Who were the Nephilim?

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The Nephilim are a mysterious group of beings mentioned in the book of Genesis. But who were they thought to be? Giants? Fallen angels?
Bibliography:
-Loren T. Stuckenbruck, The Myth of Rebellious Angels: Studies in Second Temple Judaism and New Testament Texts (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017).
-Adrienne Mayor, The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times (Princeton: Princeton UP, 2023).
-Wojciech Kosior, “The Fallen (Or) Giants? The Gigantic Qualities of the Nefilim in the Hebrew Bible,” in Magdalena Waligórska and Tara Kohn, eds., Jewish Translation, Translating Jewishness (Boston: De Gruyter, 2018).
-Ronald Hendel, The Landscape of Memory: Giants and the Conquest of Canaan,” "From the book Collective Memory and Collective Identity."
-Ronald Hendel, "The Nephilim were on the Earth," in The Fall of the Angels, pages 11-34.
-Robin Routledge, "The Nephilim: A Tall Story?" Tyndale Bulletin 66.1 (2015), 19-40.
-Annette Yoshiko Reed, "Fallen Angels and the History of Judaism and Christianity: The Reception of Enochic Literature," 2005.
00:00 Introduction
1:31 Ancient Context of Genesis 6
4:00 Ancient Canaanite Giants?
7:18 The Hellenistic Interpretation of Nephilim
9:00 Fallen Angel Interpretation
10:30 Rabbinic Jewish and later Christian Interpretations
Select images courtesy of Getty

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: go.nebula.tv/religionforbreakfast Watch Archaeology Quest here!: nebula.tv/videos/realscience-pottery?ref=religionforbreakfast

[@MalikLeshawn]

I am the second son of God. Malik Leshawn Cotton I’ve just been awaken after being lied to for years. That you for your studies and insight. I hope to meet you soon

[@TheMrcassina]

Please, use metrics, I know you are an American...but the rest of the world isn't 😃...

[@AleskyMaxomovishPeshkov]

@@TheMrcassina yeah but this is a channel about religion and the metric system was deliberately made to get rid of what the secular French (during the French revolution of the late 18th century) thought was religious i.e our form of measuring including even time like days in a week

[@Jszar]

Here from Nebula to ask: Is the fragment on the whiteboard in the Nebula version's final segment meant to be a teaser about a future episode?

[@genesisjkc]

The passage in Genesis likely refers to the Lugal, a title for leaders and warlords in Sumeria. Lugal literally means "large man". This may conceptualize nephilim warriors that lead armies, and the idea of armies functioning under the commands of a leader would be their so-called giant body. In numbers the children of Anok might have been the so-called sea people, which would have included a number of warlords fitting this nephilim profile as a leader of a military force.

[@hammerfret]

"Birth is hard enough, so, dear God. Those poor women." 😂😂😂

[@salvadortorres7449]

The children may have grown more after being born. May have been 7-8 feet since that’s huge to people who are about 5’5 to 5’7. But I’m just pulling stuff out my rear

[@JDrocks4ever]

I’m pretty sure the ancient world viewed giants as actual giants. Like 10-12 feet at least like the freakin hulk. There’s no way a woman could birth a giant

[@retrex3977]

It is said In the writings that the giants were 150Meters Long@@salvadortorres7449

[@3VAudioVideo]

@@JDrocks4ever Maybe they meant the babies were normal size but they ket growing over the years to be giants?

[@sammysamlovescats]

I have a fun fact about stories about Og! In Jewish literature and storytelling there is something called a Midrash. A Midrash is essentially Rabbis interpreting and expanding on stories in the Hebrew Bible, often adding new stories. There is a Midrash about Og that states he made a deal with Noah, promising to be his slave if he could hitch a ride on the ark. So a platform outside the ark was added that Og clung to the ark and Noah fed him through a trap door. So then the giants after the flood were his descendants The midrash also says he later tried to pick up a mountain to fight Israel, but a bunch of ants ate the center of the mountain, causing it to fall on him, and then his teeth grew, making him stuck, and then Moses chopped his ankles with an ax Midrashes can be pretty weird

[@FCKSHT813]

if you like this stuff i highly highly reccoment dragons in genesis podcast

[@Einzelganged]

This was a nice video.🤩🤩

[@HoLeeFoc]

No offense but it sounds like they were tripping on some form of hallucinogenic fungi.

[@sammysamlovescats]

@@HoLeeFoc it does kinda, but you also have to consider that this was primarily a form of interpretation and storytelling. Often times in Jewish culture, a story isn't really about whether or not it literally factually happened, but about the story itself, things we can learn from it, interpretations, etc. It's weird for sure, but would it be as weird to us if we were there at the time? I don't know that we can confidently answer personally

[@bujustic]

@@HoLeeFoc Think of it more like, Jewish Jazz - they're riffing on existing rhythms, freestyling it

[@Dommi1405]

When you described how the ancient Hebrews might have seen large bronze age structures and took these as works of giants, megalithic tombs came to my mind, which where I grew up where also called "Hünengräber" roughly translated as Tomb of Giants. So I find it rather plausible that people back then drew similar conclusions

[@MapleWillowAspen]

For another comparison, it is reported by Pliny in his natural history that greeks of the classical age believed the massive bronze age structures of mycenaean times to have been built by cyclopes (we still use the term "Cyclopaean masonry" to describe some of the stonework from these times) - as only they would have been big and strong enough to move these massive stones.

