Sons of God
Encyclopedia
Sons of God is a phrase used in Levantine Bronze and Iron Age texts to describe the "divine council" of the major gods.
the El, the father-god and head of the pantheon, and the 70 "sons of El", make up a "Divine Council" which deliberates over major decisions. In the 1st millennium the El had been demoted and each of the "sons of El" was held to have been given a "nation" as his charge: Chemosh
, for example, was the god of Moab. Yahweh, not originally included in the Ugaritic pantheon, was the God of Judah and of Israel. In the Book of Genesis, Yahweh is seen as the single deity, with "sons of elohim" as his assistants.
By the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC further hypotheses were developed to explain this passage in Genesis. One hypothesis was that the sons of God were the descendants of Seth
, the pure line of Adam, and the "daughters of men" as the descendants of Cain.
In the Hebrew Bible the phrase "sons of God" occurs:
.
The phrase bn ilm "sons of the gods" is also attested in Ugaritic texts. As is the phrase phr bn ilm "assembly of the sons of the gods".
s. The 3rd century BC Book of Enoch
turns the "sons of God" into fallen angels, referred to as Watchers, who came to earth and had children with human women, resulting in a race of half-angel, half-human beings known as the "Giants" (Nephilim
). The view is found in Philo
and in Josephus
Antiquities 1:73 (or 1:3.1).
In the 1st century, CE Rabbi Shimeon ben Yochai pronounced a curse on any Jew teaching the Enochite interpretation, and, later Trypho the Jew
rejected the interpretation. This was followed by Rashi
and Nachmanides. Some commentators on Luke 20:34-36 believe that Jesus
was also familiar with the Enochic interpretation, and can be counted with Shimeon ben Yochai, since Jesus rejected that angels could marry and in the same passage equated the "sons of God" with humans.
4:3 appears to accept the Enochic version. As do Justin Martyr
, Eusebius, Clement of Alexandria
, Origen
and Commodianus
.
Against this first Julius Africanus
, then Augustine in City of God argued that the sons of God were the descendants of Seth
, the pure line of Adam, and the "daughters of men" as the descendants of Cain.
Some manuscripts of the Septuagint have emendations to read "sons of God" as "angels" in Genesis 6. Codex Vaticanus
contains "angels" originally. In Codex Alexandrinus
"sons of God" has been erased and replaced by "angels". The Peshitta
reads "sons of God". The 5th century Christian work Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan
follows this view.
. Among the churches which teach that the "sons of God" were men are the Catholic Church and many Churches of Christ.
The term "sons of God"
In the pantheon of 2nd millennium UgaritUgarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
the El, the father-god and head of the pantheon, and the 70 "sons of El", make up a "Divine Council" which deliberates over major decisions. In the 1st millennium the El had been demoted and each of the "sons of El" was held to have been given a "nation" as his charge: Chemosh
Chemosh
Chemosh , was the god of the Moabites . The etymology of "Chemosh" is unknown. He is also known from Ebla as Kamish....
, for example, was the god of Moab. Yahweh, not originally included in the Ugaritic pantheon, was the God of Judah and of Israel. In the Book of Genesis, Yahweh is seen as the single deity, with "sons of elohim" as his assistants.
By the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC further hypotheses were developed to explain this passage in Genesis. One hypothesis was that the sons of God were the descendants of Seth
Seth
Seth , in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is the third listed son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, who are the only other of their children mentioned by name...
, the pure line of Adam, and the "daughters of men" as the descendants of Cain.
In the Hebrew Bible the phrase "sons of God" occurs:
- Gen 6:2 b'ney ha-Elohim (בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים) sons of the God.
- Job 1:6 b'ney ha-Elohim (בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים) sons of the God.
- Job 38:7 b'ney elohiym (בְּנֵי אֱלֹהִֽים) without the definite article - sons of gods.
- Psalm 29:1 b'ney elim (בְּנֵי אֵלִים ) without the definite article - sons of elim.
New Testament
John 1:12, when speaking of Jesus, says "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:".Ugaritic origins
In Ugaritic one cognate phrase is bn 'il. This may occur in the Ugaritic Baal cycle. Scharbert assigns the text to later editorial activity, whereas Westermann claims that the text of Genesis 6 is based on an Ugaritic urtextUrtext
Urtext is a word of German origin; ur- means "original," and text is as in English.In the humanities and social sciences, the word is often used in a metaphorical fashion to refer to a primitive, seminal, or prototypical example of an artistic genre or the basis of an ideological movement...
.
- KTU² 1.40 demonstrates the use of bn il to mean "sons of gods".
