Quote:
Originally Posted by testallthings
Dr. E.W.Bullinger wrote on this subject in Appendix 25 contained in THE COMPANION BIBLE. I am going to post only a short part of it.
"25. THE NEPHILIM, OR "GIANTS"
Of GEN. 6, &c.
The progeny of the fallen angels with the daughters of Adam (see notes on Gen. 6, and Ap. 23) are called in Gen. 6, Ne-phil-im, which means fallen ones (from naphal, to fall). What these beings were can be gathered only from Scripture. They were evidently great in size, as well as great in wickedness. They were superhuman, abnormal beings; and their destruction was necessary for the preservation of the human race, and for the faithfulness of Jehovah's Word (Gen. 3:15).
This was why the Flood was brought "upon the world of the ungodly" (2Pet. 2:5) as prophesied by Enoch (Jude 14).
But we read of the Nephilim again in Num. 13:33 : "there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, which come of the Nephilim". How, it may be asked, could this be, if they were all destroyed in the Flood? The answer is contained in Gen. 6:4, where we read : "There were Nephilim in the earth in those days (i.e. in the days of Noah); 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 [the] mighty men (Heb. gibbor, the heroes) which were of old, men of renown" (lit. men of the name, i.e. who got a name and were renowned for their ungodliness).
So that "after that", i.e. after the Flood, there was a second irruption of these fallen angels, evidently smaller in number and more limited in area, for they were for the most part confined to Canaan, and were in fact known as "the nations of Canaan". It was for the destruction of these, that the sword of Israel was necessary, as the Flood had been before."
If anyone is interested he can Google it. I quoted from
https://levendwater.org/companion/append25.html |
Was there a "second irruption"? If so, I would have thought that the bible would have mentioned it.
In my earlier post, I suggested that perhaps Noah's family tree had Nephilim blood in it. That also has no basis so I do not expect it to be taken seriously. Genesis 10 does talk a little on how the Canaanites came from Noah's son.
I am mindful of 1 Timothy 1:4's warning not to get bogged down by genealogies so I am inclined to not pursue this question of where the Nephilim came from.
My view is that the Bible's teaching point is that the relevant question to ask is "What do we do to the Nephilim?", and not "Where did the Nephilim come from".
As to whether Rebekah was a gentile or not, there are websites that take the view that she is. Here are a couple of them. One can do a google search for more
https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/larkin/dt/28.cfm
http://www.rivkah.org/050519.htm
I don't think it is important to understand the definition of "gentile". My view is that the relevant question to ask is "Why did Abraham want someone from his kindred?"
I believe that Abraham wanted a daughter-in-law who was from his kindred because his kindred worshipped Jehovah while the Canaanites worshipped pagan gods. As the Old Testament stories would show, it is easy to be led astray from God if your spouse worships pagan gods.