[@stevesmith4901]

In one of the episodes of the "Fall of Civilizations" documentary series, narrator Paul Cooper explains that after the Romans withdrew from Britannia, their significant architectural contributions in Britannia were gradually forgotten by the local populace. Within a mere century, the inhabitants had lost the memory of Roman rule over Britannia. They were left puzzled about the origins of the grand structures the Romans had left behind. Unable to fathom that ordinary humans could construct such massive buildings, they logically surmised that a race of giants must have once inhabited Britain and that these Roman ruins were the remnants of their constructions. This leads me to believe: the authors of the Book of Genesis might have made a similar error in interpretation with regard to the ruins of the later Bronze age. What do you think?

[@MapleWillowAspen]

It seems at least plausible and possibly quite a common believe amongst a large variety of cultures. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more examples across the globe. @@stevesmith4901

[@icollectstories5702]

@@stevesmith4901 I think in a post-Apocalyptic World, this time, we're gonna leave enough human-scale detritus to not be depicted as Giants. Whether we were assisted by extra-terrestrial or super-natural powers remains to be seen.🥴

[@SingularityOrbit]

Considering that some people still imagine that the Egyptian pyramids must have been built by aliens, this is a great example of how people have always been like this. "Remember when our people used to build burial structures for the pharoahs, with two ton stones, built hundreds of feet high? That was a lot of work -- whoah, that ruin's walls are three times our height, and the stones are massive! Only giants could have built this!"

[@mgbilby]

A big thank you to Andrew and his team for letting me collaborate with them to do the initial research and writing for this episode. The bug squishing bit came from me, but most of the fantastic humor, as well as the archeological connections, were all Andrew and his team. Brilliantly done, my dudes.

[@lisasommerlad1337]

Thank you for your contributions.

[@lakrids-pibe]

"The fallen" as in autumn. The heroes of old loved pumpkin spice latte.

[@merrittanimation7721]

God is more of a winter enjoyer, that's why he sent the Flood

[@ecurewitz]

@@merrittanimation7721incorrect. Summer is clearly Her favorite season. She created winter to punish humanity for our sins

[@tomlxyz]

That only works in English imo

[@milohilltop3691]

The link between the remnants of large structures built with stones of great size, and the creation of myths of ancient giants makes perfect sense. Thanks for a great video!

[@m8sonmiller]

A lot of the mythology of eastern-mediterranean antiquity makes sense when you realize they were essentially a post-apocalyptic society living amongst the ruins of their ancestors

[@jamiethiele460]

It also connects to the origin of the “ cyclopean architecture “ in Greece. Who similarly saw the massive stone constructions of their Bronze Age progenitors and believed they may have been made by an inhumanly large/strong people.

[@EMNstar]

I wonder if they found fossils of the extinct giant apes and thought them to be giants with rock hard bones And fossilized dinosaurs and megafauna as monsters Thinking them as real as the ancient ruins of cities in front of them

[@bluesshooes]

The modern belief that ancient aliens or high technology were needed to move giant stones makes it even more plausible.

[@kristianharapan5741]

​@@bluesshooesI love this connection 😂, so they are some kind of ancient alien theorist progenitor

[@leeratner8064]

One of the really interesting things about the Talmud and Rabbinic Judaism is how the Rabbis spent a lot of time trying to demythologize things. Turning the Nephilim into the aristocratic human men is a prime example. Magic and the battle against it in Judaism is a really fascinating story, so much that many Jews today, yes I'm a Jew, would be shocked if you suggest there was a time when many Jews believed in and practiced magic.

[@kenammi355]

Which Talmud? The original, traditional, and majority view among the earliest Jewish and Christians commentators, starting in BC days, was the “Angel view” as I proved in my book, “On the Genesis 6 Affair’s Sons of God: Angels or Not?: A Survey of Early Jewish and Christian Commentaries Including Notes on Giants and the Nephilim.” Thus, it was a departure to (mis) interpret as per aristocratic especially since there's not a single word in the entire Bible about there being anything wrong with aristocrats marrying hoi polloi.

[@kingofbithynia449]

Actually there are some Roman era Hebrew magic scripts found in Turkiye

[@theblackrose3130]

It's interesting that they may have built a myth from abandoned ruins. It seems to be relatively common, in Irish mythology the Tuatha Dé Danann were heavily associated with sídhe ancient burial mounds that were recontextualised via myth. They were so associated with these places that eventually they became the Aos sí which literally means people of the mounds (Banshee literally means woman of the mound coming from the Irish bean sí). The Native American mounds were mythologised by white settlers as being built by giants also, refusing to believe that Native American people's ancestors could have built them.

[@michaelriverside1139]

There is an interesting topic involving the South Eastern Ceremonial Complex that includes Cahokia and myths of a figure known as Red Horn who bore children with a giantess, that seemingly ties into the Cherokee legends of an ancient order of priests known as the Ani-kutani whom their predecessors once rebelled against!

[@showersinger38]

An extension of that idea could be people today creating mythology of aliens to explain the pyramids 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@paranthropusslam1083]

You should do one for "Gog and Magog"

[@charleslord2433]

"Those poor women!" 😆😆😆 I also believe that the whole idea of giants in both biblical and Greek mythology came from fossils. It must have been a terrible struggle to explain concepts using one's limited knowledge and experiences. Another excellent video, Andrew!

[@andreaskokkinoftas3770]

Actually greek myths about cyclops very likely stem from the discoveries of mini-elephant fossils that used to live in greek areas centuries before ancient greeks. The hole in the elephant's skull where the trunk was located, was mistaken for the hole of the cyclops eye.

[@kenammi355]

I have a whole chapter about that issue in my book, "What Does the Bible Say About Giants and Nephilim? A Styled Giantology and Nephilology."

