Christian Challenge International

"Ask the Pastor"

We frequently receive questions in email from people about doctrine, practice, etc. From time to time we will post the questions and the answers here on the web page. If you'd like to submit a question, simply email our pastor at Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org or use the form below.

February 22, 2002

Dear Friend,

Your question:

> In my studies I have read that one of the reasons for the flood in
> Genesis was the fact that the "sons of God came unto the children of
> men" and a race of giants were conceived. If this is the case then
> where did the sons of Anak come from in Joshua and Goliath in 1
> Samuel? Was there another race of Giants after the flood? Where did
> they come from?

Perhaps I can help a bit. The term 'Nephilim' is used by Moses
more than once. It generally speaks of particularly great men. The
word itself can denote fearsomeness, or men of great cruelty. In
ancient time these men were spoken of as 'men of name.' (ansa
hassem).

As for the 'Nephilim' being the product of the sons of God coming to
the daughters of men, this is not what is being stated. It says that
these Nephilim were in the land when the sons of God came to the
daughters of men. There appears to be a parenthetical statement in
Genesis 6:4. Without the parenthetical, it reads, "The Nephilim were
on the earth in those days, and they bore children to them, and also
afterward. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of
renown."

The parenthetical statement simply says ("when the sons of God
came in to the daughters of men.")

But the way it is sometimes interpreted, does present a problem. It
makes it appear that others besides Noah and his family survived
the flood. I think the best way to see this is that the Nephlim were a
class of warrior people, of great size, but not giants in the sense that
we think of a giant. (The giant issue is a Hebraism. Orientals use
such language in their descriptions of what they perceive as the
unusual.)

Hope this helps.

Bro. Buddy

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What would you like to "Ask the Pastor?"

Your full name:
Your email address: (e.g.: you@aol.com)
PLEASE include your email address or we won't be able to send the answer to you.

Your question

(Note: Please include your full name and email address. Answers will be sent by return email. Christian Challenge reserves the right to reprint your question and edit it for clarity and content on our "Ask the Pastor" web page. Please note that we will not divulge your full name nor your email address. Typically we'll use your first name only. Not all questions are posted on this page - many more are responded to privately. Please let us know if you do NOT want your question listed or if you'd prefer it to be listed anonymously. We respect your privacy and will NOT sell/give/loan your name and email address to any other organization/business/entity.)

Back to the Christian Challenge International home page!