Discovery BoxGenesis 6:4
Context6:4 The Nephilim 1 were on the earth in those days (and also after this) 2 when the sons of God were having sexual relations with 3 the daughters of humankind, who gave birth to their children. 4 They were the mighty heroes 5 of old, the famous men. 6
Genesis 13:14
Context13:14 After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, 7 “Look 8 from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west.
Genesis 14:17
Context14:17 After Abram 9 returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram 10 in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 11
Genesis 24:5
Context24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me 12 to this land? Must I then 13 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
Genesis 26:18
Context26:18 Isaac reopened 14 the wells that had been dug 15 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 16 after Abraham died. Isaac 17 gave these wells 18 the same names his father had given them. 19
Genesis 32:19
Context32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20
Genesis 44:4
Context44:4 They had not gone very far from the city 21 when Joseph said 22 to the servant who was over his household, “Pursue the men at once! 23 When you overtake 24 them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?
[6:4] 1 tn The Hebrew word נְפִילִים (nÿfilim) is simply transliterated here, because the meaning of the term is uncertain. According to the text, the Nephilim became mighty warriors and gained great fame in the antediluvian world. The text may imply they were the offspring of the sexual union of the “sons of God” and the “daughters of humankind” (v. 2), but it stops short of saying this in a direct manner. The Nephilim are mentioned in the OT only here and in Num 13:33, where it is stated that they were giants (thus KJV, TEV, NLT “giants” here). The narrator observes that the Anakites of Canaan were descendants of the Nephilim. Certainly these later Anakite Nephilim could not be descendants of the antediluvian Nephilim (see also the following note on the word “this”).
[6:4] 2 tn This observation is parenthetical, explaining that there were Nephilim even after the flood. If all humankind, with the exception of Noah and his family, died in the flood, it is difficult to understand how the postdiluvian Nephilim could be related to the antediluvian Nephilim or how the Anakites of Canaan could be their descendants (see Num 13:33). It is likely that the term Nephilim refers generally to “giants” (see HALOT 709 s.v. נְפִילִים) without implying any ethnic connection between the antediluvian and postdiluvian varieties.
[6:4] 3 tn Heb “were entering to,” referring euphemistically to sexual intercourse here. The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the ongoing nature of such sexual unions during the time before the flood.
[6:4] 4 tn Heb “and they gave birth to them.” The masculine plural suffix “them” refers to the “sons of God,” to whom the “daughters of humankind” bore children. After the Qal form of the verb יָלָד (yalad, “to give birth”) the preposition לְ (lÿ, “to”) introduces the father of the child(ren). See Gen 16:1, 15; 17:19, 21; 21:2-3, 9; 22:23; 24:24, 47; 25:2, etc.
[6:4] 5 tn The parenthetical/explanatory clause uses the word הַגִּבֹּרִים (haggibborim) to describe these Nephilim. The word means “warriors; mighty men; heroes.” The appositional statement further explains that they were “men of renown.” The text refers to superhuman beings who held the world in their power and who lived on in ancient lore outside the Bible. See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 45-46; C. Westermann, Genesis, 1:379-80; and Anne D. Kilmer, “The Mesopotamian Counterparts of the Biblical Nephilim,” Perspectives on Language and Text, 39-43.
[6:4] 6 tn Heb “men of name” (i.e., famous men).
[13:14] 7 tn Heb “and the
[13:14] 8 tn Heb “lift up your eyes and see.”
[14:17] 13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 14 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:17] 15 sn The King’s Valley is possibly a reference to what came to be known later as the Kidron Valley.
[24:5] 19 tn Heb “to go after me.”
[24:5] 20 tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.
[26:18] 25 tn Heb “he returned and dug,” meaning “he dug again” or “he reopened.”
[26:18] 26 tn Heb “that they dug.” Since the subject is indefinite, the verb is translated as passive.
[26:18] 27 tn Heb “and the Philistines had stopped them up.” This clause explains why Isaac had to reopen them.
[26:18] 28 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 29 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the wells) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[26:18] 30 tn Heb “called names to them according to the names that his father called them.”
[32:19] 31 tn Heb “And he commanded also the second, also the third, also all the ones going after the herds, saying: ‘According to this word you will speak when you find him.’”
[44:4] 37 tn Heb “they left the city, they were not far,” meaning “they had not gone very far.”
[44:4] 38 tn Heb “and Joseph said.” This clause, like the first one in the verse, has the subject before the verb, indicating synchronic action.
[44:4] 39 tn Heb “arise, chase after the men.” The first imperative gives the command a sense of urgency.
[44:4] 40 tn After the imperative this perfect verbal form with vav consecutive has the same nuance of instruction. In the translation it is subordinated to the verbal form that follows (also a perfect with vav consecutive): “and overtake them and say,” becomes “when you overtake them, say.”