- KTU² 1.65 (which may be a scribal exercise) uses bn il three times in succession: il bn il / dr bn il / mphrt bn il "El, the sons of gods, the circle of the sons of gods / the totality of the sons of gods."
The phrase bn ilm "sons of the gods" is also attested in Ugaritic texts. As is the phrase phr bn ilm "assembly of the sons of the gods".
Second Temple Judaism
In 1 Enoch and Book of Jubilees the Genesis 6 text was developed into a complicated mythology of fallen angelFallen angel
Fallen angel is a concept developed in Jewish mythology from interpretation of the Book of Enoch. The actual term fallen angel is not found in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. Christians adopted the concept of fallen angels mainly based on their interpretations of the Book of...
s. The 3rd century BC Book of Enoch
Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
turns the "sons of God" into fallen angels, referred to as Watchers, who came to earth and had children with human women, resulting in a race of half-angel, half-human beings known as the "Giants" (Nephilim
Nephilim
The Nephilim are the offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" in Genesis 6:4, or giants who inhabit Canaan in Numbers 13:33. A similar word with different vowel-sounds is used in Ezekiel 32:27 to refer to dead Philistine warriors....
). The view is found in Philo
Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
and in Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
Antiquities 1:73 (or 1:3.1).
In the 1st century, CE Rabbi Shimeon ben Yochai pronounced a curse on any Jew teaching the Enochite interpretation, and, later Trypho the Jew
Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
rejected the interpretation. This was followed by Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
and Nachmanides. Some commentators on Luke 20:34-36 believe that Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
was also familiar with the Enochic interpretation, and can be counted with Shimeon ben Yochai, since Jesus rejected that angels could marry and in the same passage equated the "sons of God" with humans.
Early Christianity
The pseudepigraphic Epistle of BarnabasEpistle of Barnabas
The Epistle of Barnabas is a Greek epistle containing twenty-one chapters, preserved complete in the 4th century Codex Sinaiticus where it appears at the end of the New Testament...
4:3 appears to accept the Enochic version. As do Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr
Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
, Eusebius, Clement of Alexandria
Clement of Alexandria
Titus Flavius Clemens , known as Clement of Alexandria , was a Christian theologian and the head of the noted Catechetical School of Alexandria. Clement is best remembered as the teacher of Origen...
, Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
and Commodianus
Commodianus
Commodianus was a Christian Latin poet, who flourished about AD 250.The only ancient writers who mention him are Gennadius, presbyter of Massilia , in his De scriptoribus ecclesiasticis, and Pope Gelasius in De libris recipiendis et non recipiendis, in which his works are classed as Apocryphi,...
.
Against this first Julius Africanus
Julius Africanus
Julius Africanus was a celebrated orator in the reign of Nero, and seems to have been the son of the Julius Africanus, of the Gallic state of the Santoni, who was condemned by Tiberius in 32 AD. Quintilian, who had heard Julius Africanus, spoke of him and Domitius Afer as the best orators of their...
, then Augustine in City of God argued that the sons of God were the descendants of Seth
Seth
Seth , in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is the third listed son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, who are the only other of their children mentioned by name...
, the pure line of Adam, and the "daughters of men" as the descendants of Cain.
Some manuscripts of the Septuagint have emendations to read "sons of God" as "angels" in Genesis 6. Codex Vaticanus
Codex Vaticanus
The Codex Vaticanus , is one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Bible , one of the four great uncial codices. The Codex is named for the residence in the Vatican Library, where it has been stored since at least the 15th century...
contains "angels" originally. In Codex Alexandrinus
Codex Alexandrinus
The Codex Alexandrinus is a 5th century manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early history of Christianity...
"sons of God" has been erased and replaced by "angels". The Peshitta
Peshitta
The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition.The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated into Syriac from the Hebrew, probably in the 2nd century AD...
reads "sons of God". The 5th century Christian work Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan
Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan
The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan is a Christian pseudepigraphical work found in Ge'ez, translated from an Arabic original and thought to date from the 5th or 6th century AD....
follows this view.
Contemporary Christianity
Among the churches which teach that the "sons of God" were fallen angels today are Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
. Among the churches which teach that the "sons of God" were men are the Catholic Church and many Churches of Christ.
Popular culture
- Sons of God - the title of a short video trilogy by British independent film producers Jaffa EntertainmentJaffa EntertainmentJaffa Entertainment is an independent British Film and TV production company set up by producer / writer Christine Edwards, in 2004.-Cash and Curry:On 19 July 2010, Cash and Curry was released on DVD in the UK and Ireland...
, 2010.