Commentaire sur La Genèse 6:4

הנפילים THE GIANTS — Thy were called נפילים because they fell (נפלו) and caused the downfall of (הפילו) the world (Genesis Rabbah 26:7).

THE NEPHILIM. Rashi comments: “[They were called nephilim because] they fell (naphlu) and caused the downfall (hipilu) of the world.” This is found in Bereshith Rabbah.⁵⁰⁰26:7. The masters of language⁵⁰¹Found in R’dak. say that they [the Nephilim] were so called because the heart of man fell from fear of them. The same applies to the word ha’eimim.⁵⁰²Genesis 14:5. Eimah means terror. The Eimim thus induced terror into the hearts of those who saw them.

הנפילים היו בארץ בימים ההם, these giants were not about until the last 120 years which G’d had assigned man as a grace period within which to do teshuvah וגם אחר כן, as well as thereafter, i.e. they did not repent and mend their ways at all.

הנפילין, this verse must be understood as attached to the previous verse (2) in which the mating habits of the בני האלוהים had been discussed. After the Torah had criticised the manner in which the physically stronger males grabbed their women, G’d now gave them another 120 years and no more to improve their ways. The people described as נפילים were a group of giants. The reason why they are not described as such, but as “fallen,” is that people who took one look at these giants were apt to fall down ((נפל in sheer fright of such powerful potential opponents. Examples of similar use of the root נפל can be found in Job 14,18 ואולם הר נופל, “even if the mountain were to fall” a truly frightening experience. The Torah simply relates that during these latter days before the deluge there were people of gigantic size These were just a few individuals .

הנפילים היו בארץ, “the Nephilim were on earth at that time.” According to Rashi these creatures had fallen from heaven (in disgrace) and had in turn caused people on earth to fall from their spiritual level to a spiritually still lower level. The name נפילים corresponds to the Hebrew word ענקים, “giants.” At any rate, ordinary people were frightened of these “giants.” Other commentators simply understand the term נפילים as representing human beings who, due to their imposing stature, made everyone fall down before them in a state of fear. Rabbi Joseph Kimchi explains the word נפילים as meaning גדולים, “great men, giants.” He quotes Job 14,18 ואולם הר נופל יבול as a parallel, i.e. that even the most powerful and great phenomena (such a tall mountains) on earth will ultimately fall, collapse.

So called because they “fell.” I.e., they were killed.

מכל אשר יעשה מגפן היין, the Torah does not write גפן without adding a modifier, as this could have led to confusion seeing that there are other kinds of גפן such as גפן שדה from which we get certain wild gourds. (Kings II 4,39) The angel instructing Shimshon’s mother regarding her abstaining from grapes and grape-based products also emphasises גפן היין, the vine from which wine is derived. (Judges 13,14) In that chapter the angel elaborates by telling Manoach’s wife that she must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink wine or other intoxicant. He warns her once more to strictly adhere to his instructions. The instructions are couched in what is known in the rules of exegesis by Rabbi Yishmael as כלל, general rule, followed by another כלל followed by details, פרט.
The instructions to Shimshon’s mother how to conduct herself during her pregnancy reflect the concept that the food we ingest is converted by the body into blood, whence it becomes milk, whence it is transferred to the baby in his mother’s milk making an indelible imprint even on the baby’s personality. Seeing that the type of Nazirite which Shimshon was supposed to be began while he was still a fetus in his mother’s womb, as per the prediction of the angel there in verse 5, his mother had to abstain from all the things which a Nazirite has to abstain from.
Alternatively, there is a second general rule in that chapter, one which applied only to Shimshon himself and not to his mother, the requirement not to cut off any of the hair of his head. This rule had not been repeated by Manoach’s wife to her husband when she told him about the angel’s appearance. She had only told her husband that the son she would bear was to be a Nazirite all his life. When the angel returned a second time, he only spelled out what Manoach’s wife was to abstain from. The only reason why the angel repeated some details was that the first time he had not told Manoach’s wife to abstain from ritually impure foods, only from wine and intoxicating drink. On the first occasion he had not even forbidden Manoach’s wife to eat grapes during her pregnancy. [Perhaps the story is an illustration of what our sages teach that a “repetition” in the Scriptures automatically includes a new dimension which had not been mentioned the first time, so that in effect there is no such thing as a “repetition.” Ed.]

