SPSA Church Giving (opens in a new tab)

Questions & Answers

Doctrine

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › Our Lord and the Faith › Doctrine

The question

In Genesis chapter six, it mentions that the "daughters of men" bore children to "the sons of God" and that "there were giants in those days", and that those were "the mighty men who were of old, men of renown".  My Holy Bible has a footnote that says the Greek word used here was nephillim, not giants. In ancient Greek mythology, nephillim were the offspring of a deity and a human. Who are the daughters of men, and who are the sons of God in this context? Was the word nephillim really used? If so, was using the word nephillim a mistake by the translator, and if so, why didn't the Lord prevent it, like he did with Simon the Elder

The answer

With Simeon the Elder, it was not just a matter of linguistics, but theology. The error in the presumption of Chapter 6 in Genesis stands with the translation. First of all, Judeo-Christian theology is monotheistic, so there cannot be any other deity other than the One God! In addition, if one is to presume that these verses would imply angels and humans procreating, it would be a ridiculous assumption, as it is physically, spiritually, and theologically impossible!

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Related questions

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 1466 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.