The Nephilim

The Nephilim – Giants in the Bible

May 23, 2011 By Beginning and End 15 Comments

David slaying the giant Goliath - "And there were giants in those days, and after that.."

Numbers 13:31But the men that went up

with him said, We be not able to go up

against the people; for they are stronger

than we. 32And they brought up an evil

report of the land which they had searched

unto the children of Israel, saying, The

land, through which we have gone to

search it, is a land that eateth up the

inhabitants thereof; and all the people that

we saw in it are men of a great stature.

33And there we saw the giants, the sons of

Anak, which come of the giants: and we

were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and

so we were in their sight.

When Moses sent his spies to scout the Promised

Land so the children of Israel could enter it, the

spies reported seeing beings there who were

giants. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that

there were races of people at that time who were

so large, that regular sized men appeared as

“grasshoppers” before them (other references

can be found in Deuteronomy 2:10-11, 2:21, and

3:11 or the story of David and Goliath for

starters). And we see that when the great

servant of the Lord, Joshua, was sent to conquer

the Promised Land that God commands him to

kill all of the men, women and children of these

giant races. They were to be wiped as if any

remnant of their kind would post a great danger.

So what is this all about? The Bible of course has

the answers. Since the day Satan was removed

from his position serving God and cast out of

godly service as the first sinner and a traitor

(Ezekiel 28), he has been conspiring to try to

thwart God’s plan of creation and redemption for

humanity. And part of his conspiracy is what

caused the flood in Genesis. This conspiracy is

going to play out all the way to the End of Ages

and as we know will end with our King and Savior

Jesus Christ being triumphant over Satan and his

armies.

The Days of Noah

So let’s start with Matthew 24:26. In Matthew 24

Jesus discusses the temple in Jerusalem being

destroyed while it was still under construction.

This prophecy of course came true in 70 AD

when Titus destroyed the temple and Israel as a

nation. Everything else in Matthew 24 is

discussing the period known as The Tribulation.

We know this from Matthew 24:3 which states:

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the

disciples came unto him privately, saying,

Tell us, when shall these things be? and

what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of

the end of the world?

So clearly we see these are questions regarding

the end times. And in Matthew 24:36 The Word

says: But of that day and hour knoweth no

man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my

Father only. 24:37 But as the days of Noe

were, so shall also the coming of the Son of

man be.

Jesus explains that the times on Earth will be like

the days of Noah before the flood. So now we

should look to those times to see what made

them unique. In Genesis chapter 6 the Bible

states: 6:2 That the sons of God saw the

daughters of men that they were fair; and

they took them wives of all which they

chose… 4There 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.

Now many people have debated whether the

“sons of God” refers to angels or men. And this is

precisely why we have to examine the Bible as a

complete book and not just hang ideas on one

verse. First of all, the Hebrew words for the “sons

of God” is B’nai Ha Elohim, which would means

these are Heavenly beings, giving credence to

them being fallen angels. And then we see the

children of these sons of God and daughters of

men were “mighty men” and of “renown.” They

were also “giants.” Something in their genetics

made them super-sized people. And it was their

fallen angelic parentage.

But again, we must keep searching the Bible to

make certain of meaning. The Bible is self-

confirming and one passage of Scripture can

always be confirmed by another. We see the

term “sons of God” next used in the book of Job.

Job 2:1 states: Again there was a day when

the sons of God came to present

themselves before the LORD, and Satan

came also among them to present himself

before the LORD.

The Hebrew term here once again is B’nai Ha

Elohim. And as we know these sons of God here

are clearly Angelic beings who are presenting

themselves before The Lord (in Heaven). And

Satan is among them (who of course is a fallen

cherubim – a type of Heavenly being). So there

should be no mistaking what the Hebrew term

now means. The implication here is that fallen

angels married human women and produced

children with them. And this act was so

abhorrent to The Lord that He punished them.

First with the flood and then with imprisonment.

In Jude 1:6 the Bible states: And the angels

which kept not their first estate, but left

their own habitation, he hath reserved in

everlasting chains under darkness unto the

judgment of the great day. 1:7 Even as

Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about

them in like manner, giving themselves

over to fornication, and going after strange

flesh, are set forth for an example,

suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 1:8

Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile

the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil

of dignities.

