NOAH TO ABRAHAM

MODULE 2: SESSION 9: The Identity of the Nephilim

Nephilim translates to “the fallen ones,” as in those who fall in battle. Ancient Israel’s neighbors celebrated those who won glory through conquest in battle. The Gibborim and Nephilim were heroes to the Babylonians and Canaanites, but the biblical authors see their violence as everything that is wrong with the human family. Genesis 6:4 is the origin story of the warrior giants the Israelites must face as they enter and occupy Canaan. These giants fill the narrative slot of the seed of the snake in the unfolding drama of the Hebrew Bible.