[@user-vt6dx8ll9b]

the woman was also giants

[@kenammi355]

@@user-vt6dx8ll9b The key questions are: What’s the usage of the vague, generic, subjective, multi-usage and modern English word “giants” in English Bibles? What’s your usage of the vague, generic, subjective, multi -usage and modern English word “giants”? Do those two usages agree?

[@iqweaver]

When you repaint a room, even if you do a good job, a few years later small glimpses of the previous colour peek through. There are dozens of such examples in the Hebew Bible. The polytheism that won't quite die.

[@oscargordon]

I find it interesting that the oldest copies of Daniel has Goliath as four cubits and a span, or 6' 9". Pretty tall compare to what the average person would have been with Bronze Age nutrition but not that impressive, considering Andre the Giant was 7' 4" and 520 lbs.. By the 10th century Masoretic text that most Bible translations use, Goliath became 6 cubits and a span or 9' 9" tall.

[@theonlylolking]

Man, sisters these days are not even impressed with being 6'9". It is so over bros.

[@mirandagoldstine8548]

I actually like to say the Nephilim are my distant ancestors. You see I have some tall ancestors on my dad’s side. To be specific the tallest man in my family was between (I could be mistaken) 6’6” and 6’8”. This ancestor lived during the 19th century when the average male was 5’8”. So maybe the Nephilim were just people who were unusually tall for the time period.

[@AleskyMaxomovishPeshkov]

@@mirandagoldstine8548 Well it is obvious you have abnormally high testosterone levels if your female and you don't believe in giants or anything supernatural. Studies show that when women were given testosterone they became more skeptical than before, which may explain why they (women) tend to believe in the supernatural more than men do

[@oscargordon]

@@mirandagoldstine8548 I wonder if any of the lady angels came down for breeding purposes because I do appreciate the tall ones.

[@kenammi355]

Before the Masoretic text, the earlier LXX and the earlier Dead Sea Scrolls and the earlier Flavius Josephus, which is the preponderance of the earliest data, all have him at four cubits and a span, just shy of 7 ft.-subjective to the average Israelite male who was 5.0-5.3 ft. in those days.

[@dovebair]

Thank you for this deep dive into the translations. Seeing how translations change over time and with different known influences is so interesting and gives modern people like us a better glimpse at what might have been originally intended by the original authors.

[@eriklunden5218]

I gravitate to this channel for your no-nonsense scholarly approach, but I must say it kinda makes your subtle notes of humor even better. Great video.

[@artawhirler]

Excellent video as usual! Thanks! KZbin is full of Nephilim videos but most of them....how shall I say this... they're designed for entertainment rather than education, put it that way. So this one is a welcome relief. Thanks again for all your hard work! (And also - anyone out there who is not subscribed to Nebula should do it right now! It's only five dollars a month and totally worth it!)

[@lancecjohnson]

I've always found that passage in Genesis to be fascinating, baffling, and frustrating. Thanks for doing this video. While we might never know what was originally intended, the possibilities are interesting.

[@littlebitofhope1489]

I don't know. I think that describes the entire bible.

[@lancecjohnson]

@@littlebitofhope1489 Well, I don't find all of it to be fascinating. But yeah, we'll probably never know what was originally intended.

[@Tomf-tz4pd]

We do know if we just take the bible as It's own interpreter. The Sons of God were the children of Seth and the Daughters of men were the children of Cain and they simply married each other and had children. The emphasis of the description regarding them being mighty is simply just a description of them nothing more.

[@lancecjohnson]

@@Tomf-tz4pd Where does it say that?

[@Rakhamon]

This was a nice video. I wish you would have discussed the Ezekiel passage however because it seems highly likely that the "nephilim" reading of it is the original and it is very enlightening about what the nephilim were, since it specifically names them as warriors of old and as residents of Sheol, the Jewish afterlife.

[@Einzelganged]

This was a nice video.🤩🤩

[@WolforNuva]

I'm not sure, the author could be accurately recounting the old stories and myths about them, but they could just as easily be using the old text as a foundation to build up their fanfiction. That they felt the need to so go into so much detail about the nephilim would indicate that they were no longer assumed common knowledge, so I'd lean towards the author building on the old myths.

[@ceedee873]

​​@@WolforNuva Or maybe the details of the Nephelim in Ezekiel was needed for the moral/point of the story, much like how they are glossed over in Genesis as they weren't the main focus, it's a rehashing of early Adamic history up to Moses, kinda hard to cram relevant vs irrelevant information when the point is to show the general history to the audience at the time, same reason why it hashed over the tower of babel because again, the point wasn't to talk about the tower. The same with the Book of Enoch they use each other as references because they are all inspired hence the references. Some just became canon and others not so much, or more texts have been lost and destroyed and the only to have survived are the canonical and extra-canonical books for obvious reasons.

[@WolforNuva]

@@ceedee873 You could be right, Ezekial simply may have thought it relevant to go into detail where the previous authors didn't, and both the author of Ezekial and the older authors had the same concept for what the nephilim were. But how would we know the difference between him explaining the old accurate stories, or him coming up with a new version that incorporates the few details that were established before? Without being able to firmly distinguish between the two, we can't just assume that his description is in fact accurate.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

​@@WolforNuva The historical Ezekiel was writing within a Babylonian environment. It is possible that an older understanding of the Nephilim uncorrupted by the Hebrew theological revolution remained in the lands of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. This may have informed the writer more directly.

[@SHDUStudios]

My preferred theory has always been from Trey the Explainer in that they were mythical heroes from other cultures such as Achilles or Gilgamesh.

[@InquisitiveBible]

I think this is quite possible as well.

[@Highspergamy]

They were the inspiration for Achilles and Gilgamesh... They were the offspring of the Egyptian Pharaohs by their Mittani concubines that made it to throne and brought down the 18th dynasty of Egypt... Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Ay....

