The Nephilim: a tall story?: who were the Nephilim and how did they survive the flood?
The Nephilim figure prominently in some popular literature. Their portrayal is speculative, but also based on Second Temple texts, which portray the Nephilim as the giant offspring of angels and human women who were responsible for the corruption that resulted in the flood. The OT includes few direc...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Tyndale House
2015
|
In: |
Tyndale bulletin
Year: 2015, Volume: 66, Issue: 1, Pages: 19-40 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Nephilim
/ Old Testament
/ Pseudepigrapha
|
Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
|
Summary: | The Nephilim figure prominently in some popular literature. Their portrayal is speculative, but also based on Second Temple texts, which portray the Nephilim as the giant offspring of angels and human women who were responsible for the corruption that resulted in the flood. The OT includes few direct references to the Nephilim (Gen. 6:4; Num. 13:33; possibly Ezek. 32:27), though they have been generally linked with giant pre-conquest inhabitants of Canaan, particularly Anakites and Rephaim. The lack of detail in the OT suggests the existence of underlying extra-biblical traditions, though substantial differences appear to rule out Second Temple texts as a source for OT writers. Because the OT appears to include references to the Nephilim existing both before and after the flood, an important question is whether (or how) they survived the deluge. This article argues that the Nephilim in the OT are associated, primarily, with the antediluvian era; though are, intentially, linked with postdiluvian ‘heroes’ to highlight the perversity of the pre-flood generation, who, in seeking liaisons with heavenly beings, seek to overcome their mortality. How they survived the flood does not appear to be of interest to the OT writers. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 0082-7118 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Tyndale bulletin
|
Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.53751/001c.29386 |