Interpretations
詮釋
Giants
巨人
Most of the contemporary English translations of Genesis 6:1-4 and Numbers 13:33 render the Heb. nefilim as "giants". This tendency in turn stems from the fact that one of the earliest translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, composed in III/II century BCE, renders the said word as gigantes. The choice made by the Greek translators has been later adopted into the Latin translation, the Vulgate, compiled in IV/V century CE, which uses the transcription of the Greek term rather than the literal translation of the Heb. nefilim. From there, the tradition of the giant progeny of the sons of God and the daughters of men spread to later medieval translations of the Bible.
大多數當代英語的翻譯版中，對創世紀6：1-4和民數記13:33中所提到的希伯來文nefilim都翻成「巨人」。這股趨勢其實是從最早翻譯希伯來聖經的著作之一，七十士譯本而來的，它是在西元前三/前二世紀時所寫成的，其將這個詞翻譯為gigantes。這個被希臘譯者所採納的翻法，後來被納入了拉丁文的武大加譯本中，它是在西元第四 /第五世紀時所編成的，其所使用的是由希臘文所轉錄而來的字，而不是直翻希伯來文的nefilim。從那之後，上帝的兒子與人類的女兒所產下的巨人後代的傳統就散播到後來中世紀的聖經翻譯之中。
The decision of the Greek translators to render the Heb. nefilim as Gr. gigantes is a separate matter. The Heb. nefilim means literally "the fallen ones" and the strict translation into Greek would be peptokotes, which in fact appears in the Septuagint of Ezekiel 32:22-27. It seems then that the authors of Septuagint wished not only to simply translate the foreign term into Greek, but also to employ a term which would be intelligible and meaningful for their Hellenistic audiences. Given the complex meaning of the nefilim which emerged from the three interconnected biblical passages (human-divine hybrids in Genesis 6, autochthonous people in Numbers 13 and ancient warriors trapped in the underworld in Ezekiel 32), the Greek translators recognized some similarities. First and foremost, both nefilim and gigantes were liminal figures resulting from the union of the opposite orders and as such retained the unclear status between the human and divine. Similarly, dim was their moral designation and the sources witnessed to both awe and fascination with which these figures must have been looked upon. Secondly, both were presented as impersonating chaotic qualities and posing some serious danger to gods and humans. They appeared either in the prehistoric or early historical context, but in both cases they preceded the ordering of the cosmos. Lastly, both gigantes and nefilim were clearly connected with underworld and were said to have originated from earth and as well end up closed therein.
希臘譯者將希伯來文的nefilim譯為希臘文的gigantes這個決定，其實是另一個問題。希伯來文的nefilim，它的字面意思是「墮落者」，若是嚴格翻成希臘文的話應該是peptokotes，而這個字確實也出現在七十士譯本的以西結書32：22-27之中。這樣看來，七十士譯本的作者似乎不僅希望能夠簡單地將外國用語翻成希臘文，而且還希望能使用一個對於那些希臘化的讀者來說可以理解並覺得有意義的詞。nefilim 這個字在三個相互關聯的聖經經文中都出現過（創世紀第6章中的人神混合體、民數記第13章中土生土長的人以及在以西結書第32章中被困在陰間的古代戰士），鑒於其複雜的意思，希臘譯者發現了一些相似之處。首要的是，nefilim和gigantes都是由兩個截然不同的種類結合之後所產生出的混種人種，因此保留了人與神之間不明確的狀態。同樣地，他們沒有清晰的道德指向，而那些記錄著看到他們的資料，都顯示出這些人種必定是被以一種敬畏和著迷的態度所看待。其次，兩者都體現出某種混亂的特性，而對眾神和人類造成嚴重的威脅。它們或出現在史前或出現在早期的歷史背景中，但在這兩種情況下，它們都早於宇宙出現秩序之前。最後，gigantes和nefilim兩者顯然與陰間有關，據說它們都源於地上，卻最終被關在那裡。
Fallen angels
墮天使
All early sources refer to the "sons of heaven" as angels. From the third century BCE onwards, references are found in the Enochic literature, the Dead Sea Scrolls (the Genesis Apocryphon, the Damascus Document, 4Q180), Jubilees, the Testament of Reuben, 2 Baruch, Josephus, and the book of Jude (compare with 2 Peter 2). For example: 1 Enoch 7:2 "And when the angels, the sons of heaven, beheld them, they became enamoured of them, saying to each other, Come, let us select for ourselves wives from the progeny of men, and let us beget children." Some Christian apologists, such as Tertullian and especially Lactantius, shared this opinion.
