The World before Genesis 6

By the time Genesis reaches the sons of God, it has already shown us a human world of families, settlement, craft, worship, rivalry, and bloodshed. The strange episode in chapter 6 enters that world. It does not begin the story of corruption from nothing.

This setting helps us understand why the marriages matter within the movement toward the Flood. Desire and violence have already appeared. The new scene may deepen those concerns by showing another act of taking and another crossing of a limit.

The setting also gives human interpretations something substantial to work with. The preceding genealogies allow readers to ask whether the marriages concern family lines. Lamech's boast allows readers to ask whether powerful men now exercise their desires without restraint.

Those connections remain interpretations. Genesis 4 does not introduce the sons of God under another name, and it does not tell us in advance who will appear in chapter 6. Its contribution is the human setting and the moral movement of the story.

We can now turn to the disputed passage with that background in mind. The identity of the actors will depend on the wording of Genesis 6 and on its biblical parallels. The earlier chapter has shown us the world they enter; it has not solved the mystery of who they are.