can only be answered once we see God face to face, I think.