所有早期的資料都將「天的兒子」稱為天使。從西元前3世紀開始，參考文獻可從以諾書文獻、死海古卷（創世紀外傳、大馬士革文獻、4Q180）、禧年書、呂便遺訓、巴錄二書、約瑟夫和猶大書（與彼得後書相比）中找到。例如：以諾一書7：2「當天使，也就是天的兒子，看見他們時，他們就愛上了他們，彼此說道：『來吧，讓我們從人類的後代中挑選自己的妻子，讓我們生孩子吧。』」一些基督教的辯護者，像是特土良還有特別是拉克坦斯，他們的看法就與這個相同。
The earliest statement in a secondary commentary explicitly interpreting this to mean that angelic beings mated with humans can be traced to the rabbinical Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and it has since become especially commonplace in modern Christian commentaries. This line of interpretation finds additional support in the text of Genesis 6:4, which juxtaposes the sons of God (male gender, divine nature) with the daughters of men (female gender, human nature). From this parallelism it could be inferred that the sons of God are understood as some superhuman beings.
第二種評論中最早的說法明確地解釋說天的兒子是指一種與人類交配的天使般的生物，而其可追溯至猶太教的偽約拿單譯釋本，從那之後，它在現代基督教的評論中就變得特別普遍。此一詮釋可以在創世紀6：4的文本中得到額外的支持，它將上帝的兒子（男性、本質為神）與人類的女兒（女性、本質為人）放在一起比較。從這種對稱的結構上，可以推斷出上帝的兒子能被理解為一些超越人類的存在。
The New American Bible commentary draws a parallel to the Epistle of Jude and the statements set forth in Genesis, suggesting that the Epistle refers implicitly to the paternity of Nephilim as heavenly beings who came to earth and had sexual intercourse with women. The footnotes of the Jerusalem Bible suggest that the biblical author intended the Nephilim to be an "anecdote of a superhuman race".
在新美國版聖經的註釋中對比了猶大書以及在創世紀中所闡明的說法，其暗示了猶大書中含蓄地提到了拿非利人的父親是一種來到地上與女人交媾的天堂的生物。耶路撒冷聖經的註腳上說聖經的作者故意讓拿非利人成為一則「有關超越人類種族的秘史」。
Some Christian commentators have argued against this view, citing Jesus's statement that angels do not marry. Others believe that Jesus was only referring to angels in heaven.
有一些基督教評論家反對這種觀點，他們引用耶穌關於天使不會結婚的說法。其他的則認為耶穌只是指天堂裡的天使才不結婚。
Evidence cited in favor of the fallen angels interpretation includes the fact that the phrase "the sons of God" (Hebrew: בְּנֵי הָֽאֱלֹהִים; or "sons of the gods") is used twice outside of Genesis chapter 6, in the Book of Job (1:6 and 2:1) where the phrase explicitly references angels. The Septuagint manuscript Codex Alexandrinus reading of Genesis 6:2 renders this phrase as "the angels of God" while Codex Vaticanus reads "sons".
有辦法證明墮天使這個說法的，可以包括「上帝的兒子」這個詞語（希伯來文中是指「眾神之子」）除了在創世記第6章之外，在約伯書中被使用了兩次（1：6和2：1），其中該詞語明確地提到了天使。在七十士譯本的抄本，亞歷山大抄本中所理解的創世記6：2是將這個詞語翻譯成「上帝的天使」，而梵蒂岡抄本則翻譯成「兒子」。
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan identifies the Nephilim as Shemihaza and the angels in the name list from 1 Enoch.
偽約拿單譯釋本則認為拿非利人是Shemihaza[1]以及以諾一書所列出來的天使。
Second Temple Judaism
第二聖殿猶太教
The story of the Nephilim is further elaborated in the Book of Enoch. The Greek, Aramaic, and main Ge'ez manuscripts of 1 Enoch and Jubilees obtained in the 19th century and held in the British Museum and Vatican Library, connect the origin of the Nephilim with the fallen angels, and in particular with the egrḗgoroi (watchers). Samyaza, an angel of high rank, is described as leading a rebel sect of angels in a descent to earth to have sexual intercourse with human females:
拿非利人的故事在以諾書中被進一步地闡述。由希臘文、亞蘭文和主要是吉茲文的以諾一書和禧年書的抄本是在19世紀時才取得，其被存放在大英博物館和梵蒂岡圖書館中。這些抄本將拿非利人的起源與墮天使，特別是與egrḗgoroi（看守者）聯繫在一起。高階天使Samyaza[2]被描述成是由他帶領一派反叛的天使墮落到地球上，與人類的女性交媾：
And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: "Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children." And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: "I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin." And they all answered him and said: "Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing." Then swear they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it ...