[@SHDUStudios]

@@Highspergamy and your evidence for this?

[@Highspergamy]

I'll get back to you when I get a little time ... I have a horde of information... Hard trim it down to reasonable brevity ...

[@SHDUStudios]

@@Highspergamyalright, at least you have something

[@davidfulton179]

With rare exception, the concept of giant humans roaming the landscape is universal. It seems wherever humans went to settle, tales of giants flourished as well. And we have not problems contextualizing say, the jotuns of Scandinavia, or Pangu of Chinese myth, or the Choctaw race of giants called the Nuhallo as clear examples of folk culture. But because we view Judaism and Christianity as living religions and not folk traditions with a system of discernable mythology, we assume that biblical "giants" were somehow nothing like the giants of those "other" cultures.

[@through-faith-alone]

Only the Biblical account is not taken at face value, which it should. And found to be true.

[@kenammi355]

The key questions are: What’s the usage of the vague, generic, subjective, multi-usage and modern English word “giants” in English Bibles? What’s your usage of the vague, generic, subjective, multi -usage and modern English word “giants”? Do those two usages agree?

[@youremakingprogress144]

The Book of Mormon hero Nephi (well, the first one - there are several by that name) is described as being "large in stature." It's hard to imagine that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery didn't get the name from Nephilim.

[@hylandsquire]

I could very well see that as plausible. Solid connection!

[@BigBadWolframio]

The thing about the "sons of God" is that, since a child, I've read those passages without anyone really explaining anything about them to me. So in my head, the "sons of God" were the descendants from Eve and Adam (humans who were in direct contact with God and knew Him), while the "daughters of men" were like, women from the rest of humanity. This came from my understanding that God created humanity male and female, both in His image (Gensis 1:27), and then specifically created Adam (Genesis 2:7) from whom Eve was also formed. Like, I always understood this like there was a perceived differnce between men outside of Eden and the people placed in Eden by God (who then were considered the sons of God). Idk if it makes sense.

[@ra9im308]

What about Nephilim's whats really means are they the fallen ones or giants? and why mentioned again when 12 Israelis spies in kanaan.

[@BigBadWolframio]

@@ra9im308 I have mostly read the Bible in Spanish, and a little bit of Greek. In both, "giants" is the used word, so I confess that, even if it seemed curious, I never give it much thought. I only learnd about the concpt of "Nephilim" a couple of years ago, and although I've read about it, I have no real opinion. In case you're curious, the wording in Spanish doen't really make it sound like the Nephelim are the descendants of the sons of God and the daughters of men, (as explained in this video, many have not interpreted it that way, and that's the interpretation reflected in the translation). Regardless of wording and translation, the mentions of Nephilim/giants in the Bible are difficult to process, since it's hard to know how much is hyperbole, poetic language or stated as fact.

[@through-faith-alone]

You were very close to finding out the complete truth as a child. Indeed there's two types of people.

[@Zetact_]

Just look at the passages around it and it becomes abundantly clear that "sons of God" is referring to a group of humans. The only indications otherwise are texts that are of spotty trustworthiness or outright heretical like Enoch. Genesis 5 describes Adam's family line. Genesis 6:1 is about man multiplying, Genesis 6:3 is about God making a judgment on humanity. Why would 6:2 randomly involve non-human spiritual beings? Spiritual beings who, if you believe were the "sons of God", were not judged for their transgressions? The only judgment being on humans indicates that the story only involves humans. "But why are they called sons of God?" Within the culture it was written, it was common to refer to kings as "sons of God" and there are multiple passages within the Bible referring to specific people or even humanity as a whole to be children of God. The specific phrase does not inherently indicate a direct connection to God. To use an example easier to understand, consider something like saying, "I was hungry and wanted to get some pasta. I went to the Olive Garden. I ordered a spaghetti." In this context you can tell that the Olive Garden is not a literal garden of olives but is a place where you can get pasta - the term could reference an actual garden and in certain contexts it absolutely would but it obviously is not the case in this context because the sentences immediately before and after it make the purpose of the sentence in the middle more clear.

[@Archaeonauts]

I think Moses (assuming he's the narrator of Genesis) described them as "mighty men" as a way to tell the Israelites that the ancient offspring of the "sons of God" were not themselves gods, but were really just big strong men. Their neighboring cultures may have worshiped these mighty men as "gods" but Moses was all about worshiping the one true God. So by saying these "gods" their neighbors worshipped were really just men was his way of saying they should not be worshipped because they are just men, and only God should be worshipped.

[@fuzzyhair321]

Look at more modern connections with royalty. They have their kingship because of gods divine will. Is it a stretch that the more affluent people claimed to be sons of God to maintain power?

[@1ericedwards]

@@fuzzyhair321 VERY GOOD POINT. But this isn't just speculation. People DID just that. Look at Pharaoh and Caesar, both of these positions were considered divine and/or gods themselves to be revered as such.

[@TurtleMarcus]

This also neatly ties in with the Talmudic interpretation of Genesis 4:26 "To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord." Noting that "Enosh" literally means "mortal man", they interpreted this verse to mean: "... he called his name Mortal Man, for at that time people began to call themselves the name of the Lord, i.e. they claimed to be divine." Which tracks with the divine claims of ancient kings and emperors.

