Sons of God and Daughters of Men

Sons of God and daughters of men

Sons of God and daughters of men are familiar words to many of us.

Genesis 6:1-8 describes the dire straits man was in at the time of Noah.

In verses 2 and 4, Moses introduces us to the words “sons of God” and “daughters of men.”  But who are the sons of God and daughters of men?  The mystery is quite intriguing.  And it’s tempting to “fill in the blanks” he seems to have left for theologians and Bible teachers to supply the answers for.  And too many are more than happy to do so.

It is commonly taught that the sons of God are fallen angels.  And the daughters of men are female human beings.  This understanding is popular.  I’m guessing there are probably only a few present-day Christians who look at it differently.

Who are the sons of God and daughters of men?

So, in this characteristic way, a well-known and highly respected Bible teacher explains who the sons of God and daughters of men are. . .

“The sons of God, identified elsewhere almost exclusively as angels (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7), saw and took wives of the human race.  This produced an unnatural union which violated the God-ordained order of human marriage and procreation (Gen. 2:24). . .  The NT places this account in sequence with other Genesis events and identifies it as involving fallen angels who indwelt men (see notes on 2 Peter 2:4,5; Jude 6).  Matthew 22:30 does not necessarily negate the possibility that angels are capable of procreation, but just that they do not marry.  To procreate physically, they had to possess human bodies” (MacArthur Study Bible footnote, p. 24).

Observations

I have a number of things to say about this.

It is not an unnatural union when men marry women.  That’s what is happening here.  The only odd thing is: according to this view, the men are possessed by demons.  As for violating God’s order of procreation, no fallen angel can actually procreate.  The human he possesses is doing that.   So, even if demons possessed these men, the actual marriage and procreation alluded to in these verses do not violate the order God has ordained.

On Beyond Zebra!: pursuing our understanding of sons of God and daughters of men

And now, to pursue our understanding of this, in the spirit of Dr. Seuss’ book, On Beyond Zebra!, we will go boldly and, I might add, courageously on to the closing statement in the quote above, which is not only surprising but also problematic.  “Matthew 22:30 does not necessarily negate the possibility that angels are capable of procreation, but just that they do not marry.  To procreate physically, they had to possess human bodies.”

To accommodate the words of Jesus, here, the relationship between marriage and procreation is discarded.  But the point of fact is: angels don’t marry, much less procreate.  And that, in itself, makes them totally unqualified for the part of “sons of God” in this “stage production.”

But a more serious problem remains.  To suggest that a demon or spirit being can “procreate physically” is disingenuous.  They exist in another dimension (Heb. 2:16).  Even if a demonic spirit does possess a human body, the spirit itself is not procreating anything, especially not in any physical sense.  The Creator of angels has precluded that possibility.  To suggest otherwise is like giving a spirit the ability to do what is unique in Mary’s experience alone, in her conception of Jesus.  But, in that case, the Holy Spirit provided the Divine nature of the baby born, while Mary gave Him His humanity.

Not only that.  But those who teach this are ascribing the distinction of “sons of God” to demons.  And thereby, somehow validating the claim of their leader, who said, “I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14).

Probing Peter and Jude, and staying within perimeters

As for Peter (II Pet. 2:4,5) and Jude (verse 6).  They refer to “angels who sinned” and “angels who didn’t keep their first estate, but left their own abode.”  These descriptions are general in nature.  They don’t identify any specific actions taken by them at the time of the flood (Noah’s ark) or the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, or any other time in history, but seem to reflect the original fall of the devil and his angels.  As Keil and Delitzsch also observed.  “The words [from Peter and Jude] may be very well interpreted, as they were by the earlier Christian theologians, as relating to the fall of Satan and his angels” (Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. I, p. 135).