當人類的孩子生養眾多時，在那些日子裡，他們也生出了貌美秀麗的女兒。天的兒女也就是天使，看到她們，對她們產生慾望，就對彼此說：「來吧，讓我們從人類的孩子中選出我們的妻子，生下我們的孩子。」而他們的領袖西姆扎斯對他們說：「我怕你們不會真的這麼做，然後我就得因為這個重大的罪惡獨自受到懲罰。」他們都回答說：「那就讓我們一同發誓吧，所有人互相用詛咒來束縛彼此，不能放棄執行這個計畫。」然後他們就一同發誓，相互詛咒彼此，束縛彼此。他們一共有兩百位，一同在雅列的時期墮落到黑門山的山頂，而他們將這座山稱為黑門山，因為他們在那裡立誓並相互詛咒彼此，束縛彼此…… 。
In this tradition, the children of the Nephilim are called the Elioud, who are considered a separate race from the Nephilim, but they share the fate of the Nephilim.
在這個傳統中，拿非利人的孩子被稱為Elioud，後者被認為是與拿非利人不同的種族，但他們卻和拿非利人有著相同的命運。
According to these texts, the fallen angels who begat the Nephilim were cast into Tartarus (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6) (Greek Enoch 20:2), a place of "total darkness". However, Jubilees also states that God granted ten percent of the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim to remain after the flood, as demons, to try to lead the human race astray until the final Judgment.
根據這些文本，生了拿非利人的墮天使被投入Tartarus[3] （彼得後書2：4、猶大書1：6）（希臘版以諾書20：2），一個「完全黑暗」的地方。但是禧年書也指出，在大洪水之後，上帝同意讓脫離肉體後的拿非利人靈魂中的十分之一留下來，變成惡魔，在最後的審判來臨之前，去試著將人類引入歧途，測試他們。
In addition to Enoch, the Book of Jubilees (7:21–25) also states that ridding the Earth of these Nephilim was one of God's purposes for flooding the Earth in Noah's time. These works describe the Nephilim as being evil giants.
除了以諾書，禧年書（7：21-25）也指出，上帝在挪亞時期用大洪水淹沒地球的目的之一就是要消除這些在地球上的拿非利人。這些著作將拿非利人描述成邪惡的巨人。
There are also allusions to these descendants in the deuterocanonical books of Judith (16:6), Sirach (16:7), Baruch (3:26–28), and Wisdom of Solomon(14:6), and in the non-deuterocanonical 3 Maccabees (2:4).
在友弟德傳（16：6）、西拉書（16：7）、巴錄書（3：26-28）和所羅門智訓（14：6）等次經以及非次經的瑪加比三書（2：4）中，也有提到這些後代的典故。
The New Testament Epistle of Jude (14–15) cites from 1 Enoch 1:9, which many scholars believe is based on Deuteronomy 33:2. To most commentators this confirms that the author of Jude regarded the Enochic interpretations of Genesis 6 as correct; however, others have questioned this.
新約的猶大書（14-15）引用了以諾書1：9，後者被許多學者認為是以申命記 33：2為基礎的內容。對大多數評論家而言，這證實了猶大書的作者認為創世紀第6章中以諾式的詮釋是正確的；但是也有其他人質疑這一點。
Descendants of Seth and Cain
塞特和該隱的後裔
References to the offspring of Seth rebelling from God and mingling with the daughters of Cain are found from the second century CE onwards in both Christian and Jewish sources (e.g. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Augustine of Hippo, Sextus Julius Africanus, and the Letters attributed to St. Clement). It is also the view expressed in the modern canonical Amharic Ethiopian Orthodox Bible: Henok 2:1–3 "and the Offspring of Seth, who were upon the Holy Mount, saw them and loved them. And they told one another, 'Come, let us choose for us daughters from Cain's children; let us bear children for us.'"
