CHAPTER 2
Interpretations Through the Ages
A. The Nature of the Relationship
In ancient times, when the Adamic race was still in its infancy, the “sons of God,” impressed by the beauty of the “daughters of men,” apparently entered into permanent marital unions with the latter. This is evident because the expression “to take a wife for oneself” (laqaḥ ishah) does not signify a temporary sexual relationship but rather the enduring relationship of a lawful marriage (Genesis 4:19; 11:29; 12:19; 20:2–3; 24:4).
Foreign commentators on this passage are in agreement with the above interpretation, among them John Skinner in his famous commentary on Genesis included in the International Critical Commentary (p. 142), and C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch in Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, vol. I, p. 131, where, among other things, they state that: “This fact alone is sufficient in itself to exclude the idea that angels are meant.” (1)
In the case of the abduction or rape of women (Judges 21:23), the expression would have been “nasa ishah” (“to carry off a woman”). Although not explicitly stated in the text, it is nevertheless implied that this union resulted in the sinfulness of mankind and in the extraordinary intervention of God in the affairs of the world (v. 3).
The principal subjects connected with the above episode, namely the “sons of God,” the “daughters of men,” and the “giants,” will be examined in the following sections.
Notes
- U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, p. 294; Kenneth A. Mathews, The New American Commentary, vol. I, p. 329; Claus Westermann, A Commentary on Genesis, p. 368.
Continued
