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.

Genesis 19:14

19:14 Then Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law who were going to marry his daughters. ²  He said, “Quick, get out of this place because the Lord is about to destroy ³  the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was ridiculing them. ⁴ 

Genesis 24:3

24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise ⁵  by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire ⁶  a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living.

Genesis 26:34-35

26:34 When ⁷  Esau was forty years old, ⁸  he married ⁹  Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 27:46

27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed ¹¹  because of these daughters of Heth. ¹²  If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” ¹³ 

Deuteronomy 7:3

7:3 You must not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,

[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.

[19:14]  ² sn The language has to be interpreted in the light of the context and the social customs. The men are called “sons-in-law” (literally “the takers of his daughters”), but the daughters had not yet had sex with a man. It is better to translate the phrase “who were going to marry his daughters.” Since formal marriage contracts were binding, the husbands-to-be could already be called sons-in-law.

[19:14]  ³ tn The Hebrew active participle expresses an imminent action.

[19:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he was like one taunting in the eyes of his sons-in-law.” These men mistakenly thought Lot was ridiculing them and their lifestyle. Their response illustrates how morally insensitive they had become.

[24:3]  ⁵ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.

[24:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “because you must not take.”

[26:34]  ⁷ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making this clause subordinate to the next.

[26:34]  ⁸ tn Heb “the son of forty years.”

[26:34]  ⁹ tn Heb “took as a wife.”

[26:35]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And they were [a source of ] bitterness in spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”

[27:46]  ¹¹ tn Heb “loathe my life.” The Hebrew verb translated “loathe” refers to strong disgust (see Lev 20:23).

[27:46]  ¹² tn Some translate the Hebrew term “Heth” as “Hittites” here (see also Gen 23:3), but this gives the impression that these people were the classical Hittites of Anatolia. However, there is no known connection between these sons of Heth, apparently a Canaanite group (see Gen 10:15), and the Hittites of Asia Minor. See H. A. Hoffner, Jr., “Hittites,” Peoples of the Old Testament World, 152-53.

[27:46]  ¹³ tn Heb “If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these, from the daughters of the land, why to me life?”