The Nephilim (; ) are enigmatic figures mentioned in several passages of the Hebrew Bible and later Jewish and Christian literature. They are traditionally associated with extraordinary size, strength, or status, though the biblical texts provide only brief and ambiguous descriptions. The earliest reference appears in Genesis 6:1–4, where the Nephilim are linked to the "mighty men of old" and to the marital relations between the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men". Their identity, origin, and role in early biblical history have been the subject of extensive debate among scholars, theologians, and interpreters.
The meaning of the term Nephilim is uncertain. Many translations render the word as "giants," influenced by the Septuagint’s use of the Greek term gigantes, though this may reflect later interpretive traditions rather than the original Hebrew sense. Some scholars derive the term from the Hebrew root n-p-l ("to fall"), leading to interpretations such as "fallen ones" or "those who cause others to fall," while others propose meanings related to violence, domination, or social oppression. Because the biblical text does not define the term explicitly, later Jewish and Christian writings played a major role in shaping the modern understanding of the Nephilim.
The Nephilim appear again in Numbers 13:33, where ten of the Twelve Spies report encountering formidable inhabitants in Canaan described as descendants of the Nephilim. This passage has contributed to the longstanding association of the Nephilim with great physical stature, though some scholars argue that the spies’ report may reflect exaggeration, fear, or rhetorical emphasis rather than literal description.
Interpretations of the Nephilim vary widely across religious and academic traditions. One influential view, preserved in Second Temple literature such as 1 Enoch and Jubilees, identifies the Nephilim as the offspring of rebellious angels (the Watchers) and human women, portraying them as destructive giants whose corruption contributed to the moral decline preceding the flood. Another major interpretation, found in some early Jewish and Christian commentaries, understands the Nephilim as powerful human rulers or warriors, possibly arising from intermarriage between the righteous line of Seth and the unrighteous line of Cain. A third approach views the Nephilim as legendary or symbolic figures reflecting ancient Near Eastern traditions about semi-divine heroes or primordial beings.
Outside the canonical Hebrew Bible, related terms or concepts appear in several deuterocanonical books—including Judith 16:6, Sirach 16:7, Baruch 3:26–28, and Wisdom 14:6—and possibly in Ezekiel 32, where scholars debate whether the term refers directly to the Nephilim or to a related class of fallen warriors. These texts contributed to the development of later Jewish and Christian traditions about ancient giants, divine-human unions, and the pre-flood world.
In modern scholarship, the Nephilim are studied within the broader context of ancient Near Eastern mythology, comparative linguistics, and the history of biblical interpretation. Parallels have been drawn between the Nephilim and regional traditions involving giant clans, heroic demigods, or semi-divine figures, though the extent of these connections remains debated. The Nephilim have also become prominent in contemporary popular culture, appearing in novels, films, video games, and speculative theories, where they are often reimagined as hybrid beings, ancient superhuman races, or remnants of a lost primordial world.
Etymology The Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon (1908) gives the meaning of Nephilim as "giants", and warns that proposed etymologies of the word are "all very precarious". Many suggested interpretations are based on the assumption that the word is a derivative of Hebrew verbal root () "fall". argued the word comes from the hif'il causative stem, possibly indicating that the name 'Nephilim' is to be understood as 'those that cause others to fall down'. Ronald Hendel states that it is a passive form: 'Ones who have fallen', grammatically analogous to 'one who is appointed' (i.e., a deputy or overseer), 'one who is bound' (i.e., a prisoner). It is also argued that the "fallen" refer to those who "fell in battle", similar to the gibborim.
The majority of ancient biblical translations – including the Septuagint, Theodotion, Latin Vulgate, Samaritan Targum, Targum Onkelos, and Targum Neofiti – interpret the word to mean "giants". Symmachus translates it as "the violent ones" and Aquila's translation has been interpreted to mean either "the fallen ones" or "the ones falling [upon their enemies]."
Origins of belief Archaeologist G.E. Wright states that belief in the Nephilim, especially as giants, originated from the Hebrews’ contemplation of Transjordian megalithic structures and cyclopean masonry walls of Canaanite cities, with some being 18 feet thick. Nonetheless, he notes that ancient Canaanites were relatively short, before and after 3000 BC, with no significant findings of abnormally sized aborigines. Biblical professor Brian R. Doak believes that Nephilim lore is a polemic against the tropes of epic and heroism, commonly found in the worldviews of cultures similar to the Hebrews'. J.C. Greenfield similarly believes that Nephilim lore is based on "the negative aspects of the Apkallu tradition" in Sumerian mythology. The Apkallu were seven antediluvian culture heroes who were praised for their exceptional wisdom. In fact, some were called "the son of Ea".
Brand et al. (2023) argue that the Nephilim refer to elite or royal warriors from legendary antiquity, who do not necessarily have abnormal stature or divine parentage. They view the Nephilim in Numbers 13–14 as autochthonous elite warriors who dwelt in pre-Israelite Canaan. Ellen White (not to be confused with Ellen G. White) believes that their purpose, narratively speaking, is to die so that God's chosen, who are the "underdogs", could prevail.
