Josephus and Philo

Josephus retells the episode as one involving angels and women, with extraordinary and unjust offspring. He compares the result with the giants remembered in Greek tradition. The comparison this book considers therefore has an ancient Jewish precedent.

Philo approaches the material with a different set of interests. His interpretation can bring the story into an account of the soul, desire, and moral life, shaped by philosophical categories. An inherited supernatural narrative becomes material for reflection on human conduct.

The two writers show the range of ancient reading. Genesis could be treated as a history of extraordinary beings and also as a passage with philosophical and moral significance.

Neither approach should be made to erase the other. Josephus establishes that an ancient writer saw a connection with Greek giants. Philo shows how interpretation could transform the same material for another purpose. Their testimony strengthens the history of the question while leaving its factual answer open.