Scriptural
Studies
Are The Nephilim Fallen Angels or a Hybrid Race?
Genesis 6:1-6
The account isn't about fallen angels or a hybrid race!
By Nab B.
August 8, 2023
(updated Sep 8, 2025)
“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.”
(Genesis 6:4)
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Believe it or not, everything hinges on the word nephilim! A red flag should be raised whenever translators leave certain words untranslated; words such as Nephilim, Lucifer, Baptism, Rapture, Apostasy, etc.
Nephilim is a common descriptive noun that should be translated as "fallen ones." By leaving it untranslated, the reader is mentally deceived into accepting a certain doctrine. Brilliant deception in my opinion!
The Word Nephilim
The "nephilim" is word #5303 in Strong’s Concordance, translated as "giants" (not so accurate definition)! The root word of nephilim is word #5307 ‘naphal’, a common verb that means to fall or lie. Nephilim occurs 3 times, but its root word (naphal) occurs 435 times. An example of how naphal is used is when a tree falls or a man falls to the ground.
So, translators intentionally left Nephilim untranslated and capitalized to appear like a proper noun, suggesting a hybrid human-demonic giant race!
Who were the Sons of God?
The argument which says that "sons of God" applies only to angels is without support. Here are two arguments against it:
"Sons of God" can also apply to humans as shown by these verses. (Ex 4:22-23; Deut 14:1; Jer 3:19).
"Sons of God" or "sons of Elohim" could also mean "sons of the nobles and men of high rank." Elohim often means mighty ones as shown by these verses:
"Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods [Elohim]?" (Ex 15:11)
"I will bring judgment on all the gods [Elohim: mighty] of Egypt." (Ex 12:12)
"If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges [Elohim]." (Ex 22:8)
"If one man sins against another, the judge [Elohim] shall judge him." (1 Sam 2:25)
"Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty [Elohim]." (Psa 29:1)
Who are the Nephilim?
The word "nephilim" simply means "the fallen ones". They are not a hybrid race of giants! They were "fallen men," tyrannical humans who corrupted God’s ways and purposes. These “sons of God” perhaps went on a rampage, terrorizing societies, having multiple women (polygamy), violence, possible rape, bullying, corruption and tyranny.
This early fall of man was so great that God was forced to say this about man:
“The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen 6:5)
“The Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” (Gen 6:6)
“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” (Gen 6:11)
“God saw the earth...it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” (Gen 6:12)
Now, you would think if there was a demonic connection to this, the scriptures would have said so. But there is NOTHING mentioned at all! Note that in the 4 passages of Genesis above, that terrible situation was all about this:
Man's wickedness,
Man's evil heart,
Man's violence,
Man's corruption.
We need not go far to identify the "nephilim." Genesis 6:4 tells us that, "The same became mighty men who were of old, the men of renown (Lit. men of the name)."
They were mighty, violent, tyrant men, who wanted to be "men of renown," or "men of the name". To them, it was all about power and fame. They were the sons of very corrupt mighty human parents called "sons of god" (sons of Elohim, or mighty ones. Genesis 6:2). They tyranny, they likely led others to do the same.
“In Those Days, and Also Afterward”
What about the argument that “The nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward”? We must remember that the writer (Moses) was looking back on events that had already happened and was comparing them to what occurred in his time. This is an important point .
The phrase could mean that these fallen men lived sometime before the flood, for "there were giants (nephilim) in those days" Gen 6:3). Then, through forced marriages and rape, they produced countless children who increasingly "afterward" dominated the earth up until the flood came.
Another possibility is that the writer could have been referring to the spirit and attitude of these pre-flood fallen men, which also existed after the flood. He could had in mind the wicked groups who built the Tower of Babel who said, “come...and let us make a name for ourselves.” (Genesis 11:4)
The phrase "make a name" in Gen 11:4 is the same as "men of renown" in Gen 6:4. This might refer to the same type of people who existed before the flood.
Also, the word 'renown' is the Hebrew word 'shem,' which means 'name'. Name means “fame, reputation, authority”. (Hebrew 'SHEM' #8034). It denotes one of a higher rank or position.
Jesus prophesied that the wicked spirit and attitude that prevailed in Noah’s day would also be the hallmark of the “last age”. He was not speaking of the appearance of a hybrid race!
The Nephilim were in Canaan!
Then you get Christians talking nonsense about a remaining hybrid demonic race found in Canaan! Recall that the ten spies came back with exaggerated reports that scared their people, saying this:
“There we saw the giants the descendants of Anak (neck: perhaps being taller than usual], and we were like grasshoppers (exaggerating) in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (Num 13:33)
Again, the translator should have used either "nephilim" or "fallen ones" instead of "giants". To the Israelites, who were nomadic desert dwellers, the Canaanites were very different: fallen, powerful, corrupt, and tyrants.
The Genesis account indirectly tells us that even though the nephilim were very strong people, somehow, they did not threaten the spies; otherwise, how could they walk into their supposedly demonic dwellings, see them face to face, and still be able to bring a hefty amount of food without a scratch on them?
The Canaanites were not a hybrid demonic race. In fact, in one fell swoop, Joshua “came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron.” (Josh 11:21) In his battle against them, there was no mention of any extraterrestrial encounters that Joshua had to face.
The Nephilim are Not Fallen Angels!
Some might argue that they were half men and half demons! First, there is no proof of this! God ordained that no such intermixing can exist between different species on earth, let alone between a human and a spirit!
The best proof comes from the highest authority, Jesus himself, who said, "They neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." (Matthew 22:30)
There we have it. Case closed! Spirit beings do not procreate, straight from the mouth of Jesus.
I presented this subject to disprove the prevalent belief among Christians about the nephilim. Many in Christendom make a “merchandise" of misinterpreted scriptures, sensationalize them, sell books, movies, TV series, documentaries, and loads of interviews on Christian and non-Christian networks!
The nephilim are neither fallen angels nor a hybrid race hiding somewhere to rise again. It's best to leave such fables behind and stick to the original and intended meaning of the scriptures.