The Noah’s Ark Scans site posted an article titled Post-Flood Giants: How the Line of The Nephilim Survived.
The titles assurance that they did survive is in response to the question, “God sent the global flood to destroy the Nephilim and evil that plagued the earth, so how did the line re-appear later in the Old Testament?”
Let’s begin with a linguistics issues since biblically contextually, “Post-Flood Giants: How the Line of The Nephilim Survived” would mean, “Post-Flood Nephilim: How the Line of The Nephilim Survived” so the key questions are: What’s the usage of the vague, generic, subjective, multi-usage and modern English word “giants” in English Bibles? What’s Noah’s Ark Scans usage? Do those two usages agree?
For now, I will assume that the usage of giants in the article is that it’s a mere aka for Nephilim.
Now, asking, “how did the line re-appear later in the Old Testament?” is the wrong primary question to ask, the right one if, “did the line re-appear later in the Old Testament?” the biblical answer to which is: of course not, there’s literally zero reliable indication of that and it would mean that God failed, missed a loophole, the flood was much of a waste, etc., etc., etc.
And, since we’re told the Line of The Nephilim Survived that means that the site contradicts the Bible five times (Gen 7:7, 23; Heb 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20 & 2 Peter 2:5) on that point alone.
But let’s see how the arguments go.
That which I term the Gen 6 affair is quoted thusly, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.”
We’re told that then, “God’s judgment wipes every living thing from the face of the earth, except Noah, his family, and the animals aboard the Ark” and some sea life, insect, etc. but that’s just a slight detail.
We’re told:
As we continue reading through the Old Testament, giant clans begin appearing once again.
The Anakim.
The Rephaim.
The Emim.
The Zamzummim.
Og, king of Bashan.
and the most well known.. Goliath of Gath, who was actually, one of 5 giant brothers. One of Goliath’s brothers was a mutant with 12 fingers and 12 toes.
Ok but we need to be told what that has to do with anything since, at this point, that’s a non-sequitur.
Continuing:
That raises an obvious question:
If every human being outside the Ark perished in the Flood, where did these giants come from?
See the problem with using a vague, generic, subjective, multi-usage and modern English word without bothering to elucidate the usage(s)? Keep in mind that we’re assuming that, “where did these giants come from?” is really asking, “where did these Nephilim come from?” the answer to which is very simple: they weren’t Nephilim, they were Rephaim—and Nephilim were strictly pre-flood hybrids, Rephaim were strictly post-flood humans, and there’s zero correlation between them.
We’re told:
While Scripture doesn’t give us a direct answer, it does leave us with enough clues to explore some fascinating possibilities.
Who Were the Nephilim?
To understand the mystery after the Flood, we first need to understand the mystery before it. In his Hebrew study of Genesis, Rick Renner examines the word Nephilim and notes that it is commonly connected to the Hebrew root naphal, meaning “to fall.” For this reason, many scholars understand the name to mean “the fallen ones.”
I now see part of why the article is vaguely generic and confused: Renner teaches un-biblical Nephilology, see my articles Rick Renner on Angles, Giants, & The End Times as well as Rick Renner on Nephilim Cannibals! Unmasking the Pre-Flood Giants That Terrorized the Ancient World.
We’re told, “one of the oldest” views of who were the sons of God, “held by many ancient Jewish writers and a number of early Christian thinkers—is that these were angelic beings” indeed, the original, traditional, and majority view among the earliest Jewish and Christian commentators, starting in BC days, was the Angel view as I proved in my book On the Genesis 6 Affair’s Sons of God: Angels or Not?: A Survey of Early Jewish and Christian Commentaries Including Notes on Giants and the Nephilim.
Language jumping again, we’re told, “The Nephilim stand at the center of that narrative. The Flood Should Have Ended Their Story. Yet, generations later, these giants reappeared” so, again, the very specific assertion is assumed to be that Nephilim reappeared—and recall that all those who were listed are Rephaim: Zamzummim is merely an aka for Rephaim, Anakim and Emim were like clans of that tribe, Og and Goliath were both Rephaim and one of Goliath’s sons (not brothers) had a basic genetic mutation (I’m unsure what the point was in mentioning it).
