Gen 6:1-2 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Gen 6:1-8: 6:1-8 Human wickedness reached a climax, prompting God to send the flood to destroy all living things. A glimmer of hope appears in God’s favor toward Noah (6:8 ). Summary for Gen 6:1-2: 6:1-2 The sons of God have generally been understood as fallen angels (cp. the same Hebrew phrase in Job 1:6 ; 2:1 ; 38:7 ; Pss 29:1 ; 89:7 ). This interpretation is prominent in ancient Jewish and Christian literature (e.g., 1 Enoch 6:1–7:6; Justin Martyr, Apology 2.5) and is apparently supported by the New Testament (see 1 Pet 3:18-20 ; 2 Pet 2:4 ; Jude 1:6-7 ). Some interpreters do not believe that God would permit angels to procreate with humans and doubt that the above New Testament texts should be read in this way. Another possibility is that sons of God refers to the righteous descendants of Seth, while the beautiful women were female descendants of Cain’s wicked line. This interpretation is in harmony with Gen 4:17–5:32 but is weakened by the language of 6:1-2 , which seems to refer to the daughters of humanity in general, not the daughters of Cain specifically. Others believe that sons of God refers to tyrannical human kings (possibly demon-possessed) who took Lamech’s polygamy (4:19 ) to a new height of wickedness by seizing the daughters of the righteous. Language reminiscent of 3:6 ( saw ... took ) shows the rebellious nature of this act.

a6:1-8►

b6:8►

c6:1-2►

dJob 1:6►

e2:1►

f38:7►

gPss 29:1►

h89:7►

i1 Pet 3:18-20►

j2 Pet 2:4►

kJude 1:6-7►

lGen 4:17–5:32►

m6:1-2►

n4:19►

o3:6►

‏ Genesis 6:1-2

Summary for Gen 6:1-8: 6:1-8 ^a Human wickedness reached a climax, prompting God to send the flood to destroy all living things. A glimmer of hope appears in God’s favor toward Noah (6:8 ^b).
Summary for Gen 6:1-2: 6:1-2 ^c The sons of God have generally been understood as fallen angels (cp. the same Hebrew phrase in Job 1:6 ^d; 2:1 ^e; 38:7 ^f; Pss 29:1 ^g; 89:7 ^h). This interpretation is prominent in ancient Jewish and Christian literature (e.g., 1 Enoch 6:1–7:6; Justin Martyr, Apology 2.5) and is apparently supported by the New Testament (see 1 Pet 3:18-20 ⁱ; 2 Pet 2:4 ^j; Jude 1:6-7 ^k). Some interpreters do not believe that God would permit angels to procreate with humans and doubt that the above New Testament texts should be read in this way. Another possibility is that sons of God refers to the righteous descendants of Seth, while the beautiful women were female descendants of Cain’s wicked line. This interpretation is in harmony with Gen 4:17–5:32 ^l but is weakened by the language of 6:1-2 ^m, which seems to refer to the daughters of humanity in general, not the daughters of Cain specifically. Others believe that sons of God refers to tyrannical human kings (possibly demon-possessed) who took Lamech’s polygamy (4:19 ⁿ) to a new height of wickedness by seizing the daughters of the righteous. Language reminiscent of 3:6 ^o (saw ... took) shows the rebellious nature of this act.