Das im Vorhergehenden allgemein Ausgesprochene wird in diesem Vers in einem einzelnen Beispiele noch klarer gemacht, das unseren Vätern, in deren Zeiten noch Reste der "Nephilim" lebten, noch anschaulicher sein konnte. — נפילים. Woher dem Begriff Riesen der Name נפילים geworden, lässt sich nicht mit großer Zuversicht beantworten. נפל, fallen; diesem Begriffe wohnt allerdings in der Regel das Merkmal der Schwäche bei. Es bezeichnet jedoch auch das Stürzen eines Übermächtigen auf ein Schwächeres. So נפל פחדם עליהם. Auch von der überwältigenden Macht der Gottesbegeisterung: ׳ותפל עלי יד ד Ferner: beim Eintritt von etwas Zufälligem, außerhalb der Berechnung Liegendem: איך יפול הדבר. Einmal auch von Ismael: על פני כל אחיו נפל. Vielleicht bezeichnet נפל hier, dass jemand, oder etwas seiner ganzen Umgebung außer aller Berechnung in den Weg fällt, wie vom Himmel geworfen; Ismael war ein פרא אדם, also: die außergewöhnliche, nicht in die gewöhnliche Ordnung der Dinge sich einreihende Macht Ismaels. Möglich, dass נפילים also genannt wurden wegen ihrer alles andere zu überstürzen drohenden, ganz außergewöhnlichen körperlichen Macht und Größe. Vielleicht liegt in וארץ רפאים תפיל (Jes. 26, 19), dem תפיל die Bedeutung נפילים-schaffen zu Grunde, und wäre dann der Sinn des Verses כי טל אורות טליך וארץ רפאים תפיל: die Größen, die dein Tau weckt, sind geistige, lichtige Größen; die Erde weiß nur Riesenleiber gigantisch hervorzurufen. Wenn im Begriffe נפילים das Ungewöhnliche, Seltene enthalten ist, so ists selbstverständlich, dass der Name erst zu einer Zeit vorkommen kann, in welcher das übrige Menschengeschlecht schon kleiner war. Zur Zeit der Abfassung der תורה gab es noch Abkömmlinge der Nephilim. In der vor- sündflutlichen Zeit waren die Nephilim nichts Ungewöhnliches. "הנפילים היו בארץ בימים ההם, ."die jetzt als Nephilim Angestaunten waren in jener Zeit gewöhnlich auf Erden׳ In dem kainitischen Geschlecht, in welchem das rein Geistige völlig zu Grabe getragen war, entwickelte sich das Körperliche zur Riesengröße. Hätte nun die Vermischung die gewünschte Frucht getragen, so hätte das Geistige, das der Vater der Mutter gebracht, das Körperliche überwunden und sich dienstbar gemacht. Es wären geistige Heroen entstanden; der Geist zehrt an körperlicher Kraft und verbraucht viel zu seiner Arbeit. Aber, heißt es, וגם אחרי כן. usw., auch nachher, nachdem schon die בנות האדם ihnen, d. i. den Vätern vom göttlichen Geschlecht, Kinder geboren hatten (weshalb das von dem Vater in die Ehe gebrachte Göttliche hätte überwiegen sollen), ward das Geistige von dem leiblich Sinnlichen überwuchert. Diese Verbindung der beiden Geschlechter trug somit die Keime des Abfalls und der Entheiligung in das Geschlecht der ׳.בני האלקי המה הגבורים, aus dieser Verbindung gingen die "Heroen der ältesten Zeit" hervor, die zwar manchmal ihre Zeitgenossen auch an Geist überragten, bei denen aber größtenteils der Geist im Dienste gewaltiger Körperkraft stand.

הנפלים, “of outstanding stature;” the absence of the letter א in this word which we would have expected to have been spelled הנפלאים, is not unique; we find it also in Exodus 33,16: ונפלינו אני ועמך, “and we, Your people will be outstanding;”

In Hebrew the giants are usually called בימים ההם .ענקים IN THOSE DAYS — In the days of the generations of Enosh and the sons of Cain (Genesis Rabbah 26:7).

וגם אחרי כן אשר יבואו בני האלוהים אל בנות האדם, and also after the elite had made a point of mating with the physically attractive בנות האדם there were even more numerous such giants who reflected the genes of their fathers in size and the allure of their mothers in beauty. והמה הגבורים אשר מעולם, these were the ones always remembered in later times as the heroic people of their time אשר מעולם אנשי שם, people whose reputation survived their disappearance from the earth. After the deluge survivors realised that it had been displeasing in the eyes of G’d for those people to have devoted themselves to all the physical pleasures of the world and to aim at enlarging the size of their bodies as well as aiming to increase the number of years they lived on earth. [After all they had perished, and normal sized individuals, such as Noach’s family had survived. Ed.] The physical desires of the survivors of the deluge were far less powerful than that of their forebears so that gradually also their lifespan diminished, i.e. their entire hold on matters physical became a less dominant concern. People in the generations after the deluge, in spite of their other failings, gradually resumed a lifestyle that had been normal before the excesses that the בני אלוהים had indulged in. When the Israelites came to the land of Canaan there were only a very few of the former giants still surviving, mostly concentrated around Hebron (Joshua 15,14) Our sages have a tradition that there were only four such giants still alive at that time. (Joshua 14,15) In the time of David there appear to have been a few such men in Gat (Samuel II 21,15) Concerning Og, the King of Bashan, the Bible testifies that he had been a remnant of this race of these antediluvian giants (Joshua 13,12). It is possible that those survivors still practiced a lifestyle reminiscent of their antediluvian forebears.