The Anakites, who are associated with the Nephilim, are mentioned in the Egyptian Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom (2055–1650 BC) as one of Egypt's political enemies in Canaan.
In the Hebrew Bible In the Bible, there are three interconnected passages referencing the nephilim. Two of them appear in the Torah. The first occurrence is in Genesis 6:1–4, immediately before the account of Noah's Ark. Genesis 6:4 reads as follows:
"Those days" were a period when the human population on the earth had started to expand, when men began "to be plentiful on the earth".Genesis 6:1 in the Jerusalem Bible (1966)
Where the Jewish Publication Society's translation simply transliterates the Hebrew nephilim as "Nephilim", the King James Version translates the term as "giants".
The nature of the Nephilim is complicated by the ambiguity of Genesis 6:4, which leaves it unclear whether they are the "sons of God" or their offspring who are the "mighty men of old, men of renown". Richard Hess takes it to mean that the Nephilim are the offspring, as does P. W. Coxon.
The second is Numbers 13:32–33, where ten of the Twelve Spies describe the Anakites (a Rephaite tribe) as descendants of the Nephilim:
Outside the Pentateuch there is one more passage indirectly referencing nephilim and this is Ezekiel 32:17–32. Of special significance is Ezekiel 32:27, which contains a phrase of disputed meaning. With the traditional vowels added to the text in the medieval period, the phrase is read gibborim nophlim ("'fallen warriors" or "fallen Gibborim"), although some scholars read the phrase as gibborim nephilim ("Nephilim warriors" or "warriors, Nephilim"). According to R.S. Hendel, the phrase should be interpreted as "warriors, the Nephilim" in a reference to Genesis 6:4. The verse as understood by Hendel reads:
B. R. Doak, on the other hand, proposes to read the term as the Hebrew verb "fallen" (נופלים nophlim), not a use of the specific term "Nephilim", but still according to Doak a clear reference to the Nephilim tradition as found in Genesis.
Interpretations Giants
The earliest translations of the Bible, the Septuagint, composed in the 3rd or 2nd century BC, renders the said word as gigantes. In Greek mythology the gigantes were beings of great strength and aggression but not necessarily of great size. The choice made by the Greek translators has been preserved in Latin translation. The Vulgate, compiled in the 4th or 5th century AD, transcribes the Greek term rather than translating the Hebrew nefilim. From there, the tradition of the giant progeny of the sons of God and the daughters of men spread to later medieval translations of the Bible.
The decision of the Greek translators to render the Hebrew nefilim as Greek gigantes is a separate matter. The Hebrew nefilim means literally "the fallen ones" and the strict translation into Greek would be peptokotes, which in fact appears in the Septuagint of Ezekiel 32:22–27. It seems then that the authors of Septuagint wished not only to simply translate the foreign term into Greek, but also to employ a term which would be intelligible and meaningful for their Hellenistic audiences. Given the complex meaning of the nefilim which emerged from the three interconnected biblical passages (human–divine hybrids in Genesis 6, autochthonous people in Numbers 13 and ancient warriors damned in the underworld in Ezekiel 32), the Greek translators recognized some similarities. First and foremost, both nefilim and gigantes possessed an ambiguous identity, being a mixture of the human and divine. They were also viewed with fascination and moral contempt. Secondly, both were presented as impersonating chaotic qualities and posing some serious danger to gods and humans. Lastly, both gigantes and nefilim were clearly connected with the underworld and were said to have originated from earth, and they both end up closed therein.
In 1 Enoch, the Nephilim were "great giants, whose height was three hundred cubits". Assuming 1 cubit is , this would make them tall. However, "three hundred cubits" is considered by scholars to be a translation error in the Ethiopian version. The earlier Greek translation is considered to be closer to the original: "The giants gave birth to Nephilim, and from Nephilim, 'Elioud' came out, and they were growing up according to their grandeur." This matches with Book of Jubilees 7:21–22, which states that there are three races of giants: Naphidim, Naphil, and Eljo. Therefore, instead of being about the giants' height, the verse actually refers to the three races of giants including Elioud. Knowing this, John Baty, in his 1839 translation of the Ethiopian version of 1 Enoch, rendered that verse according to the Greek text.The Book of Enoch the Prophet. Wentworth Press, 2019. .
The Quran refers to the people of Ād in Quran 26:130 whom the prophet Hud declares to be like jabbarin (Hebrew: gibborim), probably a reference to the Biblical Nephilim. The people of Ād are said to be giants, the tallest among them high. However, according to Islamic legend, the ʿĀd were not wiped out by the Flood, since some of them had been too tall to be drowned. Instead, God destroyed them after they rejected further warnings. After death, they were banished into the lower layers of hell.
Fallen angels
From the third century BC onwards, references are found in the Enochic literature, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jubilees, the Testament of Reuben, , Josephus, and the Book of Jude (compare with ). For example: "And when the angels, the sons of heaven, beheld them, they became enamoured of them, saying to each other, Come, let us select for ourselves wives from the progeny of men, and let us beget children." Some Christian apologists, such as Tertullian and especially Lactantius, shared this opinion.