[@unluckycloverfield4316]

I thnk anybody talking about nephlim needs to read the work of Dr. Michael Heiser (RIP). That dude literally wrote the book on the spiritual world of the ancient near east and the bible, is a respected scholar, and probably has the most coherent view of the nephlim in biblical lore that I've read. His youtube channel is a great start

[@hillaryfamily]

The sons of God in Gen. 6 are men because the text says they are mighty men. They are political giants, not physical ones. They are people who created kingdoms and empires that took over the control of the covenant people and the covenant “animals” and they were themselves “animals” too, polygamous ones. Noah the covenant man, with his one wife, and with his three monogamous sons were saved in the ark along with the monogamous animals. The beasts that perished and the men that perished were the polygamous ones and their subjects. The waters, that is the non-covenant people, destroyed the covenant land and the corrupted covenant people. After the flood was a new warning of judgment against the beasts. They who shed the blood of the covenant people would be killed by the covenant people. This Second Flood judgment is referred to in Deut 32; Is. 28; Dan. 9:24-27; Mat. 7:24-27 etc where the Son of Man comes In judgment upon the enemies per Dan. 7. This brings the end of the heavens and the earth and sea system of Gen. 1 which is still going in and after Noah’s flood. It passes away with the new covenant when there is no more sea, Mat. 24; Rev. 21-22

[@kenammi355]

Dr. Heiser was credentialed and experienced but not infallible, his Nephilology wasn’t biblical, and he tended to create more problems than he solved-see these articles for examples: Review of Amy Richter and Michael Heiser on four Enochian Watcher related women in Jesus’ genealogy Rebuttal to Dr. Michael Heiser’s “All I Want for Christmas is Another Flawed Nephilim Rebuttal”

[@brettkeeler8822]

Your videos consistently fascinate. Well done!

[@Doubtlessly]

Wendigoon been real quiet since this dropped

[@FDroid01]

If you haven't done it yet, I would love to see a video on how rabbinic Judaism changed from original Judaism, especially with a look into differences between the Masoretic text and the Dead Sea Scrolls. 🎉❤🎉

[@xtiannoregisteredsurname5124]

Your videos are wonderful - and humbling. Everytime I think I've figured something out, you come along and go "did you know...?", and I have to re-think a bunch of theories/ ideas/ beliefs. It's great! So stimulating!

[@aram_decoy]

Always appreciate your perspective

[@giordy9013]

Really enjoying and couldn't get bored of biblical videos, there's so much to tell and explain

[@outerlast]

can't wait for you to cover godzilla, king kong, and the rest of the kaijus

[@ruthbennett7563]

Leviathan vs. Behemoth! 😂😂😂

[@derekbaker5016]

Your videos are consistently great, thanks for what you do

[@bewood9637]

yeah that big building angle was one I had not thought of.. I always think barren desert... good video..

[@thumbstruck]

Understanding the cultural context is important to scriptural study.

[@silentnight6810]

Well depending on who you ask, giants, ghost of giants, human/angel hybrids or demon/angel hybrids. Or whatever the plot of an urban fantasy demands

[@joshjames582]

Nowadays it's fashionable to imagine they were extraterrestrials for some reason.

[@Adammrtl27]

Considering the book of Enoch was found as part of the dead sea scrolls, regardless of how one feels, it was canon at one time.

[@parkpatt]

Sweet, now I don't even need to watch the video. Thanks!

[@BrownieMiyamoto]

@@Adammrtl27And it’s still Canon, whoever removed and deemed non canon, don’t have authority over us.

[@Adammrtl27]

@@BrownieMiyamoto you're right, which why I can buy a copy of Enoch at Barnes and Noble...

[@Treepelt]

I was just thinking today, haven’t seen a Religion for Breakfast video in a bit…and boom! Here you are. Thanks for the content as always!

[@papasquat3882]

This channel and Let's Talk Religion made me decide to major in religious studies in university. Now, in my second year of my undergrad, I am so happy that I did so. Fully plan to go for graduate degree and beyond and do some sort of research/teaching in the field. Thank you for sparking my interest in religious studies.

[@4Usuality]

Considering how obsessed these ancient people were with the Book(s) of Enoch, which is cool btw, I definitely believe these ancient people genuinely believed SUPER giants existed.

[@Tomf-tz4pd]

the first generation of humans were tall in general.

[@Aldrnari956]

@@Tomf-tz4pdwhat do you mean by that? If we’re talking science, then there is no first generation of men. However most early humans wouldn’t be considered particularly tall. If you’re talking about the biblical account of creation, then there is no real indication in the actual text that Adam, Eve, or any of their immediate descendants were particularly tall either.

[@Tomf-tz4pd]

@@Aldrnari956 It is what we can infer from the text regarding the antediluvians. We have gigantic grapes that the spies brought back to Moses; we have a large Ark that Noah built. We have Adam and Eve's grandkids being referred to as giants. All that they are, they got from their great-grandparents, Adam and Eve. It is perfectly logical to conclude from the Genesis account that the first human beings, supernaturally created by God, were in every way superior. The Nephilim are just the generation of Seth's grandsons marrying Cain's granddaughters, and hence, the Bible makes the distinction. Great intellect, long life spans, great vitality, etc. - all present before the flood due to Adam and Eve. Of course, the flood event is where God puts a check on various things. The wonderful abilities He has given mankind were used for evil, so He limits them (days being numbered, etc.). In addition, the curse of sin influences mankind too.

[@kenammi355]

1 Enoch is Bible contradicting folklore from centuries, if not millennia, after the Torah, see my book, “In Consideration of the Book(s) of Enoch.”

[@finderfinder100]

Vague Bible passages get the most fanfiction. 10 minutes around some fringes of the internet will net you 100s of different interpretations -- each one wilder than the last.

[@acciaacilius6875]

Sadly so many will spend their entire lives wrapped up in one sentence and completely ignore the entire message of loving your neighbor. That's the really insidious bit I truly believe there's nothing worse for Christianity than this sort of obsession.

[@servnava6601]

I've been waiting for this for so long

[@lyledal]

HUS? Humans of Unusual Size?