בני אלוקים, “the elite of mankind.” The male children of the most outstanding members of human society. These young men would look at the daughters of their morally inferior contemporaries and be consumed with lust for them, so that they would rape them and the result would be more such physically alluring females.

And caused the downfall of the world. I.e., their descendants copied their evil deeds and were killed as well [in the Flood of Noach]. Rashi is saying that the giants in the days of Enosh and the sons of Kayin were killed (“fell from the world”) when the ocean rose upon them.

IN THOSE DAYS. Rashi comments: “in the days of the generation of Enosh. AND ALSO AFTER THAT. Although they witnessed the destruction of the generation of Enosh when the ocean rose and flooded a third of the world, still they did not humble themselves and take a lesson from them.”
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained: “also after the flood, since the sons of Anak⁵⁰³Numbers 13:33. The giants. were of the family of bnei ha’elohim.” If so, we must say that either the wives of Noah’s sons were of their [the Nephilim’s] descendants and resembled them or that ibn Ezra will accept the statement of the Rabbi⁵⁰⁴Rabbi Yochanan (Niddah 61 a). who advanced the interpretation that Og⁵⁰⁵Og, King of Bashan (Numbers 21:33). It is he, according to Rabbi Yochanan, of whom Scripture says: And there came one that had escaped (Genesis 14:13); i.e., escaped from the flood. escaped from the flood, to which Rabbi Abraham will add that others too escaped with him [since the verse states: “The ‘Nephilim’ — (in the plural) — were in the earth…and also after that”, which Ibn Ezra interprets as meaning after the flood].
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that Adam and his wife are called bnei ha’elohim because they were G-d’s handiwork and He was their father; they had no father besides Him. And he [Adam] begot many children, as it is written, And he begot sons and daughters.⁵⁰⁶Above, 5:4. Now these men, first to be born of a father and mother, were of great perfection in height and strength because they were born in the likeness of their father, as it is written concerning Seth, And he [Adam] begot a son in his own likeness, after his image.⁵⁰⁷Ibid., Verse 3. And it is possible that all the children of the first generations — Adam, Seth, Enosh — were called bnei ha’elohim because these three men were in the likeness of G-d. But then the worship of idols commenced, and there came upon men a weakness and slackness.
And so they said in Bereshith Rabbah:⁵⁰⁸24:6. “This is the book of the generations of Adam.⁵⁰⁹Above, 5:1. Are not the first ones toldoth (offspring)! But what are they? [They are in the image and likeness of] G-d. They raised a question before Aba Kohen Bardela: ‘Adam, Seth, Enosh?’ At first, he was silent, but then he said to them: ‘Up to here [Seth] they were in the image and likeness of G-d; after that, Kenan, vexers.’”⁵¹⁰Kenan, vexers. Enosh’s son was Kenan (Above, 5:9), which name is interpreted as having the same root as the word kanteir (he who makes himself disagreeable).
Now when men began to multiply and daughters were born to them, the men of these first generations were in their strength, and because of their great desire they would choose the beautiful women of tall stature and good health. Now first Scripture tells that by force they took them unto themselves as wives, and afterwards it tells that they came in a promiscuous manner to the daughters of men who were not of that high degree, and the matter was not known until they begot children for them, and everyone recognized that they were not the offspring of other people but that they had been born to these bnei ha’elohim because these children were very tall. They were, however, inferior to their fathers in height and strength, [This is the meaning of the name Nephilim — inferior ones], just as the word Nephilim is used in the expression: I am not ‘nophel’ (inferior) to you.⁵¹¹Job 12:3. Still they were mighty men in comparison with the rest of the people. And Scripture tells that this happened in the first generation to those who were called bnei ha’elohim because they were of absolute perfection, and it is they who caused the daughters of men to beget nephilim (inferior ones); and also after that, for the nephilim themselves begot nephilim from them.
The meaning of the expression, that were of old, is that after the flood, the men, upon seeing the mighty, would remember these nephilim and say: “There have already been mightier men than these in the ages which were before us.” They were the men of renown in all generations afterward. This is a fitting explanation of this chapter. But the Midrash of Rabbi Eliezer the Great,⁵¹²Chapter 22. in the chapters concerning the angels that fell from their place of holiness in heaven — as is mentioned in the Gemara of Tractate Yoma —⁵¹³67b. fits into the language of the verse more than all other interpretations. But it would necessitate delving at length into the secret of this subject.

היו בארץ בימים ההם, “were prominent on earth at that time.” This is a reference to conditions discussed by the Torah previously, which had been introduced with the words: ויהי כי החל האדם in 6,1.