Here we see a reference to angels who left their

“habitation” and are reserved in chains until

Judgment Day. So which angels could these be?

Clearly we should all agree that this is not a

reference to Satan. Satan is not in hell. He is

roaming the Earth seeking to destroy and

deceive as many people as possible (see Job 2

again where the devil says he was walking “to

and fro” on the Earth). The Devil and most of his

fallen angels are on Earth doing spiritual warfare

and will not be sent to Hell until their time of

Judgment (Revelations 20). The fallen angels

being referenced in Jude are the same angels

who had relations with “the daughters of men”

(human women). We see the immediate

reference to Sodom and Gomorrha afterwards

indicating sexual sin (in addition to other

lascivious behaviors, the men of Sodom were

sexually attracted to the male angels staying

with Lot). And as for the “habitation” the angels

left, it is the spiritual realm. Many scholars say

this habitation refers to the fallen angels leaving

Heaven, but again that would not explain why

they would already be in hell under chains until

Judgment Day since the fallen angels are not in

Hell yet.

Looking at 1 Peter 3:19 we see more

confirmation: By which also he went and

preached unto the spirits in prison; 3:20

Which sometime were disobedient, when

once the longsuffering of God waited in the

days of Noah, while the ark was a

preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls

were saved by water.

So again we see there are spirits who are “in

prison” meaning they are already in bondage of

Hell. Hell or Sheol at this time, was the holding

place for the unsaved who died and Jesus went

there to make a triumph over them (Colossians

2:15). And plus, verse 20 makes it clear that the

disobedience of these spirits took place at the

time of Noah, right before the flood! So again, it

all comes back to this time and the specific

activity that caused some of the fallen angels to

be put in prison before Judgment.

The book of 2 Peter gives even further

confirmation: 2:4 For if God spared not the

angels that sinned, but cast them down to

hell, and delivered them into chains of

darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved

Noah the eighth person, a preacher of

righteousness, bringing in the flood upon

the world of the ungodly; 2:6 And turning

the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into

ashes condemned them with an overthrow,

making them an ensample unto those that

after should live ungodly; The angels who are

already in Hell are again linked to Noah. Plus

there is a reference to the sexual sin of Sodom

and Gomorrah.

So the question at this point is: why were fallen

angels doing this? And why was this such a

serious offense that the offending angels were

put in Hell immediately? The answer lies in

Genesis 3:15.

3:15 And I will put enmity between thee

and the woman, and between thy seed and

her seed; he shall break thy head, and thou

shalt bruise his heel.

This amazing, beautiful verse is the first promise

of a redeemer, our Messiah Jesus Christ. The Lord

is telling Satan that the seed of a woman will

eventually crush him. Now we know all over the

Bible the lines of genealogy are described

through men. The same for a seed (i.e., the seed

of Abraham). But the one seed spoken of from a

woman is Jesus Christ (“Behold a virgin shall

conceive a son and His Name shall be

Emmanuel..”). The only way we could be saved

was through a virgin birth with The Lord

providing the baby to a virgin woman. Jesus

being both 100% man and 100% God allowed

him to take all sins of humanity and save us all.

So Satan, seeking to stop this plan thought of a

way to corrupt it: by having fallen angels taking

women and having children with them! By doing

this he could ruin the lineage of the coming

Messiah by making him part fallen angel. And to

no surprise, the people who were becoming

increasingly mixed with fallen angels were

becoming increasingly evil.

The corruption was so bad the Lord states:

Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the

wickedness of man was great in the earth,

and that every imagination of the thoughts

of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And

it repented the LORD that he had made

man on the earth, and it grieved him at his

heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy

man whom I have created from the face of

the earth; both man, and beast, and the

creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for

it repenteth me that I have made them.

The Lord shows regret for even making any

living creatures.

But Noah found Grace in the Eyes of God.

In addition to being a faithful servant to The Lord

Genesis 6:9 tells us that Noah was “perfect in his

generations.” As opposed to referring to his

moral perfection (and Noah of course being a

man, was not perfect) this phrase meant was

that Noah’s lineage was 100% human. Noah did

not have any Nephilim in his family line so he

was able to carry on the lineage that would lead

to Jesus Christ. Thus the flood was not the

judgment out of anger many make it out to be. It

was a necessary act to prevent the extinction of

humanity and allow us to have salvation through

the Messiah. The lineage that led to Jesus was

preserved through Noah. And we see Genesis 11

goes to great detail to list the lineage going from

Noah to Abraham so there is a record.

