Request for info on the Nephilim

What's a good, scholarly source of info on the "Nephilim" discussed in Genesis, Chapter 6? Genesis itself is short on detail.Web searches generate a lot of dreck - Aliens on Earth wackiness, Goth bands, role-playing games, and the CRS. Looking for actual scholarship on the subject, if possible.[This message has been edited by Zhimbo, 10-14-2003]

The only other ancient source I know of is the Book of Enoch. I beleive that there are translations on the web, but it was quite a while ago that I looked into it.

A good source for angel lore is "Angels: A to Z (Angel Encyclopedia)". They use a lot of well-documented sources. Unfortunately, the only place where I can find it's content online is this cheesy page:http://heavensangel.net/atoz.htmTheir remarks on "Nephilim":NEPHILIM-Also the nefilim, the name given in Jewish or Hebrew legend for the offspring sired by the union of mortal women with the fallen angels, although at times it is also understood to denote the fallen angels themselves and their semidivine children. The nephilim, having angelic or divine blood coursing through their veins, are said to have been giants, described in the Old Testament Book of Genesis as "the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown."A better source is "A dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels" - it's more complete (for example, "Angels: A to Z" doesn't even mention Chasan). Unfortunately, I can't find its content online.It really would be fascinating to learn more about the religion which Judaism was built on. If the name "elohim" (-im = plural), use of plural speech, and all of the early references to other gods and demigods doesn't clue people in to the fact that it was built on a polytheistic religion, I don't know what would. It is sad that bible translators cover it up with their wording.------------------
"Illuminant light,
illuminate me."[This message has been edited by Rei, 10-14-2003]

There are more than a few works addressing "more about the religion which Judaism was built on". See, for example, "The Early History of God" by Mark S. Smith and "Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic" by Frank Moore Cross.

Some viewpoints from Medieval Jewish commenteriies on Nefilim
[1] Rashi - Nefilim comes from hebrew 'nafal' those that fell, a reference that that generation would later fall and be killed in the flood- like saying - the fallen. Or those that caused others to fall, to b ekilled -through their actions the flood came and they all fell [died]
[2] Eben Ezra - nefilim = that a mans heart falls within him [from fear] from their great stature and height -
This goes well with the translation of the ancient Onkelos [translated the bible into arameic] who translates nefilim as 'giboraya' which is the same as the hebrew 'gibor' which means in english - the great ones, the heroes, the brave ones or the strong ones.
[3] mahari - nefilim -because very large bodied men mated with normal women and the fetuses were too large for the women and fell out

Hi Mendy,I had to laugh at this one: Wouldn't a too-large fetus get stuck inside?I looked up our word in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and find that it can also be understood as a bully or tyrant. Strong #5303db

haha true, that makes sense...missed that one....maybe mahari meant that nefilim were somehow some kind of miscarriages or other problematic pregnancies and somehow fell out..but i did copy that for you verbatim....

I'm sure this will help(lol):
http://www.returnofthenephilim.com------------------
-chris[This message has been edited by messenjaH, 11-03-2003]

Wow, I don't have any idea what to think of that site. Is it something about the word "Nephilim" that inspires such weirdness?

Perhaps a better source would be 1 Enoch, which goes to some length to explicate the Nephilim. The story, in brief, goes something as follows:A group (class?) of Angels (the Sons of God) called Watchers entered into a pact to descend to Earth and marry earthly women. In the process, they taught these women a good deal of forbidden knowledge. They also mated, the results of which were a species of grotesque Giants, who proceeded to commit all manner of evil. In order to clense the world of this abomination, God exiled the fallen Angels and turned the whole planet into one giant mikvah, thereby killing (most) of the Giants. But, alas, while their bodies died in the delude, their spirits live. It is these spirits of consummate evil, the Nephilim, who are responsible for the pervasive woes that confront mankind.To the extent that it addresses Gen 5 & 6, 1 Enoch supplies an aetiology of demons. It is also fun to see how the story parallels Adam and Eve and the fall from grace.

beats me

Interesting. Not much i can say on the falling angel thing except that i find it strange. I dont generally rely on apochrypha or NT so the whole genre of angels doing this or that is weird to me -maybe bc i was raised with the idea of the bible as a rational document, not about demons, ghosts, devils and all kind of strange ideas.

Yes, the Tanach is strange. Of course, the apocrypha we're referring to has nothing to do with the NT. Enoch is a thoroughly Jewish document, with the earliest strata of 1 Enoch probably dating back to the Persian period. There is every reason to believe that it was viewed as authoritative exegesis. Furthermore, even a cursory reading of the Torah reference to Enoch suggests a lost story waiting to be told.There is, by the way, a wonderful artical on this topic entitled

• THE ENOCHIC LITERATURE AND THE BIBLE: INTERTEXTUALITY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS, by Philip S. Alexander

found in Bible as Book: The Hebrew Bible and Judaean Desert Discoveries, edited by Edward D. Herbert and Emanuel Tov. You have obviously been remiss in your Torah studies. The Tanach is full of strange stories, the Midrash even more so -- and we haven't even begun to talk about Kabalah.[This message has been edited by ConsequentAtheist, 11-09-2003]

heres hundreds of sites on the nephilim,fallen angels, UFOs ancient and now times information, everything you ever wanted to know on nephilim !!! Microsoft OneDrive - Access files anywhere. Create docs with free Office Online.

You have clearly demonstrated that there is much that is worthless on the internet.