Genesis 6:4 BSB — MannaFest

Genesis 6:4

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

The Nephilim were 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 were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.

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.

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Commentary

3 voices

Irenaeus

The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, Sections 18-19 (202)

And for a very long while wickedness extended and spread, and reached and laid hold upon the whole race of mankind, until a very small seed of righteousness remained among them: and illicit unions took place upon the earth, since angels were united with the daughters of the race of mankind; and they bore to them sons who for their exceeding greatness were called giants.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

Jerome

Hebrew Questions on Genesis (420)

(Version 4.) Now there were giants upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they brought forth children, these are the mighty men of old, men of renown. For falling ones, or giants, Symmachus interpreted them as violent ones. And it is fitting for the name of falling ones to apply to angels and the children of the saints.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

There were giants in the earth - נפלים nephilim, from נפל naphal, “he fell.” Those who had apostatized or fallen from the true religion. The Septuagint translate the original word by γιγαντες, which literally signifies earth-born, and which we, following them, term giants, without having any reference to the meaning of the word, which we generally conceive to signify persons of enormous stature. But the word when properly understood makes a very just distinction between the sons of men and the sons of God; those were the nephilim, the fallen earth-born men, with the animal and devilish mind.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

23 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
הַנְּפִלִ֞ים	ha.ne.fi.Lim	the Nephilim	H5303 →
הָי֣וּ	ha.Yu	they were	H1961 →
בָאָרֶץ֮	va.'a.Retz	on the earth	H776 →
בַּיָּמִ֣ים	bai.ya.Mim	in the days	H3117 →
הָהֵם֒	ha.Hem	<the> those	H1992 →
וְגַ֣ם	ve.Gam	and also	H1571 →
אַֽחֲרֵי־	'a.cha.rei-	after	H310 →
כֵ֗ן	Khen	thus	H3651 →
אֲשֶׁ֨ר	'a.Sher	when	H834 →
יָבֹ֜אוּ	ya.Vo.'u	they went	H935 →
בְּנֵ֤י	be.Nei	[the] sons of	H1121 →
הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙	ha.'E.lo.Him	<the> God	H430 →
אֶל־	'el-	into	H413 →
בְּנ֣וֹת	be.Not	[the] daughters of	H1323 →
הָֽאָדָ֔ם	ha.'a.Dam	<the> humankind	H120 →
וְיָלְד֖וּ	ve.yal.Du	and they bore children	H3205 →
לָהֶ֑ם	la.Hem	to <the> them
הֵ֧מָּה	He.mah	they	H1992 →
הַגִּבֹּרִ֛ים	ha.gi.bo.Rim	[were] the mighty [men]	H1368 →
אֲשֶׁ֥ר	'a.Sher	who	H834 →
מֵעוֹלָ֖ם	me.'o.Lam	[were] from long ago	H5769 →
אַנְשֵׁ֥י	'an.Shei	[the] men of	H582 →
הַשֵּֽׁם׃ פ	ha.Shem	<the> name	H8034 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

H1368hagiborim[were] the mighty [men]158×

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Numbers 13:33
We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:28
  Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw…
- Deuteronomy 3:11
  (For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Isaiah 40:22
  He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
- 1 Samuel 17:42
  When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.
- Deuteronomy 9:2
  The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim. You know about them, and you have heard it said, “Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?”
Through
1 Samuel 17:4
Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,
leads to
- Joshua 11:22
  No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did any survive.
Through
Deuteronomy 3:11
(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
leads to
- Genesis 14:5
  In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
- 2 Samuel 12:26
  Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.