Enoch and the Nephilim

One of the most fascinating topics to me in general is the idea of "Giants". Oversized humans that are said by many cultures to have once roamed the earth and dominated whoever, wherever, whenever.

Usually they are associated with the "The World before the Flood" or the "Antediluvian". Many world mythologies and religions feature stories of epic floods, but the one that is the most detailed, the most written about, and the most consequential is of course the biblical flood.

For myself, the most interesting legends of "Giants" also come from the Bible, and some of the apocryphal (non-canon) literature on the side.

Genesis Chapter 6 Verse 4

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

That verse has probably founded as much internet woo as anything else out there. Who were and what were the "Nephilim"? Genesis Chapter 6 Verse 2 provides a clue:

the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful,and they married any of them they chose.

And there is the word "Nephilim" which is often translated to mean "Giants". The Nephilim were the offspring of the "Sons of God" and human women. We know that they were around after the Flood of Noah as well, and some scholars think the destruction of the last lines of the nephilim, think David and Goliath, played a part in the the Israelites Old Testament Conquests. And depending on how you look at it, they might play a part in the "end times" as well...

Previously I covered "The Book of Enoch" and "The Book of Giants" in separate episodes. And because those two episodes seem to generate the most traffic, and the most comments, I thought I'd make an episode that sort of combines them together and puts them in their supposed context of Genesis Chapter 6.

Keep in mind NEITHER of these works is considered to be canonical or inspired, so what were really looking at is more like the tall tales or mythology that people were probably familiar with at the time, and that can be useful to get a sense of what people thought about history, and what they wondered about.

Religious or not this time period is fascinating. And I often wonder if the flood might have been associated with the rapid melting of glaciers around the globe at the end of the Ice Age...

Below are sources to the texts themselves, my other podcasts on the subject and some really great breakdowns on these subjects from folks far more qualified than me:

Previous Podcasts on this topic

The Book of Giants

The Book of Enoch

The Texts

The Book of Genesis

The Book of Enoch (First Enoch)

The Book of Giants

A Good Overview of Nephilim in Scripture

https://knowingscripture.com/articles/giants-in-the-land-a-biblical-theology-of-the-nephilim-anakim-rephaim-and-goliath

Further Exploration

Dr Michael Heiser on The Book of Enoch