Of course Satan continued to conspire against

The Lord from that point and continues today.

The repeated temptation of the Israelites to

worship him (in the form of other gods like Baal

and Molech), tempting Christ in the wilderness

and then going into Judas to provoke the

conspiracy to have Christ killed. All these things

fulfilled The Lord’s plan because He all along

knows what is going to take place and moves all

things, good and evil towards His Ultimate just

and righteous Purpose. So in the end times will

the Nephilim return? It’s possible. Many

speculate the alien phenomena could be a

“disguise” for this. But the main point for the

Christian is to not be deceived by any of this.

Instead, let us rejoice in knowing that no matter

what the adversary attempts the ultimate victory

lies with Jesus Christ our Risen Savior.

Nephilim - Biblical Giants

The Bible states that there were giants, I believe it. The photos below (probably are photo shopped doctored) but are

examples of what it might have been.

Genesis 6:4 (Original KJV):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.

Nephilim sons of God? Fallen Angels? Giants?  (Giants-Nephilim)

posted by bibleprobe   , Mass., 01.10.2007

Were the Nephilim sons of God? Fallen Angels? Giants of Genesis 6:4?

A common belief which we share is that the "sons of God" who did marry the "daughters of men" were fallen angels.

Why did God send the judgment of the Flood in the days of Noah? The strange events recorded in Genesis 6 were

understood by the ancient rabbinical sources, as well as the Septuagint translators, as referring to fallen angels procreating

weird hybrid offspring with human women-known as the

Nephilim. This was far more than simply a historical issue, the unique events leading to the Flood are a prerequisite to

understanding the prophetic implications of our Lord's predictions regarding His Second Coming. This is believed to have happened both before the Flood and after the flood. In

Israel at the time of David, and before this when the Hebrews were scouting the land - there were tribes of these Nephilim -

Goliath the giant of? Gath is one example.??Early Church fathers also understood this to be the case. ?It appears that these fallen angels were active all over the world. ??These

bizarre giants living on the earth are also echoed in the legends and myths of nearly every ancient culture. ?The ancient Greeks, the Egyptians, the Hindus, the South Sea Islanders, the American Indians, and most? All the others

have these legends. 

The Hebrew word Nephelim (plural of nephel) (Nephilim) literally means "rejects". The

Hebrew plural for Nephites would be "Nephi'im".

Satan probably put this plan to interrupt Abraham's "seed into motion, as soon as it was made known that the Seed of the

Woman (Christ) was to come through ABRAHAM.

Bible Probe Note: Our use of the Word "irruption" in this article below means: act of rushing; act of breaking in;

intrusion, raid; sudden increase.

Genesis 6:4 (Original KJV):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.

Bible Probe Note: Note the words; "and also after that". This probably tells of two "irruptions" by Satan's seed. One before Noah's time and another after the flood.? They were called ?

The Watchers? in The Book of Enoch.

Their descendents, called Nephilim (translated "giants"), were monsters of iniquity; and being superhuman in size and in

their wicked character, had to be destroyed. Was this the one and only object of the Flood? 

Genesis 6:12 (Original KJV):And God looked upon the earth, and,

behold, it was corrupt; for all fresh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

Only Noah and his family had preserved their pedigree pure from Adam (Genesis 6:9). All the rest had become "corrupt" (shachath). The only remedy was to destroy it defacto (Latin for "in fact"), as it had become defacto destroyed.?This irruption of fallen angels before Noah's

day was probably Satan's first attempt to prevent the coming of the "Seed of the woman" foretold in Genesis 3:15. If this could be accomplished, God's Word would have failed, and Satan's own doom would be averted.

Genesis 3:15 (Original KJV):And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. also see Isaiah 7:14

Satan's plan was to occupy Canaan with "his own seed" in advance of Abraham's seed.?

