Sproul: Genesis 6 v 2 "...sons of God."

Genesis 6:2 sons of God. These have been identified as Sethites (the traditional Christian interpretation), as angels (the earliest Jewish interpretation; cf. Job 1:6), and as royal tyrannical successors to Lamech who gathered harems (proposed by rabbis of the second century A.D.).

All three interpretations can be defended linguistically.

The first interpretation best fits the immediate preceding context (a contrast of the curse-laden line of Cain with the godly line of Seth).

If “sons of God” denotes Seth’s line, then “daughters of man” probably refers specifically to Cainite women. The intermarriage of the two lines easily explains why Noah is the sole righteous offspring of Seth after nine generations. Luke’s genealogy of Jesus provides a basis for understanding how Seth’s lineage may be viewed as “sons of God” (Luke 3:36–38).

The second view has ancient support, but seems to contradict Jesus’ statement that angels do not marry (Mark 12:25) and does not explain why the focus is on mortals (v. 3) and the judgment on them (vv. 5–7).

The third interpretation explains the phrase “any they chose” and matches the description of Lamech’s actions in 4:19–24 but lacks much ancient support and demands that “sons of God” refers to people who are anything but God-like

R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible Notes: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 23.

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