Genesis 6:2

6:2 the sons of God ¹  saw that the daughters of humankind were beautiful. Thus they took wives for themselves from any they chose.

Hosea 1:10

The Restoration of Israel

1:10 (2:1) ²  However, ³  in the future the number of the people ⁴  of Israel will be like the sand of the sea which can be neither measured nor numbered. Although ⁵  it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it will be said to them, “You are ⁶  children ⁷  of the living God!”

Acts 3:25

3:25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, ⁸  saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants ⁹  all the nations ¹⁰  of the earth will be blessed.’ ¹¹ 

Acts 3:2

3:2 And a man lame ¹²  from birth ¹³  was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day ¹⁴  so he could beg for money ¹⁵  from those going into the temple courts. ¹⁶ 

Colossians 1:18

1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn ¹⁷  from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. ¹⁸ 

[6:2]  ¹ sn The Hebrew phrase translated “sons of God” (בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים, bÿne-ha’elohim) occurs only here (Gen 6:2, 4) and in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7. There are three major interpretations of the phrase here. (1) In the Book of Job the phrase clearly refers to angelic beings. In Gen 6 the “sons of God” are distinct from “humankind,” suggesting they were not human. This is consistent with the use of the phrase in Job. Since the passage speaks of these beings cohabiting with women, they must have taken physical form or possessed the bodies of men. An early Jewish tradition preserved in 1 En. 6-7 elaborates on this angelic revolt and even names the ringleaders. (2) Not all scholars accept the angelic interpretation of the “sons of God,” however. Some argue that the “sons of God” were members of Seth’s line, traced back to God through Adam in Gen 5, while the “daughters of humankind” were descendants of Cain. But, as noted above, the text distinguishes the “sons of God” from humankind (which would include the Sethites as well as the Cainites) and suggests that the “daughters of humankind” are human women in general, not just Cainites. (3) Others identify the “sons of God” as powerful tyrants, perhaps demon-possessed, who viewed themselves as divine and, following the example of Lamech (see Gen 4:19), practiced polygamy. But usage of the phrase “sons of God” in Job militates against this view. For literature on the subject see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:135.

[1:10]  ² sn Beginning with 1:10, the verse numbers through 2:23 in the English Bible differ by two from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:10 ET = 2:1 HT, 1:11 ET = 2:2 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:3 HT, etc., through 2:23 ET = 2:25 HT. Beginning with 3:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[1:10]  ³ tn The vav prefixed to וְהָיָה (véhaya) functions in an adversative sense: “however” (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §432).

[1:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV “the children”; NAB, NIV “the Israelites.”

[1:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the place” (בִּמְקוֹם, bimqom). BDB 880 s.v. מָקוֹם 7.b suggests that בִּמְקוֹם (preposition בְּ, bet, + noun מָקוֹם, maqom) is an idiom carrying a concessive sense: “instead of” (e.g., Isa 33:21; Hos 2:1). However, HALOT suggests that it functions in a locative sense: “in the same place” (HALOT 626 s.v. מָקוֹם 2b; e.g., 1 Kgs 21:19; Isa 33:21; Hos 2:1).

[1:10]  ⁶ tn The predicate nominative, “You are…,” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “sons” (so KJV, NASB, NIV).

[3:25]  ⁸ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:25]  ⁹ tn Or “in your offspring”; Grk “in your seed.”

[3:25]  ¹⁰ tn Or “families.” The Greek word πατριά (patria) can indicate persons of succeeding generations who are related by birth (“lineage,” “family”) but it can also indicate a relatively large unit of people who make up a sociopolitical group and who share a presumed biological descent. In many contexts πατριά is very similar to ἔθνος (eqnos) and λαός (laos). In light of the context of the OT quotation, it is better to translate πατριά as “nations” here.

[3:25]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Gen 22:18.

[3:2]  ¹² tn Or “crippled.”

[3:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “from his mother’s womb.”

[3:2]  ¹⁴ tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase.

[3:2]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “alms.” The term “alms” is not in common use today, so what the man expected, “money,” is used in the translation instead. The idea is that of money given as a gift to someone who was poor. Giving alms was viewed as honorable in Judaism (Tob 1:3, 16; 12:8-9; m. Pe’ah 1:1). See also Luke 11:41; 12:33; Acts 9:36; 10:2, 4, 31; 24:17.

[3:2]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[1:18]  ¹⁷ tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from among the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.

[1:18]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”