As soon as it was made known that the Seed of the woman was to come through ABRAHAM, there must have been another irruption, as recorded in Genesis 6:4 (see above), "and also after that" (that is to say, after the days of Noah, more than 500 years after the first irruption). The aim of the enemy was to occupy Canaan in advance of Abraham, and so to contest its occupation by his seed. For, when Abraham entered Canaan, we read (Genesis 12:6) "the Canaanite was then (that is to say,

already) in the land."

Also in Genesis we see two more attempts by Satan to interfere with Abraham'sseed before the birth of Isaac, as told in both Genesis 12:10-20 and in Genesis 20:1-18.

In the late 1950?s, during road construction in the Euphrates Valley of south-east Turkey, many tombs containing the remains of giants were uncovered. At the sites the leg bones were measured to be 120 cms (47.24 inches). Joe Taylor, Director of Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum, was commissioned to sculpt the human femur. This giant stood some 14-16 ft tall (see below picture).

Genesis 6:4 claims: "There were giants in the earth in those days;" Deuteronomy 3:11 states that the bed of Og, king of Bashan, was 9 cubits by 4 cubits (approximately 14 ft long by 6 ft wide). 

Antediluvian Giants' bone below:

Other human Fossil finds

A 19'6" human skeleton found in 1577 A.D. under an overturned oak tree in the Canton of Lucerne.

23-foot tall skeleton found in 1456 A.D. beside a river in Valence, France.

A 25' 6 " skeleton found in 1613 A.D. near the castle of Chaumont in France.?This was claimed to be?a nearly complete find.

A 9' 8" skeleton was excavated from a mound near Brewersville, Indiana (Indianapolis News, Nov 10, 1975). 

In 1833 soldiers digging at a pit for a powder magazine in Lompock Rancho, California, discovered a male skeleton 12 feet tall. The skeleton was surrounded by carved shells, stone axes, and blocks of porphyry covered with unintelligible symbols. The skeleton had double rows of upper and lower teeth. These bones substantiated legends by the local Piute Indians regarding giants which they called Si-Te-Cahs.

In Clearwater Minnesota, the skeletons of seven giants were found in mounds. These had receding foreheads and complete double dentition.

A mound near Toledo, Ohio, held 20 skeletons, seated and facing east with jaws and teeth "twice as large as those of present day people," and besides each was a large bowl with "curiously wrought hieroglyphic figures." (Chicago Record, Oct. 24, 1895; cited by Ron G. Dobbins, NEARA Journal, v13, fall 1978). 

Almost beyond comprehension or believability was the find of the two separate 36-foot human remains uncovered by Carthaginians somewhere between 200-600 B.C.

Caius Julius Verus Maximinus, also known as Maximinus Thrax (235-238 A.D.) was a

Roman soldier-emperor who spent his reign on campaign. Maximinus was born in Thrace to a Gothic father an an Alanic mother in about 173 A.D.. He was reportedly 8' feet, six inches (2.59m) tall, and of tremendous strength. 

In an ancient text of the Jews, we read an astonishing description of some of these gigantic Amorites whom the Israelites conquered. In Buber's Tanhuma, Devarim 7, the text tells us of a Rabbi Johnanan ben Zakkai's encounter with the Roman Emperor Hadrian. This event occurred in about A.D. 135, soon after the Roman victoryin the Bar Kochba war, when the Jews rebelled against the Romans. The text reads: 

"The wicked emperor Hadrian, who conquered Jerusalem, boasted, 'I have conquered Jerusalem with great power.' Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai said to him, 'Do not boast. Had it not been the will of Heaven, you would not have conquered it.' Rabbi Johanan then took Hadrian into a cave and showed him the bodies of Amorites who were buried there. One of them

measured eighteen cubits [approximately 30 feet] in height. He said, 'When we were deserving, such men were defeated by us, but now, because of our sins, you have defeated us'" (quoted in Judaism, edited by Arthur Hertzberg, p.155-156, George Braziller, New York: 1962).

 

"Sons of God were fallen angels and not aliens"

Some have claimed that the Nephilim, or the "sons of God," both mentioned in Genesis 6:2-4, were aliens. This is a wild extension of a common view that the "sons

of God" who married the "daughters of men" were fallen angels, and that the Nephilim were products of those "marriages." 

