Topical Studies
Nephilim
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Genesis 6:4 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The Scriptures indicate that these giants died out. Not long after this, God sent a worldwide Flood to destroy "all flesh" upon the earth (Genesis 7:21). Since these giants were simply a natural, genetic variation of human beings, they died along with the rest of the earth's population. The only humans to escape that catastrophe were Noah and his family. Since Noah was of a stock of smaller people, most of his descendants were of his stature. However, some of the genes to produce giants survived through the wife of Ham, one of Noah's sons. Therefore, a number of the sons of Canaan (one of Ham's sons) were giants (Numbers 13:1-2, 32-33). In Deuteronomy 2:19-21, Moses records that God destroyed the giants who dwelt in Ammon so that the children of Lot could possess the land. Those giants—who apparently descended from Canaan through a man named Anak—eventually became extinct. King Og of Bashan was the last of them to inhabit Palestine east of Jordan (Deuteronomy 3:11). Another well-known biblical giant is Goliath of Gath (or "the Gittite"), whom the teenage David killed with a sling stone (I Samuel 17). Goliath's brother and sons were also men of great stature, and the Bible explicitly mentions that David and his men killed them all (II Samuel 21:15-22; I Chronicles 20:4-8). Both before and after the Flood, God was directly involved in the destruction of those giant men. The reason for their destruction is not stated directly, but like Goliath, those men seemed always to be in opposition to God and to His people Israel.
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Genesis 6:4 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
"Giants" is the Hebrew word nephilim, which has little or nothing to do with being tall and muscular but refers to cultural leadership. God is describing the culture immediately before the Flood. Nephilim has to be seen in that context. These Nephilim—giants not in size but in influence—were establishing evil, deceitful, violent, and enslaving leadership. They were "men of renown," which literally means they were men of name. In other words, they had a reputation, but that term is used in a derogatory sense. These were not good characters.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Where Is the Beast? (Part 2)
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Genesis 10:8-10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Nimrod means "let us revolt." In the context of Genesis 10, there is absolutely no mention of animals that he supposedly hunted. The context has to do with the description of character, moral spirituality, and culture. Nimrod was a mighty man, a mighty hunter in terms of men. He was like the Nephilim (see Genesis 6:4). He was a giant of a moral and spiritual nature. What was Nimrod doing when he was hunting? Nimrod hunted other Nephilim and eliminated them. He got rid of the competition and established a despotic and autocratic system of government. He did that before the Lord. In other words, he did what he did right in front of God. God was aware of what he was doing. The revolt was not hidden. If a person is standing before another, he can stand before him as a friend, as neutral, or as an enemy. There is already an indication of how Nimrod stood before the Lord, because he is named "he who revolts." He is standing before the Lord as an enemy. He is against God, as chapter 11 shows. Nimrod founded a city, and he named it Babilu. Not Babel. He called it Babilu, which means "Gate of God." "Babel" is what the Hebrews called it, and thus when Moses, a Hebrew, wrote Genesis, he called it "Babel." Babel is the Hebrew name. It sounds somewhat similar to Babilu, but Babel means "confusion."
John W. Ritenbaugh
Where Is the Beast? (Part 2)
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