Bar-Ilan University
Parashat Breishit 5772/October 13, 2012
Parashat Hashavua Study Center
Lectures on the weekly Torah reading by the faculty of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. A
project of the Faculty of Jewish Studies, Paul and Helene Shulman Basic Jewish Studies Center, and the
Office of the Campus Rabbi. Published on the Internet under the sponsorship of Bar-Ilan University's
International Center for Jewish Identity. Prepared for Internet Publication by the Computer Center
Staff at Bar-Ilan University.
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Schubert Spero1
"The sons of G-d… the daughters of men"?
The celebratory beginning of chapter 5 of Genesis sounds like an altogether fresh start to
the story of the creation of man, as if nothing great had happened prior to then (Genesis
5:1-3):
This is the record of Adam's line.—When G-d created man, He made him in
the likeness of G-d; male and female He created them. And when they were
created, He blessed them and called them Man.—When Adam had lived 130
years, he begot a son in his likeness after his image, and he named him Seth.
The narrative continues from Seth until Noah, hero of the flood. Of course, it is clear to the
reader that Adam and his wife had two sons prior to the birth of Seth, and when Abel was
killed the Torah tells us of six generations that descended from Cain. Thus it turns out that
two parallel genealogical lines proceeded from Adam, until the time of Noah: one, the
descendants of Cain, the other, the descendants of Seth. Scripture gives not the slightest
hint whether these two groups intermingled or remained separate, perhaps on account of
the qualitative difference between the two, for Cain and his offspring had a marked
propensity towards violence,2 alongside a talent for inventing and discovering things
1
Dr. Spero teaches at the Center for Basic Jewish Studies.
2
Gen. 4:8, 23.
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necessary for the development of mankind.3 In the history of Seth there is only one
reference to anything special—in the time of Enosh, son of Seth, Scripture tells us, "It was
then that men began to invoke the Lord by name" (Gen. 4:26).4 Against this backdrop,
chapter 6 begins:
When men began to increase on earth and daughters were born to them,
the sons of G-d saw how beautiful the daughters of men were and took
wives from among those that pleased them.—The Lord said, "My breath
shall not abide in man forever, since he too is flesh; let the days allowed him
be one hundred and twenty years."—It was then, and later too, that the
Nephilim appeared on earth—when the sons of G-d cohabited with the
daughters of men, who bore them offspring. These were the heroes of old,
the men of renown. (Gen. 6:1-4)
These verses are among the most obscure, but also most important, in the Torah, insofar as
immediately after them we are told of G-d's fateful decision to "blot out from the earth the
men whom I created—men together with beasts, creeping things, and birds of the sky; for I
regret that I made them" (Gen. 6:7). In other words, in those four verses lies the reason for
the terrible flood that destroyed not only all of humanity and civilization of those days, but
also changed the face of the earth. Therefore we must seek to understand what the Torah is
telling us, precisely what happened, who were the "sons of G-d"—an expression not hitherto
used. Some interpret it to mean angels,5 and others as elites,6 but it seems that Scripture
has in mind one of the groups already mentioned. Therefore several exegetes identify the
"sons of G-d" with the progeny of Seth (Ibn Ezra and Radak), whereas Shaddal says they
3
Gen. 4:20-24.
4
Az huhal likro be-shem H'. This has been taken to refer to the search for a supreme force, the
beginnings of "religion," and according to Samuel David Luzzato, "speaking to the people, to proclaim
and make known the attributes of G-d and what He desires." Others, however, interpret this
expression the opposite way, viewing huhal as related to hullin, the mundane or profane. Cf. Rashi
and others.
5
Non-Talmudic sources, such as Philo, Josephus, Sefer ha-Hinukh and Jubilees.
6
Rashi and the Targums.
2
were a group descended from Cain; each exegete and his own reasoning.7 In my opinion, all
these interpretations suffer from one fundamental flaw,8 namely that this encounter
between the "sons of G-d" and the "daughters of men" took place after the dawn of history
and that the "corruption" that reigned on earth at that time was of a social-moral nature.