"Sons of God" is clearly used of angels in Job 38:7 Orig KJV: "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?". The Septuagint (LXX) here translates "sons of God" as "angels of God." This need not mean that evil angels, or demons, actually cohabited with women. Jesus made it clear that angels do not engage in sexual activities, at least not angels in heaven. Matthew 22:30 Orig KJV: "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." Nevertheless, evil angels on earth could have used the bodies of ungodly men, by demonic possession, to achieve their evil purpose of producing an evil generation of people (Genesis 6:12).

There are other reasonable suggestions as to the identity of the "sons of God" and the Nephilim. Interestingly, the word Nephilim is only used here and in Numbers 13:33, where it clearly refers to the descendants of Anak, who were big people, but still people.

Furthermore, "sons of God" is not used exclusively of angels -- the children of Israel are called "the sons of the living God" in Hosea 1:10 (see also Psalm 73:15; 80:17). 

Numbers 13: 32-33 Original KJV: 32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.

33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we? were in their sight.The Anakim: This was another name for the Watchers. It means ?the descendants of Anak?, or Enoch, Cain?s son. Though it was said that a flood had been sent to destroy them, there were still entire cities of Anakim in Canaan as late as the time of Moses. And Jewish chronicler Josephus states that even in his own day it was not uncommon for people to dig up gigantic skeletal remains. 

A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp ... Then the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other."

 Reading further, both in 2 Samuel 21:16-22 and I Chronicles 20:4-8, we discover that Goliath had four relatives, also giants:? 

1) Ishbi-Benob, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels (more than seven pounds) and who said he would kill David;?

2) Saph (or Sippai), another descendant of Rapha (the giant);?

3) Lahmi (the brother of Goliath), whose spear shaft resembled a weaver's rod; and?

4) a huge man (unnamed in the text) with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.

Goliath and these four were all descendants of Rapha in Gath, "and they fell at the hands of David and his men" (2 Samuel 21:22 and I Chronicles 20:8). David apparently knew in facing Goliath that these other four might also have to be reckoned with. So David prepared himself to take down all five giants, one stone per giant, if need be. The Bible tells us that the other four did fight against David and his army in later battles, and all four were defeated.David's stone was a bullet of faith, launched from his sling at probably 100 to 120 mph, and with sufficient momentum to break through Goliath's skull bones. The boastful giant never knew what hit him. The text indicates that David ran toward Goliath as he launched his shot, thus adding to its momentum. We can assume from David's success in killing both bear and lion that he

was a fast runner (Goliath could never have caught him in open field running) and an accurate shot, probably able to put a stone into a 3- or 4-inch circle consistently from a distance of 20 or 30 feet (an accuracy comparable to that of today's pro baseball pitchers).

Rulers in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia often proclaimed themselves as "sons of God" to enhance their power and prestige. So, another view with much support is that the "sons of God" were power-hungry rulers and despots, who, in their hunger for power and influence, took many wives in polygamy. They, and their offspring, through tyranny, became "mighty men." (Nimrod was described as a "mighty one" in Genesis 10:8.) 

So, there is no need to resort to fanciful suggestions involving aliens to understand this passage of Scripture.

Good Angels do not marry

 A contradictory yet enlightening statement about angel marriages was made by Jesus which was reported in Matthew 22:30; "For

in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." 

Here we read a statement from Jesus saying that angels do not get married. A possible explanation for this is that the "sons of God" were the descendants of Seth, and "the daughters of men" were of the godless Cainites. Remember, God later spoke of the people of Israel as His ?firstborn son" (Exodus 4:22), and Moses called the people of Israel "children of the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 14:1). 

Therefore, when they took wives it was an unholy alliance between Sethites (God's people) and Cainites (idol worshipers). Also, the word "wives" seems to indicate more that one and therefore a suggests taking more than one wife (polygamy).

How Big were the Giants? (probably around *9.5-14 feet)

(Ancient Hebrew cubit remains unknown)? *9 cubits using Egyptian Royal cubit (1.7 ft) =15.3 ft?(subtracted 1 ft for bed's comfort)

Deuteronomy 3:11 Original KJV: For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of?iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon?

nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits?the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man,

Giants

(1.) Hebrew Nephilim, meaning "violent" or "causing to fall" (Gen. 6:4). These were the violent tyrants of those days, those who fell upon others. The word may also be derived from a root signifying "wonder," and hence "monsters" or "prodigies." In Num. 13:33 this name is given to a Canaanitish tribe, a race of large stature, "the sons of Anak." The Revised Version, in these passages, simply transliterates the original, and reads "Nephilim."

