Warren du Plessis

Corruption on the Earth

¹ And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

² That the sons of God (b’nei ha-Elohim) saw the daughters of men that they [were] fair (beautiful, good, fine); and they took them wives of all which they chose.

³ And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive (rule, judge, plead) with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

⁴ There were giants (Nephilim) (man that is a bully or tyrant) in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare [children] to them, the same [became] mighty men (powerful, warrior, tyrant) which [were] of old, men of renown (men of honor, authority, fame).

Who were the ‘sons of God’? Who were these ‘men’ who fathered ‘mighty men…men of renown’. There are three primary views concerning the identity of the sons of God:

The Descendants of Adam

¹ This [is] the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness (likeness, similitude, in the likeness of) of God made he him;

² Male and female created he them; and blessed (to kneel, praise, salute) them, and called their name Adam (name of first man, ruddy, human being, person, mankind), in the day when they were created.

³ And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat [a son] in his own likeness (likeness, similitude, in the likeness of), after his image; and called his name Seth:

Genesis 4

Cain and Abel

¹ And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain (gotten, acquired), and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD (Jehovah, the self-Existant, eternal).

וְהָ֣אָדָ֔ם ^{H120 ve·Ha·’a·Dam, And Adam} יָדַ֖ע ^{H3045 ya·Da’ had} אֶת־ ^H853 ‘et- חַוָּ֣ה ^{H2332 chav·Vah Eve} אִשְׁתּ֑וֹ ^{H802 ish·To; his wife} וַתַּ֙הַר֙ ^{H2029 vat·Ta·har and she conceived} וַתֵּ֣לֶד ^{H3205 vat·Te·led and gave} אֶת־ ^H853 ‘et- קַ֔יִן ^{H7014 Ka·yin, Cain} וַתֹּ֕אמֶר ^{H559 vat·To·mer and said} קָנִ֥יתִי ^{H7069 ka·Ni·ti I have gotten} אִ֖ישׁ ^{H376 ‘ish a man} אֶת־ ^{H854 ‘et- from} יְהוָֽה׃ ^{H3068 Yah·weh. the LORD}

Eve refers to her baby as “a man.” Could this indicate contempt for Adam? He was the man who named the animals, cared for the garden in Eden, but when it came to obeying the Lord, he let his wife dictate to him. His obedience to her cost them their place in Eden. Could she have despised him for this, because he was a man of peace, not wishing to upset his wife? Her concept of a man could be what we today call a ’man’s man,’ one who works hard, plays hard, and does not tolerate having his toes stepped on. Belligerent, entitled, and determined, ready to go into action at a moment’s notice. What a slap in the face of Adam. No wonder Cain was all too ready to kill his brother Abel when God rejected his offering. Was he afraid that Abel would usurp his place as firstborn? It is an attitude of heart displayed by his descendant Lamech (see Genesis 4:23). Some translations change the word ‘man’ to ‘man-child’, but it begs the question why use ‘ish’ אִ֖ישׁ, which means man, and not use the Hebrew ‘ben’בֵּן, then the verse would read ‘קָנִ֥יתִי ^{H7069 ka·Ni·ti I have gotten} אִ֖ישׁ H1121 ben’בֵּן son ^{H854 ‘et- from} יְהוָֽה׃ ^{H3068 Yah·weh. the LORD}? To add fuel to the fire, she said she had “gotten a man from the Lord”. What is the implication of this about the character of Adam? Eve was delighted with Cain. She did not acknowledge Adam’s role in conception.