Difference between revisions of "בני הא־להים and בנות האדם/2/en"
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<point><b>Can angels have relations?</b> R. Yehoshua in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer questions how angels which are non-corporeal, can have relations or bear children. He answers that these angels were fallen angels who assumed the form and body of humans when they fell from holiness.<fn>See also Bereshit Rabbati which explains the same.</fn> Cassuto suggests, instead, that there are many levels of angels and while those closest to Hashem (מלאכי השרת) do not procreate, the lesser angels do.<fn>He points to <a href="BavliChagigah16a" data-aht="source">Bavli Chagigah 16a</a> which contrasts ministering angels with שדים, asserting that only the latter are similar to man in their ability to bear offspring.</fn></point> | <point><b>Can angels have relations?</b> R. Yehoshua in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer questions how angels which are non-corporeal, can have relations or bear children. He answers that these angels were fallen angels who assumed the form and body of humans when they fell from holiness.<fn>See also Bereshit Rabbati which explains the same.</fn> Cassuto suggests, instead, that there are many levels of angels and while those closest to Hashem (מלאכי השרת) do not procreate, the lesser angels do.<fn>He points to <a href="BavliChagigah16a" data-aht="source">Bavli Chagigah 16a</a> which contrasts ministering angels with שדים, asserting that only the latter are similar to man in their ability to bear offspring.</fn></point> | ||
<point><b>Evaluation of the action</b><ul> | <point><b>Evaluation of the action</b><ul> | ||
| − | <li>Sinful – Most of these commentators blame the angels for lusting after the women and view their actions as sinful.  Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, though, has the women share some | + | <li><b>Sinful</b> – Most of these commentators blame the angels for lusting after the women and view their actions as sinful.  Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, though, has the women share some of the guilt, asserting that they walked around uncovered like prostitutes causing the angels' desire.  Enoch further suggests that, in addition to the fornication, the angels taught mankind the art of weaponry, makeup, and jewelry leading them to transgress.  2Baruch, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer and Bereshit Rabbati add that the giants born of the union were unjust and filled the earth with violence.</li> |
| − | <li>Neutral – Cassuto, in contrast,</li> | + | <li><b>Neutral</b> – Cassuto, in contrast, asserts that there was no sin in the union.  The verse's language, "וַיִּקְחוּ לָהֶם נָשִׁים" is the normal Biblical terminology for legal matrimony and contains no hint to adultery.  Similarly, the phrase, "" does not mean that they took women even against their will but only that each angel chose a woman form amongst those whom they had favored.</li> |
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
| + | <point><b>Punishment</b> – 2Baruch, Pirkei DeRAbbi Eliezer and Bereshit RAbbati</point> | ||
<point><b>120 years</b></point> | <point><b>120 years</b></point> | ||
<point><b>הַנְּפִלִים</b></point> | <point><b>הַנְּפִלִים</b></point> | ||
Version as of 01:55, 16 August 2015
בני האלהים and בנות האדם
Exegetical Approaches
Overview
Mingling of Angels and Men
Sources:Jubilees, Enoch, 2Baruch, Philo, Josephus, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, Bereshit Rabbati, Cassuto
Meaning of "בְנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים" – These sources understand "בְנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים" to refer to angels. As evidence, Cassuto points to parallel terms in Tehillim 29:1 and Iyyov 1:6.
Meaning of "בְּנוֹת הָאָדָם" – This phrase refers to women in general. They are referred to as the "daughters of man" as a contrast to the "sons of god", to highlight that while the latter were angelic, the women were mere humans.
Can angels have relations? R. Yehoshua in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer questions how angels which are non-corporeal, can have relations or bear children. He answers that these angels were fallen angels who assumed the form and body of humans when they fell from holiness.1 Cassuto suggests, instead, that there are many levels of angels and while those closest to Hashem (מלאכי השרת) do not procreate, the lesser angels do.2
Evaluation of the action
- Sinful – Most of these commentators blame the angels for lusting after the women and view their actions as sinful. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, though, has the women share some of the guilt, asserting that they walked around uncovered like prostitutes causing the angels' desire. Enoch further suggests that, in addition to the fornication, the angels taught mankind the art of weaponry, makeup, and jewelry leading them to transgress. 2Baruch, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer and Bereshit Rabbati add that the giants born of the union were unjust and filled the earth with violence.
- Neutral – Cassuto, in contrast, asserts that there was no sin in the union. The verse's language, "וַיִּקְחוּ לָהֶם נָשִׁים" is the normal Biblical terminology for legal matrimony and contains no hint to adultery. Similarly, the phrase, "" does not mean that they took women even against their will but only that each angel chose a woman form amongst those whom they had favored.
Punishment – 2Baruch, Pirkei DeRAbbi Eliezer and Bereshit RAbbati
120 years
הַנְּפִלִים
Giants after the flood
Angelology
Polemical motivations
Purpose of the story
Corruption of Power
Sources:Sifre Bemidbar, Targum Onkelos, R. Shimon b. Yochai in Bereshit Rabbah, R. Saadia, Rashi, R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Radak, Ramban, Abarbanel #2
