The movie Noah has given rise to a number of questions from our study group, and one of those concerns the giants that feature in the movie, and whether there is any scriptural basis for them. The first thing to say is that the movie is a creative adaptation and there is no mention of eight-armed giants fighting with Noah in the Old Testament. In providing background for the Flood story Gen 6:1-4 mentions the Nephilim which some versions of the Bible translate as 'giants.' The New Revised Standard Version transliterates the Hebrew word without indicating what it means, whereas other versions have opted to provide a meaning for the term such as giants. There are two texts in which the term Nephilim occurs in the Old Testament, the first being Gen 6:1-4.
When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. Then the LORD said, “My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.
The Nephilim are also mentioned in Numbers 13:33" There we saw the Nephilim (the Anakites come from the Nephilim); and to ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”
The passage from Numbers would certainly support the idea of these people being larger and stronger than the people of Israel. Gen 6:4 describes them as heroes and warriors. Whether they were a race of giants as we would consider it remains to be seen, and in our own experience there is considerable difference in the stature of races. On the basis of the report of the size and strength of the Nephilim the people of Israel lose faith in God, and their ability to enter into the land of promise. It is for this reason that the people will then be punished by having to remain in the desert wandering until the next generation who would have the courage and faith to enter the land. The tradition about Goliath might support the idea of a larger race of people, but it could just as easily refer to a person who was a great warrior who was larger and stronger than the usual range.
The meaning of the word Nephilim is uncertain and it has given rise to much speculation over the centuries. Because it comes from the Hebrew verb 'to fall' it later became associated with fallen angels. The Hebrew of Gen 6:4 is unclear whether the Nephilim mentioned are the same as the sons of God that feature in the same verse. A verse such as this has been used as evidence for visitors from other planets and I would suggest that great care needs to be taken to establish the meaning of the text before engaging in such speculation. The phrase 'the sons of God' has been interpreted as meaning angels, royal figures, or the godly descendants of Seth. There are times when we have to admit to the limits of our ability to unravel the meaning of an ancient text that has been interpreted and reinterpreted over centuries, and this is one of them! It is difficult enough to determine what the tradition about the Nephilim meant in its original context, and this complexity is further increased by the manner in which this ancient tradition is then incorporated into the book of Genesis.
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