Wikipedia's first sentence called it “people created by the cross-breeding of the "sons of god"”. Today it says “enigmatic figures mentioned in several passages of the hebrew bible and later jewish and christian”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Biblical offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men"”. It now reads “Biblical figures feared for their strength before the Flood”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
In the Hebrew Bible and several non-canonical Jewish and early Christian writings, nephilim (in Hebrew הנּפלים means The Fallen [ones] ) are a people created by the cross-breeding of the "sons of God" (beney ha'elohim, בני האלהים) and the "daughters of men". (See Genesis 6:1.) The word nephilim is loosely translated as giants or titans in some Bibles, and is left untranslated in others. There is some controversy as to the identity of the "sons of God" who fathered them; apparently, the Hebrew authors believed they were angels or minor gods . Despite the literal text of the Bible , the idea that heavenly beings mated with humans is controversial, particularly among Christians , who cite the teaching of Jesus in the Book of Matthew that angels do not marry. Others who find the idea of angels mating with humans as distasteful have suggested more figurative interpretations of the nephilim , such as the idea that they were the offspring of men possessed by demons, or of aliens . Still others believe that the most reasonable view of Genesis 6:1 is that the allusion refers to the fact that some men, from the godly lineage of Seth , called “sons of God” (an expression denoting those in covenant relationship with YHWH - cf. Deuteronomy 14:1; 32:5), began to pursue fleshly interests, and so took wives of “the daughters of men,” i.e., those who were unbelievers . There are two clear Biblical references to the Nephilim, one in the Book of Genesis 6:1-4 as the offspring of "the sons of God" and "the daughters of men", and the other in the Book of Numbers 13:33 as inhabitants of the land of Canaan . They are mentioned in two contexts in the Bible:1
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Nephilim (or sometimes referred to as nefalim ) are beings who appear in the Hebrew Bible , specifically mentioned in the Book of Genesis and the Book of Numbers , they are also mentioned in other Biblical texts and in some non-canonical Jewish writings.
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The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Hieronymus Bosch is based on Genesis 6:1–4 The Nephilim / ˈ n ɛ f [invalid input: 'ɨ'] ˌ l ɪ m / ( ) were offspring of the " sons of God " and the "daughters of men" before the Deluge according to Genesis 6:4 ; the name is also used in reference to giants who inhabited Canaan at the time of the Israelite conquest of Canaan according to Numbers 13:33 .A similar biblical Hebrew word with different vowel-sounds is used in Ezekiel 32:27 to refer to dead Philistine warriors.
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Biblical offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" For other uses, see Nephilim (disambiguation) .A similar or identical biblical Hebrew term, read as "Nephilim" by some scholars, or as the word "fallen" by others, appears in Ezekiel 32:27.When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose.Then the Lord said, "My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years." The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them.These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown. — Genesis 6:1–4, New Revised Standard Version The word is loosely translated as giants in some Bibles and left untranslated in others.The "sons of God" have been interpreted as fallen angels in some traditional Jewish explanations.According to Numbers 13:33, they later inhabited Canaan at the time of the Israelite conquest of Canaan .The Lord said to Moses, "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites" ...So they went up and spied out the land ...And they told him: "...Yet the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there." ...So they brought to the Israelites an unfavorable report of the land that they had spied out, saying, "The land that we have gone through as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are of great size.There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." — Numbers 13:1–2; 21; 27–28; 32–33.
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Beings from the Hebrew Bible For other uses, see Nephilim (disambiguation) .The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Hieronymus Bosch , based on Genesis 6:1–4 The Nephilim ( / ˈ n ɛ f ɪ ˌ l ɪ m / ; Nəfīlīm ) are mysterious beings or people in the Hebrew Bible who are described as being large and strong.The Hebrew word Nephilim directly translates to "the fallen ones".Their origins are disputed.Some view them as offspring of fallen angels and humans.Others view them as offspring of the descendants of Seth and Cain .The main reference to them is in Genesis 6:1–4 , but the passage is ambiguous and the identity of the Nephilim is disputed.According to the Book of Numbers 13:33, ten of the Twelve Spies report the existence of Nephilim in Canaan , prior to its conquest by the Israelites .A similar or identical biblical Hebrew term, read as "Nephilim" by some scholars, or as the word "fallen" by others, appears in the Book of Ezekiel 32:27 and is also mentioned in the deuterocanonical books Judith 16:6, Sirach 16:7, Baruch 3:26–28, and Wisdom 14:6.
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The opening as it stood in 2025 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Beings from the Hebrew Bible For other uses, see Nephilim (disambiguation) . The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Hieronymus Bosch , based on Genesis 6:1–4 The Nephilim ( / ˈ n ɛ f ɪ ˌ l ɪ m / ; Hebrew : נְפִילִים Nəfīlīm ) are mysterious beings or humans in the Bible traditionally understood as being of great size and strength, or alternatively beings of great power and authority.The origins of the Nephilim are disputed.Some, including the author of the Book of Enoch , view them as the offspring of rebellious angels and humans.Others view them as descendants of Seth and Cain . This reference to them is in Genesis 6:1–4 , but the passage is ambiguous and the identity of the Nephilim is disputed. According to Numbers 13:33, ten of the Twelve Spies report the existence of Nephilim in Canaan prior to its conquest by the Israelites . A similar or identical Biblical Hebrew term, read as "Nephilim" by some scholars, or as the word "fallen" by others, appears in Ezekiel 32:27 and is also mentioned in the deuterocanonical books Judith 16:6, Sirach 16:7, Baruch 3:26–28, and Wisdom 14:6. The Sons of God in Genesis 6:1–4: Analysis and history of exegesis .The Holy Scriptures: A new translation .There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).
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Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “people created by the cross-breeding of the "sons of god"”. Today it says “enigmatic figures mentioned in several passages of the hebrew bible and later jewish and christian”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Biblical offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men"”. It now reads “Biblical figures feared for their strength before the Flood”. Read the current article and compare.
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
people created by the cross-breeding of the "sons of god"
Now
enigmatic figures mentioned in several passages of the hebrew bible and later jewish and christian
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