It’s noted, “According to Genesis, there were 8 survivors: Noah, his is wife, his three sons, and their wives. Eight people survived. Everyone else perished. Peter later describes Noah as ‘one of eight people’ preserved through the Flood…If the Nephilim existed before the Flood, then they should have disappeared with everyone else.”
So why then ignore and/or reject God’s Word?
Well, because the article language jumps and commits a word-concept fallacy. See, for some unknown reason, the article’s author seems to think that, “giants” can only ever refer to, “Nephilim” and so chases that vague, generic, subjective, multi-usage modern English word and chases it around a specific and ancient Hebrew Bible.
The fact is that giants in English Bibles merely renders (doesn’t even translate) Nephilim in 2 verses or Repha/im in 98% of all others.
See my linguistics book Bible Encyclopedias and Dictionaries on Angels, Demons, Nephilim, and Giants: From 1851 to 2010.
We’re told:
Only a few generations later, the Bible begins mentioning giants once again.
The Giants Return.
When Moses records Israel’s journey toward the Promised Land, the land is already inhabited by several peoples described as exceptionally large.
The Emim are described as a great and numerous people, “as tall as the Anakim.”
The Zamzummim are likewise remembered as a mighty people of great stature.
The Rephaim become one of the best-known giant clans in the Old Testament.
Then there is Og, king of Bashan. Deuteronomy goes out of its way to preserve a fascinating detail about him: his iron bed measured nine cubits long and four cubits wide, roughly thirteen feet by six feet, made of iron to hold the weight.
Later, when Joshua leads Israel into Canaan, we encounter the Anakim—perhaps the most famous giant clan in the Old Testament.
Note that, again, we’re told, “giants once again. The Giants Return” but we’re only told about Rephaim.
As for, “exceptionally large…great stature” well, those terms are just as vague, generic, subjective, and multi-usage as giants. What we’re contextually told of Rephaim, in general and on average, is that they were, “tall” (Deut 2) which is are just as vague, generic, subjective, and multi-usage as giants and exceptionally large and great stature. So, we can only know they were tall subjective to the average Israelite male who was 5.0-5.3 ft. in those days.
I’m unsure what one Repha’s, “bed” has to do with anything. Actually, I’m very much aware but am emphasizing the abrupt nature of this article: points are made out of nowhere and for no apparent reason—see my book The King, Og of Bashan, is Dead: The Man, the Myth, the Legend—of a Nephilim Giant?
But we’re then told of actual post-flood Nephilim—or are we?
We’re told:
These were the people who terrified the twelve spies.
In Numbers 13:33 they reported: “We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
For many readers, this is where the mystery reaches its peak.
Notice what the text says.
The spies didn’t merely report seeing unusually tall people.
They connected the Anakim to the Nephilim.
Whether that connection reflects genealogy, tradition, or their understanding of these giant clans has been debated for centuries. But one thing is certain: by the time Israel entered Canaan, the memory of the Nephilim had not disappeared.
It’s misrepresenting the text to assert, “terrified the twelve spies” since the 12 divided into the loyal, trustworthy, faithful, and reliable Caleb and Joshua against the 10 disloyal, untrustworthy, unfaithful, unreliable 10.
Thus, when the article’s author asserts, “In Numbers 13:33 they reported” reference is being made to, “twelve spies” but that’s misrepresenting the text since it was the 10.
Before merely quoting one single sentence and telling us, “Notice what the text says” the author of the article should have answered key hermeneutical questions such as: who said it, why was it said, what was the reaction to it, was it accurate, etc.
Rather, the point is: here’s a sentence, pick it up uncritically, ignore the context, run with it, and apply it.
Anyone appealing to that one sentence you needs to mention that they’re relying on:
1. One single unreliable sentence
2. From strictly non-LXX versions (since that version’s version of that verse doesn’t even mention Anakim)
3. Of an unreliable “evil report”
4. By 10 unreliable guys
5. Whom God rebuked—to death
6. Who made five mere assertions unbacked by even one single other verse in the whole Bible
7. Who contradicted Moses, Cable, Joshua, God, and the rest of the whole entire Bible
8. Then post-flood Nephilologists have to invent un-biblical fantasy tall-tales about how Nephilim got past the flood, past God.