(2.) Hebrew rephaim, a race of giants (Deut. 3:11) who lived on the east of Jordan, from whom Og was descended. They were probably the original inhabitants of the

land before the immigration of the Canaanites. They were conquered by Chedorlaomer (Gen. 14:5), and their territories were promised as a possession to Abraham (15:20). The Anakim, Zuzim, and Emim were branches of this stock.

In Job 26:5 (R.V., "they that are deceased;" marg., "the shades," the "Rephaim") and Isa. 14:9 this Hebrew word is rendered (A.V.) "dead." It means here "the shades," the departed spirits in Sheol. In Sam. 21:16, 18, 20, 33, "the giant" is (A.V.) the rendering of the singular form ha raphah, which may possibly be the name of the father of the four giants referred to here, or of the founder of the Rephaim. The Vulgate here reads "Arapha," whence Milton (in Samson Agonistes) has borrowed the name "Harapha." (See also 1 Chron. 20:5, 6, 8; Deut. 2:11, 20; 3:13; Josh. 15:8, etc., where the word is similarly rendered "giant.") It is rendered "dead" in (A.V.) Ps. 88:10; Prov. 2:18; 9:18; 21:16: in all these places the Revised Version marg. has "the shades." (See also Isa. 26:14.) 

(3.) Hebrew 'Anakim (Deut. 2:10, 11, 21; Josh. 11:21, 22; 14:12, 15; called "sons of

Anak," Num. 13:33; "children of Anak," 13:22; Josh. 15:14), a nomad race of giants descended from Arba (Josh. 14:15), the father of Anak, that dwelt in the south of Palestine near Hebron (Gen. 23:2; Josh. 15:13). They were a Cushite tribe of the same race as the Philistines and the Egyptian shepherd kings. David on several occasions encountered them (2 Sam. 21:15-22). From this race sprung Goliath (1 Sam. 17:4).

(4.) Hebrew 'emin, a warlike tribe of the ancient Canaanites. They were "great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims" (Gen. 14:5; Deut. 2:10, 11).

(5.) Hebrew Zamzummim (q.v.), Deut. 2:20 so called by the Amorites.

(6.) Heb. gibbor (Job 16:14), a mighty one, i.e., a champion or hero. In its plural form (gibborim) it is rendered "mighty men" (2 Sam. 23:8-39; 1 Kings 1:8; 1 Chr. 11:9-47; 29:24.) The band of six hundred whom David gathered around him when he was a fugitive were so designated. They were divided into three divisions of two hundred each, and thirty divisions of twenty each.

The captians of the thirty divisions were called "the thirty," the captains of the two hundred "the three," and the captain over the whole was called "chief among the captains" (2 Sam. 23:8). The sons born of the marriages mentioned in Gen. 6:4 are also called by this Hebrew name.

Genesis 6: 1-8 Original KJV: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. 

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 

7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

 

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 

The following assaults of the great Satanic Enemy stand out prominently in the Bible:

Abraham's wife Sarai was captured by Pharaoh in Egypt (thinking she was Abraham's sister) before Isaac was born (Genesis, Chapter 12)

Abraham's wife Sarai was captured (taken)

by Abimelech, king of Gerar (thinking she was Abraham's sister) before Isaac was born. (Genesis, Chapter 20)

The attempted destruction of the male line of Israel in Egypt, Exodus 1:15-16:?

15. And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:

16. And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.

The destruction of the whole nation in Pharaoh's pursuit, Exodus 14.

After David's line was singled out (2 Samuel 7), that was the next selected for assault. Satan's first assault was in the union of Jehoram and Athaliah by Jehoshaphat, notwithstanding 2 Chronicles 17:1. Jehoram killed off all his brothers (2 Chronicles 21:4).

The Arabians slew all his children, except Ahaziah (2 Chronicles 21:17; 22:1).

