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from
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Nephilim
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The Nephilim are mysterious supermen from ancient times, men of
name, who lived before and after the flood of
Noah.
Before the flood they are mentioned in Genesis 6:4, and after in
Numbers 13:33.
The question this raises is:
who are the Nephilim and how did
they survive the flood?
If Noah, his sons or any of their wives
had been Nephilim, the text would have certainly mentioned it, and
the Nephilim would have been treated more positively.
Genesis 6 tells us that the Nephilim were fathered by 'sons of
Elohim' with human females. The phrase 'sons of God' may
indicate angelic creatures but also the members of some very strong
race.
It seems that Nephilim were
generated from human stock, not just once but often and separately,
and not only before the flood but also after. The Bible basically
states that biology allows that human females may be and have indeed
been impregnated by spirit beings, a fact of course made ultimately
evident in the conception of Jesus Christ.
The Nephilim seem to be divided into several sub-categories. The
spies who were sent to
Canaan reported seeing children of
Anak,
or the
Anakim, who were Nephilim (Numbers 13:33).
The word for children that is used in
Numbers 13:28 is
(yalad) and means 'born ones,' that means of regular birth
and not of some 'son of Elohim.'
The name of the father of Anak is Arba,
and his city,
Hebron, is given to
Caleb (Joshua 15:13). Caleb subsequently drives out the three
sons (perhaps again three subdivisions of the Anakim) of Anak, whose
names are,
Deuteronomy 2:10 speaks of Emim, a people as great, numerous and
tall as the Anakim.
Deuteronomy counts both the Anakim (who are
Nephilim) and the Emim among the so-called
Rephaim, but in Genesis 14:5 the Rephaim and the Emim are listed
separate.
Genesis 14:5 also lists the Zuzim, which
are likely the same as the Zamzuzim of Deuteronomy 2:20, who are a
people like the Anakim and also counted among Rephaim.
It is not clear where the name Nephilim comes from. There are a few
possibilities, and scholars argue about the likelihood of each of
them.
First of all, the word nephilim
is a plural and the single form,
(npl), does not occur in the Bible (which by itself is not at
all unusual). In another context, however, the word
(nepel) means untimely birth or abortion.
It comes from the verb
(napal), fall, lie down, be cast down, fail. The plural word
means 'fallen ones,' mostly by the sword, and occurs in Joshua 8:25,
Judges 20:46, 2 Kings 25:11, Psalm 145:14, Jeremiah 39:9, 52:15,
Ezekiel 32:22 and 24.
HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament mentions the above
similarity with some disdain and pronounces a much more likely
etymology based on words such as
(pala), be marvelous, wonderful, or
(pala), be distinct, marked out, or
(palal), intervene, interpose, pray.
This latter verb is one of many for
prayer and other interventions, and in search of origins of this
particular verb some scholars end up right back at
(napal), to fall (i.e. to prostrate oneself). This becomes
especially compelling when we remember that the name Rephaim has to
do with a verb that means to sink, let drop, fall slack.
The Nephilim are the 'Fallen Ones', and the 'Marvelous Ones'.
BDB Theological Dictionary adds a very interesting note, although,
in its signature grumpy style, pronounces any etymology 'dubious'
and 'precarious' :
The words for Nephilim,
and
bear a striking resemblance to 'Nephila', the Aramaic word for Orion:
and
 .
The Nephilim are
the Orionids.
Another name that may have to do with the constellation Orion is
that of the
Casluhim.
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