But the location of these verses indicates that the narrative actually took place before the
flood, and that the "corruption" which brought on the flood was genetic in nature.
There are several reasons for such a conclusion:
1) The destructive nature of the flood9 attests that it was not simply punishment for a sin,
but an almost inevitable response to the drastic collapse of the divine plan for man and his
world. This new situation called for a global, fresh start under other and suitable conditions.
2) It says, "for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth" (Gen. 6:12), on which Rashi
comments, quoting the Sages: "Even the beasts, animals and birds copulated with others
not of their kind"—in other words, a glitch in the genetic process led to the birth of
monstrous creatures. Therefore, it seems that the encounter between the "sons of G-d" and
the "daughters of men" was a similar happening which might have led to extraordinary
births. Evidence from Scripture in support of such an interpretation can be found in the
beginning of chapter 5, cited above: "Adam…begot a son in his likeness after his image, and
he named him Seth" (Gen. 5:3)—perhaps hinting that earlier the offspring born to Adam
were not "in his likeness after his image," or perhaps that there were mutants among Cain's
progeny—human creatures with unusual traits: abnormally tall, strong, or beautiful, and
that they used these exceptional traits in order to achieve positions of authority and
leadership (Nephilim, "heroes of old," "men of renown").
This leads us to my hypothesis: perhaps the Torah is alluding to a fateful historic event that
occurred in the dim past, an event about which we knew nothing until quite recently. There
appeared of late reports of new paleontological discoveries (in Israel, of all places) which
have led to a deep-rooted revision of our ideas about the development of the human
7
Calling the offspring of Seth "sons of G-d" is based on Scripture saying, "It was then that men began
to invoke the Lord by name." Of Seth's birth specifically we are told, "[Adam] begot a son in his
likeness, after his image" (the image of G-d). On Shadal's reasoning, see below.
8
Of course, aside from the interpretation of "angels," which is theologically problematic.
9
This is implied by the straightforward understanding of "I am about to destroy them with the earth"
(Gen. 6:13), and "all the fountains of the great deep burst apart" (Gen. 7:11), which could include
eruption of undersea volcanoes.
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species.10 Until recently anthropologists thought that homo-sapiens (modern man) only
appeared after the disappearance of the earlier Neanderthal man. Even those who held that
these two populations may have existed in overlapping times admitted that no intimate
relations developed between them due to the considerable differences between the two
groups. The possibility of cross-breeding was thought to be out of the question. New
studies, however, based on DNA analysis of Neanderthal man, prove that homo-sapiens and
Neanderthal lived side by side for a considerable time and intermarried, causing genetic
mixing. It also turns out that Neanderthal man was not as primitive as previously held.11
This leads us to the interpretation, in accordance with the chronological presentation of this
week's reading, that indeed we are dealing with an era in which several of the sons from
Cain's family, who were stronger and taller than others, presented themselves as demi-gods
(sons of G-d) and began to rule over others (the daughters of men, i.e., homo sapiens)
tyrannically (for they "took wives from among whomever pleased them"). Accordingly, G-d's
judgment, that "all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth" (Gen. 6:12), was based not only on
the injustice of human society, but primarily on the total collapse of the genetic system of
human beings and animals.12
According to paleontological studies, after generations of successful migration over the
continents, suddenly all trace of Neanderthals disappeared for some unknown reason, while
homo sapiens (we) took over the earth. According to the Torah, one family descended of
Seth, along with the choicest of the flora and fauna, survived in order to populate the new
world after the flood. Why? Because "Noah found favor with the Lord" (Gen. 6:8).
Translated by Rachel Rowen
10
Makor Rishon, no. 666, May 14, 2010; Newsweek, Oct. 16, 1989; International Herald Tribune, May
14, 2010, p. 7.
11
They were good hunters, buried their dead, and some say they had the power of speech.
12
How there can be a "glitch" in a system created by G-d needs serious study.
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