וגם אחרי כן AND ALSO AFTER THAT — Although they witnessed the destruction of the generation of Enosh when the Ocean rose and flooded a third part of the world, yet the generation of the Flood did not humble itself and take a lesson from them (Genesis Rabbah 26).

אשר יבאו, “who would be intimate with them.” According to Rashi the subject are the sons of the בני האלוקים Nachmanides explains that Adam and Chavah are here referred to as בני האלוקים, “the children of G’d,” as they had been the direct product of G’d’s creative activity, and they had no physical father. Adam and Chavah in turn, had many sons and daughters as the Torah reports in These children of Adam and Chavah were in a class by themselves, seeing that their father had passed on to them a great deal of the genes of the genetically perfect first man on earth. It is possible that the first pair of humans and their immediate sons were referred to as בני האלוקים, as they more than any subsequent human reflected what was calledצלם אלוקים at the time when G’d created the first pair of human beings. These people never engaged in idol worship, whereas their offspring already began to see in other powers on earth deities of a kind, albeit surrogates of the Creator. In keeping with this tendency of people to deify powers of nature, their own physical dimensions and strength declined, as a form of punishment. When the human population increased on earth and there began to be competition for good looking female partners, the men of earlier generations, due to their superior prowess, overpowered their more poorly endowed competitors, and they grabbed themselves whatever they chose. Originally, they married such girls even against their will, but eventually their morals deteriorated to such a degree that they raped girls without offering marriage, and generally this did not come to light until the features of the children born from such illegal liaisons did not resemble either of their parents, but showed genetic likeness to the members of the giants. The word מעולם, normally understood as meaning “from time immemorial,” is the Torah’s way of hinting that in the future whenever a human being would for some reason be of such outsize dimensions as the giants of former times, people would speak of giants having lived prior to the deluge; the appearance of this phenomenon would trigger memories of the stories which had been handed down from generation about the existence of such a race at one time.

In Hebrew it means giants. I.e., נפילים is an adjective, conveying that their great might caused people to fall. (Maharshal)

וגם אחרי כן, “and also subsequently.” Even after G-d had expressed His anger at man’s conduct on earth, as described in: 6,3, Man had not leaned to submit to the supremacy of its Creator as testified to by verse two which described their disrespect for holy matrimony, i.e. the status of a wife as inalienably linked to her husband was completely ignored by the physically superior men wishing to possess women to whom they were attracted.

אשר יבאו WHEN [THE SONS OF GOD] CAME IN, they (the women) bore children, giants like them (the fathers) (Genesis Rabbah 26:7).

In the days of Enosh and sons of Kayin. It seems that the primary explanation [of בני האלהים is “angels”, see Rashi on v. 2. This] is how Rashi explains נפילים in Parshas Shelach (Bamidbar 13:33), where he says they were “giants, descended from Shamchazai and Azael, who fell from heaven in the generation of Enosh.” Accordingly, when Rashi says the giants “fell from the world,” it means from the upper world, i.e., heaven. (Nachalas Yaakov)

אנשי השם, “men of great reputation; Rabbi Acha, in B’reshit Rabbah 26,7, contrasting our verse with Job 30,8 in which these people are described as בני נבל גם בני בלי שם נכאו מן הארץ, “scoundrels, nobodies, stricken from the earth,” queries the way the Torah here refers to these wicked people as: “somebodies;” He therefore understands the word השם in our verse as meaning that השמו: “they desecrated the world and as a result were הושמו, eliminated from it. [From the root: שמם to desolate. Ed.]

הגבורים MIGHTY — in rebellion against God.

Though they saw... Meaning, even afterward they were wicked and sinful. Some ask: [How can Rashi say, “Though they saw...?] In Parshas Eikev, on “And you will perish quickly” (Devarim 11:17), Rashi explains that the generation of the Flood had no one to learn from! (Nachalas Yaakov, see further explanation there)

אנשי שם MEN OF RENOWN (literally, men of name) — Men who bore distinctive names: עירד, מחויאל, מתושאל being so named because these names have reference to their destruction, for they were wiped out and torn out from the world (מחוי-אל would signify “wiped-out-by-God”, מתושאל “Torn-out-by-God). Another explanation is that they were men of devastation (אנשי שם-מון) — who devastated the world (Genesis Rabbah 26:7).

Giants like them. Rashi is explaining why there were giants in the generation of the Flood as well. Although the [original] giants were wiped out when the ocean flooded upon them, the בני אלהים came to the daughters of man and they gave birth to giants like them.

On account of their destruction for they were wiped out. מחויאל is from נימוחו, meaning “wiped out.” מתושאל is from הותשו, meaning “torn out.” [Rashi knows that אנשי השם means על שם אבדן] because ordinarily it means “men of renown,” whereas these people were wicked.