"When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose." — Genesis 6:1-2
This passage has generated more theological controversy than almost any other in the Bible. Who were the "sons of God"? Were they angels? Godly descendants of Seth? Members of some royal court? And who were the Nephilim they produced?
The earliest Jewish interpreters, without exception, understood "sons of God" as angels. The Book of Enoch, written centuries before Christ, expands this interpretation into a complete narrative. The Aramaic texts found at Qumran (the Dead Sea Scrolls) confirm this understanding was mainstream in early Judaism. The authors of Genesis likely intended the angelic interpretation.
Later interpreters — particularly after the first few centuries CE, when the angelology of Enoch was becoming theologically uncomfortable — began proposing alternative readings. "Sons of God" became "sons of the righteous line of Seth." "Daughters of men" became "daughters of the wicked line of Cain." This interpretation allowed the passage to mean something about human tribes rather than divine beings, which was tidier for systematic theology.
But it doesn't fit the text. The Book of Enoch's version — fallen angels, forbidden unions, giant offspring, universal corruption — is the oldest interpretation we have, and it makes sense of the entire sequence: the unions, the Nephilim, the cry of the earth, the flood.
Read the full account in our collector's edition of the Book of Enoch.