When Ahaziah died, Athaliah killed "all the seed royal" (2 Chronicles 22:10). The babe Joash alone was rescued; and, for six years, the faithfulness of Jehovah's word was at stake (2 Chronicles 23:3).

Hezekiah was childless, when a double assault was made by the King of Assyria and the King of Terrors (Isaiah 36:1; 38:1). God's faithfulness was appealed to and relied on (Psalm 136).

In Captivity, Haman was used to attempt the destruction of the whole nation (Esther 3:6,12,13. Compare 6:1).

Joseph's fear was worked on (Matthew 1:18-20). Notwithstanding the fact that he was "a just man", and kept the Law, he did not wish to have Mary stoned to death (Deuteronomy 24:1); hence Joseph determined to divorce her. But God intervened: "Fear not".

 

Herod sought the young Child's (Jesus) life (Matthew 2).

At the Temptation, "Cast Thyself down" was Satan's temptation.

At Nazareth, again (Luke 4), there was another attempt to cast Him down and destroy Him.

The two storms on the Lake were other attempts.

At length the cross was reached, and the sepulchre closed; the watch set; and the stone sealed. But "God raised Him from the dead." And now, like another Joash, He is seated and expecting (Hebrews 10:12,13), hidden in the house of God on high; and the members of "the one body" are hidden there "in Him" (Colossians 3:1-3), like another Jehoshaba; and going forth to witness of His coming, like another Jehoiada (2Chronicles 23:3).

The irruption of "the fallen angels" ("sons of God") was the first attempt; and was directed against the whole human race.

When Abraham was called, then he and his seed were attacked.

When David was enthroned, then the royal line was assailed.

And when "the Seed of the woman" Himself came, then the storm burst upon Him.

As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.? Romans viii. 14. 

Hildegard of Bingen wrote about fallen angels in 1150 AD. She states they aligned themselves to the dark (negative) instead of to the light (positive-God per the Bible).

Another non-canonical tradition says that Gods Angels swarmed down and killed the remaining Nephilim...

God seeing his creation on the brink of destruction acted to save man from this treachery, and he set out to wipe corrupt man (and beast) from the face of the earth. God did not do this so as to punish man but to save him from an evil he had no way of understanding. God saved Noah and his

family and man began anew. ?As did the evil.

But it was the unauthorized act of revelation that outraged the archangels, and it was that act which God punished. "I shall restore the Earth, so that not all the sons of men shall be destroyed through the mystery which the Watchers made known." Divinely commanded, the obedient Watchers swept down and defeated their brothers, whose punishment was to watch the death of their children before being themselves imprisoned in the mountains and deserts of the Earth until Judgment Day, when they will be cast into the lake of eternal fire. (Azazel is the only Watcher whose burial place is believed to be known: under a heap of stones at the foot of the cliff of Haradan, in what is now the Sinai, where, regarded as a demon, he received every year the scapegoat driven into the desert with its burden of Israel's sins. --Alternately, he is sometimes said to have hurled himself into the sky and become the constellation Orion.) God sends the prophet Enoch to scold them in their

 

imprisonment, saying that as spiritual beings they were never intended to have wives as mortal men do (of course, their creator could presumably have seen to it that they felt no longing for sex or love, but he apparently neglected to do so) and even scorning the knowledge they shared with humanity - "You were in heaven, but its secret had not been revealed to you and a worthless mystery you knew." - although the Four Archangels' concern surely contradicts this mocking remark. Other Apocryphal books say that even now they are held and tortured in the terrible Fifth Heaven, set aside for just this purpose. (I Enoch XIII describes the Watchers/Grigori as stricken mute with guilt and terror after Enoch's reproof, and indeed in II Enoch the Grigori imprisoned in the Fifth Heaven are voiceless giants.) The world, meanwhile, is swept clean in a great earthquake and flood, destroying the Nephilim's lands, to which many writers trace the worldwide legends of a catastrophic inundation.