Besides that.  If we stay within the perimeters of the Genesis 6 text and its immediate context, there is no direct reference to fallen angels or demons.  But a clever eisegete can drop these into the text, without us knowing, while we watch him perform his aerial stunts on a flying trapeze.  (That’s another way of pointing out the sleight of hand tricks Bible teachers can pull off if we’re not alert.)  However.  We do see, in the context, the likely possibility that “sons of God” is a reference to the godly line of Seth (Gen. 4:25, 26; and chapter 5), which intermarried with the line of Cain (Gen. 4:14f.), the “daughters of men.”  In other words, followers of God were intermarrying with those who were not, thus corrupting the godly seed.

So, even the “salt” of the earth was advancing whip and spur like Custer’s 7th into the approaching cataclysm (II Pet. 2:5) because of the terrible wickedness that filled the earth.  This greatly distressed the Spirit of God (Gen. 6:3) and brought judgment upon the world.

Sons of God and daughters of men: a look at Job

As we continue our thoughts on sons of God and daughters of men, we will go next to Job 1:6, 2:1, and 38:7, also referred to in the quote above.  The claim, you may recall, was made that “the sons of God” in Genesis 6 are “identified elsewhere almost exclusively as angels.”

Are they?

Let’s investigate and see.

We will begin by looking at Job 1:6 and 2:1.  In both verses, we read: “There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.”  We can see two things here.  (1) The “sons of God” are not clearly identified.  If these were “angels,” the author of Job could have simply said so.  After all.  Eliaphaz made a reference to “angels” without calling them “sons of God” in Job 4:18.  And (2) Satan is “among them,” not one of them.  God takes a singular interest in Satan, indicating that he is different from the others who gathered before Him.

Nowhere in the Bible does God call His angels sons

Now.  On to Job 38:7.

First of all, this sounds like a spontaneous anthropomorphic response of the entire universe as the foundations of the earth are being laid, resembling poetic narratives we also find in Psalm 19:1-3, Isaiah 55:12, Luke 19:40, and Romans 8:22.

Secondly, and most importantly, who is saying, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy”?  It is the LORD, Yahweh (YHWH).  In a footnote to the Study Bible alluded to above (p. 735), morning stars and sons of God are described as “the angelic realm, God’s ministering spirits.”  But, according to the writer of Hebrews, God did not, at any time, call His angels “sons.”  “For to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘You are my son, today I have begotten you’?  And again, ‘I will be to him a Father, and he will be to me a son’?” (Heb. 1:5).

Job 38:7 is not an exception.  And it shows us that God was not referring to angels when He said this.

But of the angels, the author of Hebrews writes, “Are they not all ministering spirits?” (Heb. 1:14).  Instead of being “sons of God,” God commands them to worship His only-begotten Son (Heb. 1:6).  And years later, after His birth in Bethlehem, they also minister to Him (Matt. 4:11; Luke 22:43).

So, the field has been cleared and, hopefully, a solid foundation laid for a more Biblical understanding of sons of God and daughters of men in Genesis 6.

Concluding thoughts on sons of God and daughters of men, and other Scriptures

I encourage you, as brothers and sisters in Jesus, to do two things.

1. In your fellowship with Jesus, read and study His Word (Luke 24:13-53), and

2. Think.

There are too many in the church who have no real desire to read the Word (I Pet. 2:2,3) and never develop the ability to think for themselves (Acts 17:11).  It’s not normal for a child to show no interest in eating, or to not be inquisitive and have a sense of wonder.  May God give you a childlike wonder and a desire to walk with Jesus and read and understand His Word (Jer. 15:16; Job 23:12).  Then no one who performs aerial stunts on a flying trapeze will be able to pull anything off on you.

A final word

Many believe the Nephilim in Genesis 6:4 are the offspring of the marriages between sons of God and daughters of men.  However, the text does not support this.  “There were giants [Nephilim] on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them.  Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.”  Observe Keil and Delitzsch’s commentary on this.  “To an unprejudiced mind, the words, as they stand, represent the Nephilim, who were on the earth in those days, as existing before the sons of God began to marry the daughters of men, and clearly distinguish them from the fruits of these marriages” (Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol, I, p. 137).

Study to show yourself approved unto God.

© James Unruh 2026 and beyond