On Angels and Giants (Chapter 1) - Genesis 6:1–4 and the Problems of Its Interpretation

...continued.

 

CHAPTER 1

 

Genesis 6:1–4 and the Problems of Its Interpretation

 

Within this particular passage, a tradition has been preserved concerning the union of the “sons of God” with the “daughters of men,” as well as the origin of the “giants.”

The present study will attempt to answer the questions that arise from an investigation of this subject. Are the “sons of God” distinguished individuals, “good and virtuous” men, descendants of the line of Seth, “spiritual beings” (angels), or something else?

Are the “daughters of men” descendants of the line of Cain, mortal and sinful women in general, or something else?

And are the “giants” mythological beings, demigod heroes of antiquity, or renowned men?

All of these questions will be examined in what follows on the basis of the tradition preserved in Genesis 6:1–4, within the framework of primeval history, and through a detailed analysis of the text—especially the Hebrew text—as well as an investigation of the philological problems presented by the passage.

On Angels and Giants (Introduction)

INTRODUCTION

As we begin the present study, we feel the need to say a few things concerning Holy Scripture.

The more one studies Scripture, together with its interpretations and translations, the more one realizes that it contains passages that are difficult to interpret, enigmatic, and literally mysterious—veritable stumbling blocks for interpreters. This is so because Scripture is at once simple and profound, easy and difficult. It resembles the sea, which has a surface upon which one may swim with ease, but also depths into which only skilled divers are able to descend. Superficial and ignorant people, such as most heretics happen to be, are the only ones who imagine that Scripture is an easy book and that anyone is capable of interpreting it.

There is a passage in Scripture, Galatians 3:20, for which more than four hundred interpretations have been proposed. What the Apostle Peter said concerning Paul's epistles—that they contain “some things hard to understand” (2 Peter 3:16)—applies more generally to Holy Scripture as a whole. The Fathers likewise acknowledge that Scripture contains difficult passages and that it is an abyss of questions. For this reason, while the Fathers are in agreement concerning the doctrines of the faith, they differ, to a greater or lesser degree, in their interpretation of many passages. Their interpretations are pious, though not all are equally successful. The Fathers—and especially Saint John Chrysostom, the prince of interpreters—correctly interpreted the greater part of Scripture. They left a portion uninterpreted, however, so that lovers of God's sacred text might continue to enjoy the labor of inquiry and the discovery of divine meanings until the Second Coming. Holy Scripture is an inexhaustible mine.