Bereshit 6

An Interactive Learning Module by Rivka Kahan

"וַיִּרְאוּ בְנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם"

• Parashat Bereshit concludes with the enigmatic story of the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" and "בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם" (Bereshit 6:1-4).
• This module will explore the fundamental questions that arise in understanding the simple meaning and theological implications of this story. Are the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" divine or human? How does this story fit into the larger narrative of Parashat Bereshit?
• An in-depth analysis of this issue can be found at בני הא־להים and בנות האדם. As you use this module, you are invited to compare your own analysis with the analysis found there.

• Let’s begin by examining the four verses of the story in Bereshit 6:1-4.
• What questions do you have about these verses on the textual level?
• What questions does this narrative raise on a philosophical or theological level?
• How does this story fit into the surrounding narrative of Parashat Bereshit and Parashat Noach?

• Some of the questions that arise from the narrative are:
• Who are the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" and "בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם"? Are the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" divine? If so, this story seems reminiscent of pagan mythology. How is it consistent with the monotheism of the Torah?
• What actions do the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" and "בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם" take in this story and what is the moral status of those actions?
• What is the meaning of Hashem’s response in 6:3?
• How does this story relate to the surrounding narrative of the fall of man, culminating in the flood?
• Who are the "נְפִלִים" mentioned in Bereshit 6:4?

• Let’s begin by exploring the identity of the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" by analyzing the meaning of the word "אֱ-לֹהִים" throughout Tanakh.
• Click on the word "הָאֱ-לֹהִים" in Bereshit 6:2 to access the One-Click Concordance, and click on כל הצורות to see all forms of the word in Tanakh.
• While the word "אֱ-לֹהִים" in most of the verses refers to God, scan the following examples for other meanings: Shemot 4:16 (#253), Shemot 7:1 (#263), Shemot 21:6 (#320), Shemot 22:7 (#322) and Shemot 22:8 (#323-4).
• Now let’s explore the meaning of the phrase "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים".
• Exit the concordance to return to Bereshit 6:2, highlight the phrase "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים", and click search to find other verses in which the phrase appears. What does this phrase mean elsewhere in Tanakh?

• Our search has shown that the word "אֱ-לֹהִים" can refer to God, to human leaders (as in Shemot 4:16 and Shemot 7:1) and to judges (as in Shemot 21:6, 22:7 and 22:8).
• We have also found that the only other places in Tanakh where the phrase "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" appears is in Sefer Iyov (see 1:6, 2:8 and, in a slightly different form, 38:7), where they refer to angels.
• [Note that the similar phrase בני א-לים might also refers to divine beings. See, for example, Tehillim 29:1 and 89:7.]
• How might these findings affect your reading of the narrative of Bereshit 6?

• Let’s now return to the Mikraot Gedolot to see how our commentators have understood this story.
• Read Rashi on Bereshit 6:2, 6:3 (ד"ה לא ידון רוחי באדם, לעולם, והיו ימיו), and 6:4 (ד"ה הנפילים היו בארץ.)
• How does Rashi understand the identity of the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים"? What are the textual and theological motivations for this position?
• How does Rashi interpret the actions of the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" and the reaction of Hashem to their actions?
• According to Rashi, who are the "נְפִלִים" and why are they so called?
• What difficulties exist for Rashi’s approach?

• Rashi understands the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" to be sons of rulers and judges who married people who were not of the ruling class. He interprets the phrases "כִּי טֹבֹת הֵנָּה" and "מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר בָּחָרוּ" to imply relationships of force and licentiousness.
• Radak explains similarly, but elaborates on what is so problematic about such a relationship. See Radak on 6:2, ד"ה את בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם (until ואין מציל אותם מידם).
• What does Radak add to our understanding of the inherent injustice of the relationship between the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" and "בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם"?
• Based on Rashi’s and Radak’s interpretations, how does the story of the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" and "בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם" represent a new form of immorality that did not manifest in the earlier sins of Sefer Bereshit?
• Why is this story an important link in the chain of events that describe the decline of man?

• Let’s now move to a second interpretation of our story. Read Rav Hirsch on Bereshit 6:1-2 (until "ולקחו מהם נשים") and 6:3 (starting a few lines in, from "נמצא ש'רוחי באדם' הוא מושג אחד"). Note that similar ideas appear in Ibn Ezra 6:2 and Abarbanel.
• In Rav Hirsch’s view, who are the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" and the "בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם"?
• What is the meaning of the 120 year limit that Hashem declares in 6:3?
• How does Rav Hirsch differ from Rashi in his understanding of Hashem’s response?
• What textual or philosophical challenges are raised by Rav Hirsch’s position?

