Giants (Nephilim)
The Giants (Nephilim) are the monstrous offspring of the Watchers and human women - beings of immense size and insatiable appetite whose violence filled the earth with blood and provoked the judgment of the Flood. In the visionary accounts preserved within the Enochian tradition, these colossal offspring emerge as direct consequences of the Watchers' descent and illicit unions with human women, an event detailed in the Book of Enoch chapters 6 and 7. The angels, led by Semjaza and Azazel, bind themselves by oath on Mount Hermon before taking wives and producing a hybrid race whose unnatural origins violate the boundaries established at creation. This transgression sets in motion a cascade of disorder that the texts portray not merely as moral failing but as a profound corruption of the natural and divine order, one that demands heavenly intervention. The writings emphasize their immense size and insatiable appetites, which lead them to devour human provisions, oppress the people, and even consume one another amid escalating violence. The Book of Enoch chapter 7 recounts how these beings filled the earth with blood and lawlessness, while Jubilees 5 describes their role in amplifying iniquity to the point that the earth itself cries out for relief. Such depictions frame them as embodiments of unchecked chaos, their very existence serving as the catalyst for the Flood narrative and underscoring the necessity of cosmic judgment to restore balance. Within these apocryphal traditions, their story also highlights the limits of angelic authority and the enduring consequences of crossing sacred boundaries. The archangels' intercession in Enoch chapter 9 and the subsequent divine decree in chapter 10 reveal how these figures become instruments of revelation, exposing the need for a renewed creation. Their presence thus invites readers to reflect on themes of hybridity, rebellion, and purification that resonate throughout the Enochian corpus and related texts like Jubilees.
Details
- Symbolizes
- Corruption and Violence from Forbidden Union
Key Chapters
Key Passages
Birth of the Giants
The Book of Enoch 7:1-6
And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go i...
1nd all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants.
In Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees 5:1-2
And it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto the...
1nd it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the angels of God saw them on a certain year of this jubilee, that they were beautiful to look upon; and they took themselves wives of all whom they chose, and they bare unto them sons and they were giants.
Did You Know?
Their violence and cannibalism symbolize total moral collapse.
They are destroyed before the Flood as part of cleansing the earth.
Their height of 3,000 ells makes them catastrophically large - consuming all human food production.
After physical death, their spirits become demons that plague humanity until the final judgment.
They represent the ultimate boundary violation - mixing heavenly and earthly in forbidden ways.