Notice that the author of the article didn’t get into any of these utterly fundamental issues.
I could go on but see my post, Chapter sample: On the Post Flood Nephilim Proposal.
We’re told:
Centuries later, another giant would emerge from Gath.
His name was Goliath.
Even after Israel had conquered much of the land, the conflict with giant warriors was not over.
So How Did They Return?
If the giants before the Flood perished with the rest of humanity, how do we explain the giants who appear afterward?
Scripture doesn’t answer the question directly, but two primary theories have been proposed by Bible scholars over the centuries.
Biblically contextually it’s, “another Repha would emerge from Gath.”
Thus, as for, “So How Did They Return?” they, Nephilim, didn’t in any way, shape, or form.
It’s, “If the Nephilim before the Flood perished with the rest of humanity, how do we explain the giants who appear afterward?” so it’s a non-issue.
We’re told, “Scripture doesn’t answer the question directly” and yet, it does: they didn’t make it past the flood and didn’t return—it’s just that centuries post-flood 10 unreliable guys made up a scare-tactic, fear-mongering, “Don’t go in the woods!!!” style of tall-tale about them and were rebuked by God—and 100% of post-flood Nephilology is based on siding with them rather than with the God who rebuked them.
We’re then told, “two primary theories have been proposed by Bible scholars over the centuries” which is a false dichotomy since it ignores the biblical answer.
Theory One: The Rebellion Happened Again
One possibility is that the events of Genesis 6 were not unique. According to this view, the fallen angels repeated their rebellion sometime after the Flood, once again crossing the boundary God had established between human and angel.
Supporters point to an intriguing phrase in Genesis 6:4:
“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward.”
What exactly does “afterward” mean?
Some understand it simply to mean that the Nephilim existed after the sons of God took wives. Others believe Moses intentionally left a breadcrumb, hinting that the phenomenon continued beyond the Flood.
This theory also fits within a broader biblical storyline.
From Genesis 3 onward, Satan is portrayed as opposing God’s plan of redemption. If the promised Messiah would come through the human race, then corrupting humanity would be one way of attacking that promise.
The Devil cannot create, he can only pervert that which God has created.
The Flood interrupted that corruption, but it did not end Satan’s rebellion.
Could another incursion have taken place after Noah?
Perhaps.
When we put theology proper first, the instant reply is that God didn’t miss that loophole so He didn’t fail and the flood wasn’t much of a waste.
There’s literally zero indication, “The Rebellion Happened Again” and in fact, there’s only a one-time sin/fall of Angels in the Bible. There’s also no reason (except one unreliable sentence) to even invent such an un-biblical fantasy tall-tale in the first place.
Yes, when you cut a sentence in half, and just as the key point, you can, “point to an intriguing phrase…The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward. You can then ask, “What exactly does ‘afterward’ mean?” since you cut off the part that tells you what it means.
Since there’s literally zero reliable indication of post-flood Nephillim then the latter part of the attempted elucidation is a non-issue.
It can’t mean anything about the flood since:
1) the flood’s not even mentioned for the very first time until a full 13 verses later.
2) the only post-flood reference to Nephilim is unreliable.
3) God didn’t fail, He didn’t miss a loophole, the flood wasn’t much of a waste, etc.
Gen 6:4 states, “Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.”
The question becomes: when were those days?
Well, Gen 6:1 told us, “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.”
The next question becomes: when was afterward?
Since it was after those days then it was simply after, “When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them…”
Thus, they began doing it then and they continued to do it but that’s all pre-flood.
We’re told:
However, there is an important challenge to this view.
Both Jude and Peter speak of angels who abandoned their proper dwelling and are now kept in chains awaiting judgment.
Many scholars believe these passages refer specifically to the events of Genesis 6.
If that is correct, then an obvious question follows:
If the angels responsible for Genesis 6 were imprisoned, who carried out another rebellion? Scripture never tells us.
There’s more than one challenge to that view but the article’s author missed it.
