Who are the Sons of God mentioned in the Bible?
There are two possible answers to this question, depending on the context. The sons of God are mentioned 11 times in Scripture. In all but three instances, the context clearly identifies the sons of God as the righteous saints, or children of God.
However, the book of Job mentions a heavenly council of angelic hosts that are also referred to as the sons of God:
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” Job 1:6
“Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.” Job 2:1
“To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” Job 38:6–7
Only in these verses do we find the context supporting the idea that beings from other worlds are identified as the sons of God, yet there is no clear reference here that they are angels. The fact that they appear before the Lord suggests that these are not human beings. However, in all other Scripture references, it’s clear that righteous humans are also referred to as sons of God.
Let’s look at a few examples (emphasis supplied throughout):
“He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” John 1:11–12 (KJV)
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Romans 8:14–15 (KJV)
“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Romans 8:19–22 (KJV)
“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” Philippians 2:13–15 (KJV)
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:1–2 (KJV)
As we can clearly see, each passage refers to the redeemed righteous humans as sons of God. However, the passage that seems to cause a lot of confusion is in Genesis 6. Some believe the following verses refer to angels, while others see them as the righteous humans during the days of Noah. So let’s investigate.
“Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’ There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’” Genesis 6:1–7
It is essential to always study Scripture within context. Therefore, it is important for us to interpret Genesis 6 based on the context from the previous chapters. In Genesis 3:15 we see that God declared the prophecy of the two seeds—the wicked seed and the righteous seed. We see immediate evidence of this spiritual conflict between the two seeds in Genesis 4. Abel represents the righteous seed, and Cain represents the wicked seed. The enemy thought he had destroyed any hope of the coming righteous seed when Cain killed Abel; however, God provided Seth as a replacement (Genesis 4:25). The latter verses of Genesis 4 contain the lineage of the wicked seed through Cain, and Genesis 5 contains the lineage of the righteous seed coming from Adam and Seth.
Notice that there are specific names of women mentioned in the wicked lineage of Cain. These names, like most biblical and historical names, have meaning. Below are the names of the women and their meaning:
“Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah…. And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.” Genesis 4:19, 22
Adah Decked with jewels, to ornament.
(Exodus 33:4-6; Jeremiah 4:30; Ezekiel 23:40; Hosea 2:13)
Zillah Shadow, tingle, or quiver (sensual dancing)
Naamah To be sweet, to be lovely, to be beautiful, to be pleasant (external beauty)
The reason why this is important is because when we come to Genesis 6, we see two groups mentioned—the sons of God and the daughters of men.
The two previous chapters give us a genealogical breakdown of the two seeds mentioned in Genesis 3:15, and the beginning details of Genesis 6 are a result of the two seeds mingling (intermarrying). The sons of God (the righteous) are marrying the daughters of men (the unrighteous), who are outside of the faith.
This is similar to what we see when the men of Israel commit harlotry with the women of Moab (Numbers 25:1–3), and when Solomon fell from grace and his heart was turned from the ways of God by the heathen women of the pagan nations in his later years (1 Kings 11:1–8). So the context clearly shows that the sons of God are of the righteous seed, and the daughters of men are of the wicked seed. The unequal yoking of the righteous with the wicked brings about God’s decision to destroy all the unrighteous, based on their continual evil hearts (Genesis 6:5–7).
Many suggest the sons of God mentioned here are angels that are procreating with human women and producing superhuman giants. This cannot be true for several reasons:
First, angels cannot reproduce like a human married couple. In Matthew 22:23–30, and also Mark 12:18–25, the Sadducees were inquiring of Christ how a widowed woman who had no children with any of her husbands would decide which husband would be her rightful partner in the Resurrection. However, Jesus clarifies that in the Resurrection, humans will be made like unto the angels, which do not marry nor are given in marriage.
Based on that context, this suggests that angels do not marry and do not have the ability to reproduce, as humans do. Remember, God only granted the gift of reproduction to humans in the garden of Eden (Genesis 1:28). To suggest that angels can reproduce like humans would be complete speculation, and is not supported by Scripture. Besides, common sense and reasoning begs the question: If angels could reproduce, then why didn’t God just allow them to have babies to repopulate Heaven after the fallen angels were cast out? No, angels cannot reproduce—which is why God specifically gifted married humans with the command and ability to procreate and populate the earth.
Second, the context of Genesis 6 confirms over and over that the sons of God and the daughters of men are humans. Genesis 6:1–7 uses the words “men” and “man” a total of 10 times to describe the subjects of the passage—meaning the sons of God and the daughters of men. We cannot find evidence, or even the slightest mention, of angelic or superhuman offspring.
Next, the giants mentioned are not the result of marital relations between angels and human women, and Genesis 6:4 confirms this truth. It says that “there were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them.” This verse clearly states that there were giants already on the earth before the sons of God had marital relations with the daughters of men.
This is clear proof that the giants are not the offspring of angels and humans. Besides, if these giants were some superhuman lifeforms, then why did they all die in the flood? (Genesis 7:21–23). As the Bible states, there were giants present on the earth many years after the flood (Numbers 13:33). Did Noah’s descendants also have marital relations with angels? Obviously not—and especially since we’ve already confirmed that angels cannot procreate. We must exercise common sense and plausible reasoning here. Why would God grant fallen angels the gift of procreation? That does not make sense, nor can it be proven from Scripture.
And finally, the Bible says that the sons of God are those led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14). Fallen angels are clearly not led by the Spirit of God, but the spirit of the devil. Therefore, the sons of God in Genesis 6 cannot be fallen angels. The sons of God are clearly righteous human beings.