Who were the Nephilim (giants) according to the Orthodox interpretation of Scripture?

 Pavlos Klimatsakis, theologian | June 19, 2026 | Orthodoxos Typos

 

 

The sixth chapter of Genesis constitutes one of the most difficult and much-discussed points of the Old Testament. In particular, the first verses of the chapter, where mention is made of the “sons of God,” the “daughters of men,” and the “giants,” have occasioned many interpretive approaches. Within the Orthodox tradition, the prevailing interpretation is the so-called Sethite interpretation, according to which the “sons of God” were not angels, but the pious descendants of Seth, while the “daughters of men” were women from the line of Cain.

This interpretation is based on the very flow of the book of Genesis. After the murder of Abel by Cain, humanity is essentially divided into two spiritual directions. On the one side is the line of Cain, which gradually distances itself from God and turns toward the building of earthly civilization and worldly power. On the other is the line of Seth, which is presented as the line that preserves the remembrance of God and struggles for righteousness.

Holy Scripture says of Cain that, after the curse he received because of the murder of his brother, he “built a city” and gave it the name of his son, Enoch. This reference is not accidental. The building of a city symbolizes man’s turn toward self-sufficiency and the search for security apart from God. Then Genesis presents the descendants of Cain as men who develop arts, occupations, and technical skills. Jubal becomes the father of musicians; Tubal becomes a maker of bronze and iron tools. Thus we see the birth of a civilization.

However, Holy Scripture does not present this civilization as neutral. Alongside technical progress there appears moral decline. Lamech, a descendant of Cain, publicly boasts of the murder he committed, and indeed presents himself as stronger and more fearsome than Cain himself. Violence, pride, and self-sufficiency begin to characterize this line.

By contrast, the line of Seth is presented in a different way. After the birth of Seth, Scripture notes that “then men began to call upon the name of the Lord God.” This phrase shows that the descendants of Seth maintained a relationship of worship and dependence upon God. This line is not distinguished by worldly power, but by piety and righteousness. From this line Noah would later come.

With the passage of time, however, the men of the line of Seth began to be led astray by the outward beauty and charm of the women of the Cainite line. Scripture says that “when the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were fair, they took wives for themselves from all whom they chose.” This description reveals a spiritual fall. The people who until then had sought God began to be guided by the flesh, by desire, and by worldly attraction.

The line of Cain had developed a civilization attractive in the eyes of the world. The women of this line knew how to make themselves alluring and to attract the men of the Sethite line. Outward beauty and worldly life began to prevail over spiritual seeking. Thus, the two lines were united, and humanity gradually lost its spiritual orientation.

The problem, therefore, was not simply mixed marriages as a social fact, but the spiritual alteration that resulted. Men ceased to seek a return to God and began to pursue earthly happiness as the highest goal. Life became centered on enjoyment, power, possession, and pleasure. The heart of man turned wholly toward earthly things.

Genesis describes this terrible condition with the words: “And the Lord God saw that the wickedness of men had multiplied upon the earth, and that everyone carefully devised evil in his heart all the days.” Corruption had become universal. It was no longer a matter of isolated acts of sin, but of a general condition of humanity.

Within this corrupt society there appeared certain men who stood out for their strength, their wickedness, and their domination over others. These are the so-called “giants” of Genesis 6:4. Holy Scripture says:

“Now the giants were upon the earth in those days; and after that, when the sons of God went in to the daughters of men and they bore children to themselves, those were the giants of old, the men of renown.”

In the Sethite interpretation, these giants were not supernatural beings, nor hybrids of angels and men. They were powerful, violent, fearsome, and domineering men. They were persons who acquired great fame, authority, and power within a world that had distanced itself from God. The phrase “the men of renown” shows that these were men with worldly glory and recognition.

The Old Testament itself often uses the term “giant” with this meaning of a powerful and fearsome man. For example, Nimrod is presented in Genesis as a man who “began to be a giant upon the earth.” Nimrod was not a supernatural being, but a powerful ruler and hunter, a symbol of human authority and worldly power. The same spirit of pride and dominion is expressed later also in the building of the Tower of Babel.

Later in the Old Testament there also appear other peoples who are characterized as “giants,” such as the Anakim, the Rephaim, and the Emim. When the spies of the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, they returned saying that they had seen there “the giants, the sons of Anak.” This description, however, chiefly expresses the fear and dismay that they felt before warriors of great stature and great strength.

The Anakim are presented as a tall and fearsome people, but not as supernatural beings. The same applies also to the Rephaim, among whom belonged King Og of Bashan, as well as to the Emim, who are characterized as a people “great and many and tall.” In all these cases the term “giants” denotes men of great bodily strength, martial ability, and dominance.

The biblical tradition, therefore, uses the term not only biologically, but also spiritually and socially. The giant is the man who exalts himself by his strength, violence, and pride. He is the man who seeks to dominate others and to build his life without reference to God.

Thus humanity was gradually led into a universal estrangement from its Creator. Corruption was not limited to certain men, but had become a universal condition. Violence filled the earth, men continually sought pleasures, and the spiritual life almost disappeared.

Within this general fall, only one man remained righteous: Noah. Scripture characteristically says: “But Noah found grace before the Lord God.” And a little later: “Noah was a righteous man, being perfect in his generation; Noah was well-pleasing to God.” Noah is presented as the last bearer of the ancient piety of the Sethite line. While all humanity had turned to violence, injustice, and carnality, he remained faithful to God.

Then God discerned that the situation had reached a point of no return. Man’s freedom had been used so persistently toward evil that society had now become incorrigible. Scripture speaks anthropomorphically and says that God “considered that He had made man.” This does not mean that God changes or repents as man does, but that sin had brought humanity into a state of complete self-destruction.

The Flood is thus presented not as an act of arbitrary vengeance, but as judgment and, at the same time, as a new beginning. God permits the destruction of the corrupt world, so that the possibility may be preserved for humanity to return to communion with Him. The salvation of Noah and his family in the ark symbolizes the preservation of a small remnant of righteousness, from which human history will begin again. After the Flood, humanity receives a new beginning.

The narrative of Genesis remains timelessly relevant, because it describes a permanent spiritual danger: the replacement of the search for God by the search for earthly power, pleasure, and self-sufficiency. The line of Cain built civilization, but lost God. The line of Seth began with piety, but was finally led astray by the charm of the world. The “giants” of Scripture express precisely this inflated human self-confidence that is born when man distances himself from his Creator. They are the men who become great in the eyes of the world, but grow small spiritually. They are the mighty of the earth who acquire glory, authority, and fame, while at the same time losing their purpose. The message of the narrative is that the true man is not saved by power, civilization, or human glory, but by returning to God. For this reason, in a world that had been lost, Noah is saved not because he was powerful, but because he was righteous.

 

Greek source:

https://orthodoxostypos.gr/%cf%80%ce%bf%e1%bf%96%ce%bf%ce%b9-%e1%bc%a6%cf%83%ce%b1%ce%bd-%ce%bd%ce%b5%cf%86%ce%b5%ce%b9%ce%bb%e1%bd%b6%ce%bc-%ce%b3%ce%af%ce%b3%ce%b1%ce%bd%cf%84%ce%b5%cf%82-%ce%ba%ce%b1%cf%84%e1%bd%b0-%cf%84/