[@suzbone]

They kept capybara as house pets like guinea pigs 😂😂

[@mrdragon5142]

I don't think they exist.

[@mickeymcafee7615]

Ya know if I write in a book "he was tall as an oak, strong as an ox or mighty as a mountain". It doesn't literally mean he was the size of a mountain. it could out pull an ox or was the height of an oak.

[@SpiritTemple]

Fascinating subject!

[@dgsean9775]

Your the best, this should set alot of my friends straight hopefully on the subject.

[@shadbakht]

What if the "largeness of their size" is referring to their population, not individual?

[@Morfeusm]

Yes many times the most mundane thing can create race of giants. Funny how language work sometimes.

[@martin2289]

What if stupid people imagine that everyone else is as stupid as they are?

[@through-faith-alone]

explain Goliath then and the other mentions of giants. I swear people will make anything up not to believe the Bible.

[@through-faith-alone]

I swear people will make anything up not to believe the Bible.@@Morfeusm

[@Morfeusm]

@@through-faith-alone if you’re are looking at this discussion from religious perspective I would agree it must sound strange. I respect your faith (in God) please respect mine (that there is no God). Have a nice day!

[@Common_SenseSkeptic]

Great video, as always

[@rsorry]

Great video and love Nebula 🔥

[@CartoonHero1986]

I thought the main reason modern Abrahamics think the Nephilim were Giants was due to a connection made between Nephilim and "The Watchers" offspring from the book of Enoch even though they never call them the Nephilim in Enoch just "people of giant stature." And yeah I figure by "big" or "giant" used to describe people in these books are like other Eastern Languages where they use "big" to mean important, powerful, feared, strong, or "mocho" depending on the context.

[@kenammi355]

There are three main reason why: 1. The "evil report" by unreliable guys whom God rebuked (Num chaps 13-14) is, beyond all reason, taken literally, seriously, and infallibly by some. 2. Folklore from centuries and millennia after the Torah told tall-tales about them. 3. Undiscerning English readers see the word "giants" in their Bible, merely invent fantasy imagination about to what it refers, and invent tall-tales. See, even when you say, "think the Nephilim were Giants" the key questions are: What’s the usage of the vague, generic, subjective, multi-usage and modern English word “giants” in English Bibles? What’s your usage of the vague, generic, subjective, multi -usage and modern English word “giants”? Do those two usages agree? And those questions are key since, biblically contextually, "Nephilim were Giants" would mean Nephilim were Nephilim. 1 Enoch, which is Bible contradicting folklore from centuries, if not millennia, after the Torah (see my book, “In Consideration of the Book(s) of Enoch”) has them at 3,000 ells which is MILES tall: great folklore, poor reality.

[@CartoonHero1986]

@@kenammi355 Wow thanks for the in depth reply

[@nicknickbon22]

Interestingly, when the Anglo Saxon came to England and saw the Roman ruins they also thought that those were built by giants.

[@martin2289]

Interesting use of the word interestingly.

[@icenarsin5283]

Fascinating as always

[@MatthewMcknight]

After seeking out many sources for this section of Genesis, this is probably the best, comprehensive, concise, and intelligible conversation on the Nephilim I’ve ever come across! Thank you for your work!

[@alessandro_natali]

There is a myth about the Giants' Tombs in Sardinia. They actually are collective burial structures dating back to the Bronze Age, later reimagined by the culture of medieval and modern Sardinian people.

[@nono9543]

9:50 Wait if they were that big then how did they move without their bodies collapsing?

[@silentnight6810]

Well assuming you go by the whole divine parentage backstory, then magic/supernatural stuff trumps the square/cube law.

[@olgierdodimm234]

Spoiler: They did not exist.

[@therion5458]

The book of Enoch is silly. There's more than one reason it was rejected from being in the Hebrew canon. The giants in the bible, like Goliath, were described as being tall, but not impossibly tall.

[@LoudWaffle]

@@therion5458 And even Goliath was just one guy, notably way bigger than the other Phillistines.

[@kenammi355]

There's no indication "they were that big" since we've no reliable physical description of them: that along utterly collapses 99.9% of pop-Nephilology. I’ve written whole books debunking that such as, “Nephilim and Giants: Believe It or Not!: Ancient and Neo-Theo-Sci-Fi Tall Tales.” Also, “Nephilim and Giants as per Pop-Researchers: A Comprehensive Consideration of the claims of I.D.E. Thomas, Chuck Missler, Dante Fortson, Derek Gilbert, Brian Godawa, Patrick Heron, Thomas Horn, Ken Johnson, L.A. Marzulli, Josh Peck, CK Quarterman, Steve Quayle, Rob Skiba, Gary Wayne, Jim Wilhelmsen, et al.”

[@nathanryan12]

Fascinating video.

[@kellyandrichweddle2425]

Incredible scholarship! Bravo

[@JonathanMartinez-ei4up]

When I did a mythology class in collage, one of the reports I gave was on the connections in Beowulf to the Flood and both the pre and post flood world. Grendel’s mother has weapons, treasures, and artifacts that are from the time of the giants (and the sword that kills her was a sword made by the those from that age). She was described as having a court of sea serpents and bothe her and her son Grendel were from the line of giants. The clues in Beowulf seem to point at these children of the sons of God and daughters of man, as returning to the world post flood because only the amphibious ones could live through the cataclysm and Grendel was one of the new generation of land bound monsters. Grendal’s mom could breath air but also lived underwater (so its an interesting connection for sure).