But the Watchers' teaching continued to influence humankind in the ages after the Deluge, even though now condemned and studied in secret. In Jubilees VIII:1-5,

Kainam, Noah's grandson, "came upon a writing which men of old had carved on a rock...it contained the teaching of the Watchers, in accordance with which they used to observe the omens of the sun and moon and all the signs of heaven. And he wrote it down and said nothing about it..." fearing punishment from Noah, who blamed the Watchers for the Flood and constantly warned his clan against any dealings with them or their descent. (Must have been one blessed huge rock, unless the Watchers' skills included micro-engraving.) This is especially notable because Kainam is the brother of Chesed, father of Ur, who is said in the Apocrypha to have founded the famous Chaldean city of that name. "And [they] grew up and lived in Ur of the Chaldees," says Jubilees (XI:7-8) of Serug and Nahor, Kainam's descendants, "and worshipped idols...and [Nahor's] father instructed him in the learning of the Chaldees, how to divine and foretell the future from the signs of heaven." It's most tempting to conclude that Kainam's grandchildren through generations inherited and studied the written record he had made from the stone; that the legendary wisdom of the Chaldeans, which

amazes history, had descended to them from the Watchers themselves.

The Nephilim - and, some say, their children, the Elioud/Eljo - were physically exterminated by the avenging angel horde. But, though their half-mortal bodies could be slain, their half-angel souls could not, nor could they be held in chains. They remain on the earth, wandering at will, and though chaotic and destructive will not be punished for their deeds until the Final Judgment "in which the great age will be brought to an end". Occult tradition holds that now and then a Nephilim spirit will incarnate in human form (the souls of those who quit the body violently, it's said, are most pure...). 

The Apocrypha claim the disembodied Nephilim are the origin of demons, and accuse them of many crimes. Jubilees places the blame for the Flood squarely upon the fornication of the Watchers and the iniquity and bloodshed of the Nephilim. "And now the giants who were born from souls and flesh will be called evil spirits upon the earth," charges I Enoch XV-XVI, "From the day of...the slaughter and

destruction of the giant Nephilim, the mighty ones of the earth, the great famous ones, the spirits that have gone out from their souls as from the flesh will destroy without judgment." Even the mortal women who are their mothers are cursed to become sirens and demonesses. In Jubilees X:1-6, Noah's sons beg him to protect their children from "unclean demons" who are "leading astray, blinding and killing" them; Noah, petitioning God to "let not wicked spirits rule over [my grandchildren] and destroy them", adds, "Thou knowest what thy Watchers, the fathers of these spirits, did in my day..." making it clear that the demonic spirits and the Nephilim are considered one and the same. (One wonders if Kainam was one of these grandchildren being "led astray" by a "demonic" Nephilim familiar. Maybe it was helping him interpret the stone...)

 

Archeology NewsNovember 2005

Archaeologists digging at the purported biblical home of Goliath have unearthed a shard of pottery bearing an inscription of the Philistine's

name, a find they claim lends historical credence to the Bible's tale of David's battle with Goliath. 

While the discovery is not definitive evidence of Goliath's existence, it does support the Bible's depiction of life at the time the battle was supposed to have occurred, said Dr. Aren Maeir, a professor at Bar-Ilan University and director of the excavation. 

"What this means is that at the time there were people there named Goliath," he said. "It shows us that David and Goliath's story reflects the cultural reality of the time." 

Some scholars assert the story of David slaying the giant Goliath is a myth written down hundreds of years later. Maeir said finding the scraps lends historical credence to the biblical story. 

The shard dates back to around 950 B.C., within 70 years of when biblical chronology asserts David squared off against Goliath, making it the oldest Philistine inscription ever found, the archaeologists said. 

Scientists made the discovery at Tel es-Safi, a dig site in southern Israel thought to be to be

the location of the Philistine city of Gath. 

Maeir doubts an archaeological find can ever prove Goliath's existence, but said the shard was exciting nonetheless because of its depiction of life during the time period.

Refrences:

http://www.luisescobarblog.com/nephilim-skeletons-writers-strike-offspring-munchkin-goes-to-work/

http://www.greatdreams.com/reptlan/nephilim.htm

http://archangels-bloggy.blogspot.com/2009/12/giant-nephilim-in-bible-ii.html

http://www.propheticvoice.co.uk/Nephilim_-_Biblical_Giants

http://www.nwcreation.net/nephilim.html

http://beginningandend.com/nephilim-giants-bible/

http://stargods.org/GW_Michael_Mott.htm