EOB: Official Site of the Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible (Old and New Testament)

Genesis 6:2

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

The sons of God noticed that the daughters of humans were attractive, and they married any of them they wanted.

EOB Footnote:

The LXX reads “sons of God” (huioi tou theou), while the MT reads “sons of the gods” or “sons of God” (bene ha-elohim). Both phrases can be rendered identically in English, though the Hebrew elohim is grammatically plural. The LXX “daughters of men” (thugateras ton anthropon) corresponds to the MT “daughters of the man/mankind” (benoth ha-adam). Some LXX manuscripts, including certain minuscules, read “angels of God” (angeloi tou theou) instead of “sons of God,” reflecting an interpretive tradition that identified these figures as angelic beings; Codex Alexandrinus reads “sons of God.” The phrase “that they were beautiful” renders the Greek hoti kalai eisin; the MT adds the word toboth (“good” or “fair”), though both convey the same essential meaning of physical attractiveness. “They took wives for themselves” renders the Greek elabon heautois gunaikas, where “for themselves” makes explicit the reflexive pronoun. “From all whom they chose” renders the Greek apo pason hon exelexanto; the MT similarly reads “from all whom they chose” (mikkol asher bacharu).

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

WEB (World English Bible):

“The sons of God saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives.”

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

The sons of God seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

“The sons of God seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took to themselves wives of all which they chose.”

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whichever ones they chose.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves from any they chose.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair; and they took wives for themselves from those who were pleasing to them.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

THE SONS OF GOD AND THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN

This verse stands among the most debated passages in all of Scripture, presenting interpretive challenges that the Church Fathers addressed with considerable attention. The identity of the “sons of God” (bene ha-elohim) has generated three primary interpretations within the Orthodox tradition.

The Patristic Interpretation: The predominant view among the Eastern Fathers, championed by Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Ephrem the Syrian, and Saint Augustine, identifies the “sons of God” as the righteous descendants of Seth, while the “daughters of men” represent the lineage of Cain. Chrysostom emphatically rejected any notion of angelic beings cohabiting with human women, arguing that such a reading contradicts the spiritual nature of angels and introduces inappropriate mythological elements into sacred Scripture. For Chrysostom, this passage illustrates the catastrophic spiritual consequences when the faithful intermarry with the ungodly, allowing worldly beauty and desire to eclipse devotion to God.

Saint Ephrem similarly understood this mingling as the corruption of the Sethite line, which had preserved the worship of the true God. When these righteous ones abandoned their spiritual heritage for carnal attraction, the moral foundation of humanity collapsed, precipitating the Flood.

Typological Significance: This passage carries profound relevance for understanding the Incarnation. The Church Fathers saw in the corruption of flesh a foreshadowing of why the Word became flesh. Where the sons of God fell through disordered union with humanity, the true Son of God would unite Himself to human nature in the pure womb of the Theotokos, not to corrupt but to heal and deify. The contrast illuminates the redemptive purpose of Christ’s coming.

Spiritual and Ascetic Application: Orthodox spiritual tradition draws from this text important warnings about the dangers of spiritual compromise. The “daughters of men” represent the allurements of worldly life that draw the soul away from its heavenly calling. The monastic tradition particularly emphasizes vigilance against allowing physical beauty or material attachments to supplant love for God. Saint John Cassian and later ascetic writers would echo this theme when discussing the warfare against the passions.

Liturgical Resonance: During the preparatory Sundays before Great Lent, the Church reads from these early chapters of Genesis, reminding the faithful of humanity’s fall and the need for repentance. The pre-Flood narrative serves as a sobering reminder that divine patience, though vast, calls for human response. The righteous Noah, who appears shortly after this verse, becomes a type of salvation through the wood of the Ark, prefiguring baptism and the Cross.

This passage ultimately calls the faithful to preserve their identity as children of God, not conforming to the patterns of a fallen world but maintaining the purity of faith transmitted through the generations.

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