The sons of God in early Jewish and Christian reading
Says בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים (bene-ha’elohim, “the sons of God”) “saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose” (Gen 6:2).
Three readings appear early. Angels: 1 Enoch has “the angels, the children of the heaven” lust after them (6:2), Jubilees has “the angels of God” (5:1), and some Greek copies read “angels” at 6:2 (Field). Josephus writes that “many angels of God accompanied with women”; Philo, that beings “whom other philosophers call demons, Moses usually calls angels”; Justin, that the angels “were captivated by love of women”. Driver calls this “the oldest interpretation”. Rulers: Onqelos has “the sons of the mighty”, Pseudo-Jonathan “the sons of the great”, Symmachus οἱ υἱοὶ τῶν δυναστευόντων (translated, “the sons of those in power”); Keil reports it as traditional in rabbinic Judaism but dismisses it. Seth’s line: Augustine has the sons of God “according to the flesh the sons of Seth”, since Scripture goes on to call them men (6:3); Calvin, objecting that the angel story is “abundantly refuted by its own absurdity”, sees “the posterity of Seth” mingling “with the children of Cain”; Keil agrees. Against both, Driver and Skinner argue that “men” in 6:2 cannot be narrower than in 6:1. These are their views; 1 Enoch is reported as reception, not authority.
Uncertain Which reading is right, and whether 2 Pet 2:4 and Jude 6 refer to Gen 6:1–4, are open. No lean is taken, and these readings do not fix the meaning of 6:1–4.
Claims
- SaysGen 6:2: the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and took as wives whomever they chose.
- UncertainWhich early reading of the sons of God (angels, rulers, Seth’s line) is right, and whether 2 Pet 2:4 and Jude 6 refer to Gen 6:1–4, are open; no lean, and these readings do not fix the meaning.
Citations
- BSB public domain Gen 6:1–3; 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 6:2
- APOT public domain vol. 2 (1913): 1 Enoch 6:1–8, p. 191 (n210); Jub 5:1–2, p. 20 (n39); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Field, Hexapla public domain Field, Origenis Hexaplorum quae supersunt, vol. 1 (1875), on Gen 6:2, p. 22 (n133): LXX οἱ υἱοὶ (alia exempl. οἱ ἄγγελοι) τοῦ θεοῦ; Σ. οἱ υἱοὶ τῶν δυναστευόντων; checked against the printed page (scan); Greek quoted, English renderings translated
- Josephus (Whiston) public domain Ant. 1.3.1 = 1.73 (Whiston, 1817, vol. 1), p. 14 (n23); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted
- Philo (Yonge) public domain Gig. 6 (Yonge ch. II, p. 331 (n344)); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted
- ANF public domain Justin, 2 Apol. 5, p. 190 (n207) (ANF 1, Buffalo 1885 scan; CCEL anf01.viii.iii.v); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted
- Driver, Genesis (Westminster) public domain Driver, Genesis (Westminster, 4th ed. 1905): on Gen 6:1–4, pp. 82–83 (n183–n184); checked against the printed page (scan); “the oldest interpretation” quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Skinner, Genesis (ICC) public domain Skinner, Genesis (ICC, 1910): on Gen 6:1–2, p. 142 (n243); checked against the printed page (scan); paraphrased
- Etheridge public domain Etheridge, vol. 1 (1862), Targum of Onkelos on Gen 6:2, p. 46 (n58); Etheridge, vol. 1 (1862), Targum of Palestine (Pseudo-Jonathan) on Gen 6:2, p. 176 (n188); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted
- Keil–Delitzsch, Pentateuch 1 public domain Keil, Pentateuch vol. 1 (Clark, Martin trans., 1868), on Gen 6:1–2, p. 127 (n130), p. 128 (n131) and p. 131 (n134); checked against the printed page (scan); paraphrased
- Augustine, City of God (NPNF1 vol. 2) public domain Civ. 15.23, pp. 303–305 (n326–n328) (trans. Dods, NPNF¹ 2; CCEL npnf102.iv.XV.23); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted, otherwise paraphrased
- Calvin, Genesis (King) 1 public domain Calvin, Genesis 1 (King, CTS 1847), on Gen 6:2, p. 238 (n247); checked against the printed page (scan); quoted
2026-11-10
Open in Reader All notes on this passage