[@gadaadyn8190]

It's funny how the people who wrote the Bible knew it wasn’t supposed to be taken literally

[@vault13dweller15]

The literal reading of the bible (at least the way modern evangelicals do it) is quite a new concept. Even Luther who is originator of the Reformation era "bible first" idea didn't read bible in a literal way. He actually commented a few times that bible actually contains some errors, but they didn't matter according to him. Modern conception of biblical literalism and inerrancy originates from 19th and 20th centuries as opposition to theological liberalism. Ironically, modern evangelicals call themselves "conservatives" and aren't any closer to original christian beliefs than theological liberalists they oppose.

[@handsdowndrumming9261]

So fascinating!

[@philipjameserpelo8079]

Informative!

[@nebulan]

HOUS: humans of unusual size

[@merrittanimation7721]

Israelite: What about the HOUS's? Joshua: Humans Of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.

[@drlegendre]

Really interesting discussion of the Nephilim.. and very refreshing to those of us who are sick to death of hearing literalists prattle on and on about how the world was overrun with evil giants in the distant past. Having to listen to allegedly educated adults discussing literal fairly tales as if real can be just a bit much at times.

[@through-faith-alone]

I swear people will make anything up not to believe the Bible.

[@kenammi355]

But modern Nephilology isn't even literalism, it's misreading, misunderstanding, misinterpreting, misapplying--and lucrative. The only fairy tales are those told by the guys who literally make a living by selling un-biblical tall-tales to Christians: a.k.a. 100% of the top-pop Nephilologists. I’ve written whole books debunking them such as, “Nephilim and Giants: Believe It or Not!: Ancient and Neo-Theo-Sci-Fi Tall Tales.” Also, “Nephilim and Giants as per Pop-Researchers: A Comprehensive Consideration of the claims of I.D.E. Thomas, Chuck Missler, Dante Fortson, Derek Gilbert, Brian Godawa, Patrick Heron, Thomas Horn, Ken Johnson, L.A. Marzulli, Josh Peck, CK Quarterman, Steve Quayle, Rob Skiba, Gary Wayne, Jim Wilhelmsen, et al.”

[@jeffkardosjr.3825]

Maybe it was run by them.

[@kenammi355]

@@through-faith-alone Such as what?

[@through-faith-alone]

@@kenammi355 not taking the Bible at face value where it should be taken at face value and taking it at face value where it shouldn't. Hallmark of the unbelievers

[@Einzelganged]

This was a nice video.🤩🤩

[@lastfire77]

aayyyy finally! I remember asking for a video on the Nephilim in the comments like 1.5 years ago, glad to finally see it!

[@writerblocks9553]

The nephilim and gigantomachy were an attempt to explain dinosaur bones that they found in ancient times

[@Ule_blood]

Also giant Bronze Age forts , and buildings. Like the gate of Mycenaea

[@andrewc1205]

I concur!

[@LoudWaffle]

That's potentially an influence, but we would need an actual evidence of this occurring to say conclusively. I know there's one similar (but more convincing) hypothesis that the Cyclops of Greek myths, especially famous for their island encountered in the Odyssey, were inspired by the ancient bones of mammoths, which have indeed been found on some of the islands in the Aegean Sea (from when it was partially iced-over). The hole in the center of the mammoth skulls which existed for their big trunks could be pretty easily misconstrued as a single giant eye socket.

[@th3ophilus340]

So he’s talking about G I A N T S i hope wendigoon shows up in the comments

[@mirandamom1346]

I’m subscribed with notifications turned on, but I didn’t get notified of your last two videos 😢.

[@ViktorEngelmann]

Nephilim being "fallen" would fit the hurrian "Song of Ullikummi", where the stone-demon Ullikummi ascends to heaven and throws a number of gods down to the earth. The song of Ullikummi is the oldest known instance of the "Chaoskampf" - an influential story that can be found throughout ANE mythology: Marduk vs Tiamat, Baal vs Jam, Osiris vs Seth, Ninurta vs Azag, Fereydun vs Zahakk, Verethragna vs Vahagn, Indra vs Vrtra, Zeus vs Typhon, even Thor vs Jörmungandr and (in my opinion) Moses vs the Reed Sea.

[@ViktorEngelmann]

Ullikummi, by the way, was explicitly called an "opposer" in the Song of Ullikummi. The hebrew word for opposer is שָׂטָן ("śāṭān"). He was an opposer against the storm-god Tešub, who was still worshiped in Syria, in the 15th century BCE.

[@through-faith-alone]

Satan couldn't have ascended to Heaven we know they all fell from Heaven.

[@ViktorEngelmann]

@@through-faith-alone stories change over time.

[@LibrarianSankore]

@@ViktorEngelmann So in that version, Satan was always an opposing being or Satan was part of God's council like in the Jewish story but the demons are "physically" made to fall by him rather than being convinced?.

[@LucidDreamer54321]

So then, who were the Nephilim? You didn't answer the question.

[@bonabuster179]

You know who is a nephilim? MY MOM WEUUUUUh

[@KnjazNazrath]

Here's hopin' this vid doesn't get overrun by Sitchin advocates who refuse to accept that he couldn't read the tablets he "translated".

[@aniinnrchoque1861]

If to go with the literal version according to Mauro Biglino I would agree that the Nephilim were hybrid human-angelic(alien) beings. Anak being a version Enki/Anki/Anaki/Anunaki

[@datupangurraider7812]

Bro..thanks for info🧐😃🤜🤛🤝👍👍

[@aboissonneau]

I always assumed that any reference to giants in pre-11th century was a reference to people who had not yet embraced grain agriculture. Considering people lost almost a foot in height when they started using bread as a food staple, I’d imagine they would see herders or Hunter / gatherer groups on a high protein diet as both larger and more “savage” than settled farmers. The Anglo-Saxons record similar impressions when they first encounter the Norse, and one could assume both those groups shared very similar genetics.