• Unlike Rashi, Rav Hirsch suggests that the narrative describes the intermingling of the line of Shet ("בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים") with the line of Kayin ("בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם").
• Rav Hirsch suggests that the story describes not corruption of leadership, but the increased universality of immoral behavior, as the moral refinement of Shet was overpowered by the aggression of Kayin.
• Though Rashi and Rav Hirsch agree that the 120 years refer to a time limit by which Hashem will decide the fate of humanity, how do they disagree about the meaning of the phrase "לֹא יָדוֹן רוּחִי בָאָדָם לְעֹלָם"?
• What does R. Hirsch's understanding imply about how man's choices might affect the Godly spirit within him?

• R. Hirsch's approach rasies both textual and philosophical questons.
• What textual difficulty arises from the interpretation that "א-להים" and "אדם" refer to different family lines? Is there sufficient textual basis for the suggestion?
• Does the text support the idea that Kayin's descendants were corrupt while Shet's were pure?
• What philosophical questions relating to man's freedom of choice may follow from the suggestion that different family lines have fundamentally different moral characters?

• Let’s now consider a third approach. Access Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 22 from the library and read from: "רבי אומר ראו המלאכים... הנפילים היו בארץ".
• According to this midrash, who were the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים"?
• How does the midrash interpret the actions of the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים"?
• In the view of the midrash, how does this narrative fit into the general story of the fall of man?

• According to Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" were fallen angels who married mortal women, an inherently inappropriate relationship which was characterized by immodesty, and which resulted in violent offspring (the "נְפִלִים" or giants). The narrative represents another stage in the moral degradation that led to the flood.
• Is there any evidence elsewhere in Tanakh that angels and humans might mate? What philosophical or theological difficulties might arise from such an interpretation?.
• What philosophical challenge is introduced by this interpretation's reducing mankind’s responsibility for the moral decline that led to the flood?

• For a fascinating middle-ground position, return to the Mikraot Gedolot to see Malbim on Bereshit 6:2-4
• How does Malbim integrate the simple meaning of "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" as angels with a traditional Jewish view of the impossibility of angels mating with humans?
• How does Malbim’s position combine elements of Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer with elements of Rashi and Radak?
• In Malbim’s view, what is the meaning and purpose of Hashem’s statement in 6:3? How does he understand the 120 year limit?
• How does he understand the identity of the "נְפִלִים" in 6:4?
• What difficulties might Malbim's interpretation face?

• Like Rashi and Radak, Malbim believes that this is a story of human corruption, but like Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, he believes that the phrase "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" refers to divine beings.
• In his understanding, however, the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" were not actual angels, but human beings whom others in the ancient world mistakenly believed to be angels, allowing them to take advantage of "בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם".
• This misconception, he suggests, is hinted to by Bereshit 6:4 which explains the belief system of the time period, identifying the "נְפִלִים" with "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים".
• Is it legitimate to suggest that a story in Torah is written from the mistaken perspective of human beings?

• Which of the three general approaches to our narrative discussed above do you think is most consistent with the simple meaning of the verses?
• In your opinion, which most compellingly links this story to the surrounding narrative?
• Which interpretation strikes you as most problematic, either textually or philosophically?
• We have seen that the commentators who interpret "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" as human also understand the 120 years to refer to a deadline for the judgment of mankind. In contrast, Malbim, who posits that they were believed to be divine, interprets the 120 years as the limit of the human lifespan, a means to curb his potential evil and highlight his mortality in the hope that he repent. Why might the difference in interpretation of "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" correspond to a difference in understanding the 120 years?

• The narrative of the "בְּנֵי הָאֱ-לֹהִים" and "בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם" is one of the most difficult to interpret in all of Torah, due to the ambiguity of the verses and the broader questions that they raise.
• We have seen three approaches. The story describes: the oppression of the weak by the ruling class, the intermingling of two family lines that represent conflicting values systems, or the inappropriate mating of fallen angels with human beings. There are textual and theological supports and challenges for each of these.
• By exploring the potential meanings of this narrative, we gain greater insight into the nature of the sins that led to the decline of mankind and the decree of the flood, and thus into the fundamental moral frailties that reside within man.

• For further discussion of this topic, see: בני הא־להים and בנות האדם.
• For other topics related to Parashat Bereshit, see: Parashat Bereshit – Topic List.
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