God’s Word for You

Genesis 6:1-2 Sons of God, daughters of men

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Here we turn not only to a new chapter and incident in the account, but almost an entirely new book; the first eleven chapters of Genesis fall into two parts. First, the account of mankind from creation up to the time of the Flood (1-5), and second, we have here the account of those who entered into the ark and survived the Flood, up to the call of Abram (6-11). The early world, primeval, antediluvian, and whatever other name we ascribe to it, was in almost every way superior and more beautiful than our present world with one terrifying difference. The giants or tyrants of the world before the flood made sin and cruelty the usual pattern for daily life. There was wickedness and evil everywhere, and the number of godly people who were left was dwindling to the point where there was only one family left.

6:1 When men began to increase in number on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took any of them they chose as wives for themselves.

Here in the beginning of the Sixth Chapter we must identify what Moses means when he says “sons of God” and “daughters of men.” If we fail to do this, it will be impossible to understand the chapter correctly.

In some cases, “sons of God” can mean “angels.” This is true in Job (1:6; 2:1; 38:7). But in all other places, “sons of God” is a reference to those human beings who are believers. The peacemakers are “called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9); those “led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14); the creation waits “for the sons of God to be revealed” (Romans 8:19), and “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). Therefore those who speculate that the “sons of God” here in Genesis 6 could be angels (whether good angels or wicked demons) stand in contradiction to Scripture and to the words of Christ himself. Angels do not take wives, they do not marry, nor do they lust after human men or women. It is not possible. For as Christ said: “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30).

Why use “sons” for believers and “daughters” for unbelievers?

The Old Testament will generally say “father” and then “mother,” or “son” and then “daughter” (Genesis 46:7; Numbers 21:29; Jeremiah 48:46). This is especially true in Proverbs, where the two parents will have different perspectives: “A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother” (Proverbs 10:1). It is not that the wise son isn’t also a joy to his mother, or that a foolish one doesn’t also bring grief to his father, but that speaking this way involves both kinds of children and both parents and their reactions in the most concise way. And so, I believe, we have the terms here. Moses could have been more awkward and said: “The sons and daughters of God…,” but in ancient marriages the man generally selected the woman, not the other way around (Hosea 12:12), and with permission or help from his parents (Genesis 24:4; Judges 14:2).

When we remember the context of the book, we have to acknowledge that the one group, represented by the sons, are the believers; the other group represents the unbelievers. Professor Gerhard writes: “In the selection of wives, they did not follow the advice of their parents but the impetus of blind passion” (Gerhard). And again: “Unrestrained lusts are listed among the causes of the flood.”

The sons of the Patriarchs “indulged in the lust of their eyes; they denied the hope for the promised Seed; they sought their wives from the women of the Cainites as they saw in them the fleeting beauty of form rather than true piety. Moreover, they married them without the consent of their parents…. They roused the flames of lusts with feasts, debauchery, and musical instruments” as Christ testifies: “In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away” (Matthew 24:38-39). Martin Chemnitz says simply in his comments on the Sixth Commandment, “Promiscuous lusts were punished in the Flood” (Loci Theologici, chap. vi, p. 353).

The Danger of Compromise

The believers, descendants of Seth and Enosh, began to intermarry with unbelieving Cainites, and they were led astray. God warned Israel in the days of Moses: “When you choose some of their [unbelieving] daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same” (Exodus 34:16). The first Psalm warns about associating with unbelievers (“Blessed is the man who does not stand on the path with sinners” Psalm 1:1), since doing so will lead to compromise, and compromising one’s faith will always ultimately mean giving up one’s faith, like losing stones from a wall. Stone by stone, doctrine by doctrine, the whole thing will come apart and come tumbling down.

Here a warning is given in the words Moses uses. He says that the believers began to “look at” the unbelievers, noticing the beautiful women, and so on. The verb ra’a especially means “to inspect, look with favor upon,” or as Luther notes, “to observe with satisfaction and pleasure.” We see this in Psalm 54:7, “My eyes have looked in triumph on my foes,” Psalm 92:11, “My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries,” and Psalm 98:3, “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” So they gave in to desires without any regard for whether this or that person would make a good and godly spouse, which has once again become a problem in our time.

We might point out that Moses, through Noah’s memories, only condemns this particular part of Sixth Commandment sins. He does not say that they committed incest with their mothers or daughters, nor does he mention the kinds of sins condemned in the account of Sodom and Gomorrah. Luther concludes: “Moses brings only this charge, that they discarded the laws of the fathers and followed no definite marriage law but simply their own lust and abducted the woman they loved, against the will of her parents.” It is not only the Sixth Commandment but the conscience that cries out, “You shall not commit adultery,” for this is the epitome of “Do unto others as you would have them do to you,” and its reverse, “Do not do to anyone what you would not have them do to you.” For “a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself” (Proverbs 6:32). And we also have the simple explanation of the Commandment from our Lord Jesus, who said, “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). And Dr. Luther has given us this application: “We should fear and love God that we lead a pure and decent life in words and actions, and that husband and wife love and honor each other.”

Guarding the Word

When we let go of what we have been taught through the Word of God, we are in grave danger. “Do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it! Do not travel on it! Turn from it and go on your way” (Proverbs 4:13-15).

Ask the Lord God to protect you from the pathway of sin. And when you stumble, confess it. “He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). He will send the Holy Spirit to guide us and live in our hearts so that we will want to live in faithful obedience to the will of the Father.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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