[@SethTheOrigin]

Doubt this is true

[@fordprefect5304]

The story was written in the 6th/7th century

[@LoudWaffle]

Rather than an entire foot of height difference, all I can find is that the agriculture revolution cause a little more than 1 inch of height loss on average. And there were still many many peoples who continued hunter-gatherer lifestyles without any adoption (or invention) of agriculture living alongside the farming cultures, so rather than being a vague reference like we currently have of the Nephelim, I expect it would have more been like "the Nephelim are those savages living over the hill just yonder."

[@-Ice_Cold-]

Where you got info from on losing a foot in height?

[@-Ice_Cold-]

@@LoudWaffle That's a good theory on nephilim actually

[@writerblocks9553]

Check out the works of Michael Heiser if this video is interesting to you 😊

[@kenammi355]

Dr. Heiser was credentialed and experienced but not infallible, his Nephilology wasn’t biblical, and he tended to create more problems than he solved-see these articles for examples: Review of Amy Richter and Michael Heiser on four Enochian Watcher related women in Jesus’ genealogy Rebuttal to Dr. Michael Heiser’s “All I Want for Christmas is Another Flawed Nephilim Rebuttal”

[@shriggs55]

Sooo, who knows, right? Fascinating stuff! Thanks.

[@pistoneteo]

We want a video a week!!!! 🙏🙏🙏

[@ciervo42]

They built Gobekli Tepe now didn’t they?

[@lakrids-pibe]

To sit on. They were so tall.

[@Phong.0305]

Nah... my grandma built it😂

[@JustSpectre]

Awesome. It's really referring hearing about Nephilim without mentioning ancient astronauts theory mixing them up with Anunnaki and stuff like this. Good job 👍

[@doorwaysniffer6447]

Right!? It's that's why I love this guy.

[@jillvernes4310]

Enjoying the return of the complex background...especially the Lego pyramid!

[@xaayer]

Trey the Explainer has a great video on the Nephilim as well

[@user-if4nx2jn8r]

I'm glad you finally covered this interesting topic in more depth. It's relevant even now because a lot of weird conspiracy theorists still talk about the Nephilim, but I particularly find it interesting that they were trying to make sense of these old stories of demigod heroes like Gilgamesh. We know even in later cultures like Greece and Rome figures like this were very important to the myths, legends, and religion, and even nowadays superheroes are almost a post-modern pop culture version of the concept, so it's interesting to see how the Israelites were trying to make sense of an even older culture's version of the concept.

[@skunkworksstudios]

Fascinating

[@mitcho5452]

I love this topic yay

[@AbramelinWoW]

Great video! The exploration of the ambiguous passage from Genesis 6:1-5 and the various interpretations throughout history was both fascinating and enlightening. It's incredible how this passage has sparked so much creative interpretation within both Judaism and Christianity. The discussion about the Nephilim and their potential origins, from divine beings to giants to human aristocrats, really sheds light on the complexity of biblical interpretation. The connection to ancient fossils and Bronze Age structures influencing beliefs in a race of giants is a thought-provoking perspective. Thanks for the informative and engaging content!

[@TheJo201]

This is very Interesting

[@welcometonebalia]

Thank you.

[@dinojack9000]

The architectural angle could also fall in line with Cyclopean architecture, and the presence of giant builders in Greek (not terribly far from Canaan) myth.

[@altonwilliams17]

9:50 your sarcasm makes this video so much better.....

[@kori228]

Trey the Explainer explained it as heroes from other mythologies interpreted within the Bible (Gilgamesh, Hercules, etc).

[@TheGoldenSmeagol]

"So dear God, those poor women." Amazing delivery. I laughed so hard. 😂

[@okasa64]

Also from Ugarit, the gods were imagined as giant-sized. Anat was the goddess of the Hunt and of War. She is pictured as having a necklace of human skulls. From the Tale of Arqhat: "Maiden Anat left; she headed to Aqhat the Hero, a thousand fields, ten thousand acres at each step."

[@gregwasserman2635]

I always find these sorts of videos fascinating. As a paleontoligist, there is zero evidence of humans of this size ever existing, though the myth of giant humans can be found in many of not most cultures.

[@lukesmith1818]

Fantastic video. I grew up with an illustrated Bible and remember the line "we are like grasshoppers next to them". Fascinating

[@kenammi355]

Well, I recommend actually reading Num chap 13 since that was stated within an "evil report" by unreliable guys whom God rebuked.

[@lukesmith1818]

@kenammi355 it's been a while. I should get on that

[@kenammi355]

@@lukesmith1818Here's a shortcut to the issues with it, search online for, "Chapter sample: On the Post Flood Nephilim Proposal."

[@randomcontent2205]

Love the channel - funny thing about religious studies, it makes a lot of people uncomfortable. Thanks for all the great content. If i may take the liberty - Blessed be :)

[@tdhoward]

Great video! You missed an opportunity to refer to them as HOUS's - Humans Of Unusual Size.

[@PrimaveraChocolates]

Excelent.

[@rickmartin7596]

Perhaps a contributing factor to supernatural claims about Nephilim was the need to excuse the multiplicity of gods in a polytheistic society as part of the conversion to monotheism. Don't deny them -- reclassify them instead.

[@user-pv7bh5gt1m]

Finally, we keep on talking about this during Christmas season

[@mayaliii]

This video was delicious 🎉 thank you!

[@Ggdivhjkjl]

Well done covering a variety of views.

[@samuelwright9255]

Thank you for bringing up fossil evidence in ancient history as this has been a question I have thought about for a long time. Are there more accounts of ancient historians referencing fossils in their works?