“Scripture never tells us” because there’s nothing to tell and since, again, there’s only the one-time sin/fall.
Theory Two: The Bloodline Survived the Flood
Another theory suggests that traces of Nephilim ancestry survived aboard the Ark itself.
This idea often centers on Genesis 6:9, where Noah is described as “blameless” or “perfect in his generations.”
Some scholars understand this phrase to refer primarily to Noah’s righteousness.
Others suggest the language may also point to the purity of his family line.
An interesting observation is that while Noah and his descendants are described this way, his sons’ wives are not. Could one of the daughters-in-law have carried Nephilim ancestry?
If so, the Flood would still have destroyed the original Nephilim while allowing remnants of that bloodline to continue through later generations.
This theory has become increasingly popular among researchers interested in the supernatural worldview of Genesis because it explains the reappearance of giant clans without requiring a second angelic rebellion.
The difficulty, however, is that the Bible never explicitly states this. It remains an inference drawn from silence rather than a conclusion stated by Scripture.
Note the desperation by those seeking to defend the indefensible: they want to nitpick words and end up implying that contradicting the Bible five times (Gen 7:7, 23; Heb 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20 & 2 Peter 2:5) and damaging theology proper by implying that God failed, that He missed a loophole, that the flood was much of a waste, etc., etc., etc.: those are costly prices to pay for an un-biblical fantasy tall-tale.
Actually, “the Bible never explicitly” not implicitly not vaguely hints.
The article’s author then goes on again about, “where the giants came from…giant clans repeatedly stand in opposition…When Israel approaches the Promised Land, giants are there…When Joshua begins the conquest, giants are there…When David rises to become king, a giant once again steps onto the battlefield” seemingly not realizing that none of that has anything whatsoever to do with Nephilim.
We’re told:
The Bible leaves us with an unanswered question.
We know the Nephilim existed before the Flood.
We know giant clans existed afterward.
What Scripture never tells us with certainty is how those post-Flood giants came to be.
Did the fallen angels repeat their rebellion?
Did traces of the bloodline survive through Noah’s family?
Does this “corrupted seed” and this Nephilim DNA still exist today? Many believe so.
Hopefully, upon reading this review, will realize that all those issues are non-issues: they’re all plainly, biblically, responded to.
Now, the, “Many believe so” issue is where post-flood Nephilology become so very dangerous that I wrote a whole chapter about it in my book Nephilim and Giants as per Pop-Researchers: A Comprehensive Consideration of the claims of I.D.E. Thomas, Chuck Missler, Dante Fortson, Derek Gilbert, Brian Godawa, Patrick Heron, Thomas Horn, Ken Johnson, L.A. Marzulli, Josh Peck, CK Quarterman, Steve Quayle, Rob Skiba, Gary Wayne, Jim Wilhelmsen, et al. that I titled, “Nephil Kampf.”
There are people, who call themselves Christians (and my or may not be) who literally believe that some people aren’t fully people, humans who aren’t fully human, and actually teach that Christians will have to murder them in mass.
We’re told:
According to the Book of Enoch, a group of 200 fallen angels known as the Watchers descended to Earth in the days of Jared. Led by Semjaza, they swore an oath on Mount Hermon, took human wives, and fathered a race of violent giants.
In addition to this forbidden union, the angels corrupted humanity by teaching them secret and destructive knowledge that God had not intended for mankind to possess so early. This forbidden curriculum included weapons, astrology, and various occult arts, accelerating wickedness and violence across the earth. Central to their teachings was pharmakeia, the ancient practice of sorcery involving drugs, potions, and spells.
Pharmakeia shares a root with the English words “pharmacy” and “pharmaceutical.”
Sound familiar?
1 Enoch is Bible contradicting folklore from centuries, if not millennia, after the Torah, see my book, In Consideration of the Book(s) of Enoch.
I don’t doubt Angels taught humans and Nephilim various things but that has nothing to do with modern day Nephilim.
We’re told, “the Nephilim and their seed, somehow, continued” and right after that, “The Bible often tells us everything we need to know, but not everything we want to know” and we have seen that it told us enough to 100% reject any concept of post-flood Nephilim.
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