Sons of God (בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים, beney ha’elohim; υἱοὶ θεοῦ, huioi theou)

Sons of God (בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים, beney ha’elohim; υἱοὶ θεοῦ, huioi theou). Angels or members of a heavenly host of beings (Gen 6; Job 1:6; 2:1; Deut 32:8; see also Job 38:7; Pss 29:1; 89:6; Dan 3:25). The “sons of God” may be members of the divine council (Pss 82:1; 89:5–7) and may be related to the Nephilim and the Rephaim. In the New Testament, this relationship to the divine comes by adoption (Rom 8:15). Jesus calls peacemakers “sons of God” (Matt 5:9; Luke 6:35), and children of God become so through faith in the Son of God (Rom 8; Gal 3:26).

Old Testament Usage

The “sons of God” (bny ho’elohim) first appear in the preamble to the flood narrative (Gen 6:1–4). The “sons of God” find the daughters of men attractive, take them for wives (Gen 6:2), and are given children by them (Gen 6:4). Their offspring may be the Nephilim, also mentioned in this passage (Gen 6:4). From the Nephilim come a race of giants, the Anakim and, by extension, the Rephaim (Num 13:32–33; see, for example, Goliath). The “sons of God” (bny ho’elohim) stand in contrast to the “daughters of men” (האדם בנות, h’dm bnwt), distinguishing them from mere mortals and implying some form of heavenly being, though attempts have been made to identify them as foreigners or as the offspring of Cain.

The “sons of God” also appear in Deuteronomy 32, which refers to the borders during “the days of old” (Deut 32:7 ESV), which were fixed “according to the number of the sons of God” (Deut 32:8). The temporal phrase “days of old” seems to point this passage back to a legendary time, when the sons of God may have been thought to hold power over the nations.

In the book of Job, the “sons of God” appear three times (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7). The “sons of God” present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan comes among them (Job 1:6; 2:1). In this context, the sons of God appear to be a sort of divine council or group of lower heavenly beings. They are mentioned only in passing, although one of the main characters, Satan, is one of them. Later, as Yahweh questions Job, he asks where Job was “when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). Again, this seems to refer to a legendary past, perhaps to the period of divine creation.

A similar phrase occurs in Psa 82. The term “sons of Elyon” (בני עליון, bny ‘lywn) in Psa 82:6 is very similar to “sons of God” (בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים, beney ha’elohim). Sometimes translated as “most high,” Elyon is often considered synonymous with Yahweh. In a psalm exalting Yahweh as the head of a divine council of gods (Psa 82:1), the audience is called “sons of Elyon” or “sons of the most high” and is told that “you are gods” (Psa 82:6).

The Aramaic phrase “a son of the gods” (בַּר־אֱלָהִין, bar-elahin) is used to describe the fourth person alive in the midst of the fiery furnace, referring to a divine or semidivine being who was present (Dan 3:25). This late text may represent the shift in understanding from members of a divine council or lesser gods to the later idea of angels or mere messengers of Yahweh (as the “son of the gods” is later used in Dan 3:28). This is the view taken throughout deuterocanonical and pseudepigraphal literature in the period between the Old and New Testaments, although some accounts also refer to the sons of God as “faithful Jews” (Parker, “Sons of (the) God(s),” 799).

New Testament Usage

The Greek phrases translated “sons of God” in the New Testament appear to have little connection to the “sons of God” in the Hebrew Bible. In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, Jesus calls the peacemakers “sons of God” (huioi theou; Matt 5:9 ESV). In Luke’s version of the same sermon, known as the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus says those who love their enemies and do good will be “sons of the Most High” (υἱοὶ ὑψίστου, huioi hypsistou; Luke 6:35). Those who have died and entered the resurrection are referred to as “sons of God” (υἱοί εἰσιν θεοῦ, huioi eisin theou), considered “equal to angels,” and “sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36 ESV).

According to Paul, “sons of God” become so through faith (υἱοὶ θεοῦ ἐστε διὰ τῆς πίστεως, huioi theou este dia tēs pisteōs) and in relationship to the Son of God and by the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14, 19; Gal 3:26).

Selected Resources for Further Study

• Alter, Robert. The Book of Psalms. New York: Norton, 2007.
• Arnold, Bill T. Genesis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
• Barry, John D., et al. “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God.” In Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, Wash.: Logos Bible Software, 2012.
• Christensen, Duane L. Deuteronomy 21:10–34:12. Word Biblical Commentary 6B. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2002.
• Cooke, G. “The Sons of (the) God(s).” Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 76 (1964): 22–47.
• Craigie, Peter C. The Book of Deuteronomy. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976.
• Dunn, James D. G. Romans 1–8. Word Biblical Commentary 38A. Dallas: Word, 1988.
• Hossfeld, Frank-Lothar, and Erich Zenger. Psalms 2. Edited by Klaus Baltzer. Translated by Linda M. Maloney. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005.
• Kraus, Hans-Joachim. Psalms 60–150. 5th ed. Translated by Hilton C. Oswald. Continental Commentary. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1989.
• Mangum, Douglas, ed., et al. “Divine Beings.” In Lexham Theological Wordbook. Lexham Bible Reference Series. Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press, 2014.
• Mays, James L. Psalms. Interpretation. Louisville, Ky.: John Knox Press, 1994.
• McConville, J.G. Deuteronomy. Apollos Old Testament Commentary 5. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2002.
• Moo, Douglas J. The Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.
• Nelson, Richard D. Deuteronomy. Old Testament Library. Louisville, KY.: Westminster John Knox, 2002.
• Rad, Gerhard von. Deuteronomy. Old Testament Library. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1966.
• Tate, Marvin E. Psalms 51–100. Word Biblical Commentary 20. Dallas: Word, 1990.
• Toorn, Karel van der, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst, eds. Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.
• Walton, John H, Matthews, and Mark W Chavalas. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2000.
• Weiser, Artur. The Psalms. 5th ed. Translated by Hartwell Herbert. Old Testament Library. Louisville, KY.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1962.
• Witherington, Ben III, and Darlene Hyatt. Paul’s Letter to the Romans: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004.

Matthew James Hamilton