從西元二世紀開始，在基督教和猶太人的文獻（例如，約哈拉比、聖奧古斯丁、阿弗里卡納斯，以及革利免書信）中，都可以看到背叛上帝的塞特後代與該隱的女兒混在一起的參考文獻。這也是當代正典阿姆哈拉文版的衣索比亞正教聖經：Henok[4] 2：1-3中所提到的觀點，「在聖山上的塞特的後代，看見了他們並愛上了他們。他們對彼此說：『來吧，讓我們從該隱的孩子中選出一些女人；讓我們一起生孩子吧。』」
Orthodox Judaism has taken a stance against the idea that Genesis 6 refers to angels or that angels could intermarry with men. Shimon bar Yochai pronounced a curse on anyone teaching this idea. Rashi and Nachmanides followed this. Pseudo-Philo (Biblical Antiquities 3:1–3) may also imply that the "sons of God" were human. Consequently, most Jewish commentaries and translations describe the Nephilim as being from the offspring of "sons of nobles", rather than from "sons of God" or "sons of angels". This is also the rendering suggested in the Targum Onqelos, Symmachus and the Samaritan Targum, which read "sons of the rulers", where Targum Neophyti reads "sons of the judges".
正統猶太教的立場則是反對創世紀第6章所指的是天使或是指天使可以與人類通婚的觀點。約哈詛咒任何傳達這個想法的人。而Rashi和Nachmanides也追隨這點。偽-斐羅書（聖經古史3：1-3）也可能暗示「上帝的兒子」是人。 因此，大多數的猶太評論和翻譯都將拿非利人 描述成來自「貴族的兒子」的後代，而不是來自「上帝的兒子」或是「天使的兒子」。這也是翁克羅斯譯釋本、辛馬庫和撒瑪黎雅譯釋本中所表達出來的概念，其理解為「統治者的兒子」，而在Neophyti譯釋本中則理解為「審判者的兒子」。
Likewise, a long-held view among some Christians is that the "sons of God" were the formerly righteous descendants of Seth who rebelled, while the "daughters of men" were the unrighteous descendants of Cain, and the Nephilim the offspring of their union. This view, dating to at least the 1st century AD in Jewish literature as described above, is also found in Christian sources from the 3rd century if not earlier, with references throughout the Clementine literature, as well as in Sextus Julius Africanus, Ephrem the Syrian and others. Holders of this view have looked for support in Jesus' statement that "in those days before the flood they [humans] were ... marrying and giving in marriage" (Matthew 24:38).
同樣地，一個長期存在在一些基督徒中的觀點是「上帝的兒子」是那些過去被稱為義人的塞特的後裔，後來他們卻背叛了上帝，而「人類的女兒」則是不義的該隱的後裔，而拿非利人則是他們結合後產出的後代。這種觀點，可以回溯至上述所提到的西元1世紀的猶太文獻中，也能在西元三世紀或更早的基督教資料中找到，這些參考文獻可以在整個革利免文獻，以及在阿弗里卡納斯、敘利亞人以法蓮等等的文獻中找到。持有這種觀點的人在耶穌所說的「在大洪水之前的那些日子裡，他們[人類] ......照常嫁娶[5]」（馬太福音24:38）中尋求支持。
Some individuals and groups, including St. Augustine, John Chrysostom, and John Calvin, take the view of Genesis 6:2 that the "Angels" who fathered the Nephilim referred to certain human males from the lineage of Seth, who were called sons of God probably in reference to their prior covenant with Yahweh (cf. Deuteronomy 14:1; 32:5); according to these sources, these men had begun to pursue bodily interests, and so took wives of the daughters of men, e.g., those who were descended from Cain or from any people who did not worship God.
一些包括聖奧古斯丁、金口約翰和約翰加爾文在內的人和團體認為，創世記6：2中所提到的生下拿非利人的「天使」是指來自塞特血統的某些人類男性，而他們會被稱為上帝的兒子可能與他們之前和耶和華所立下的約有關（參見申命記14：1 ; 32：5 ）；根據這些資料，這些人開始追求肉體的歡愉，因此將人類的女兒(例如，那些該隱的後代或是任何不敬拜上帝的人的後代)當作他們的妻子。
This also is the view of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, supported by their own Ge'ez manuscripts and Amharic translation of the Haile Selassie Bible—where the books of 1 Enoch and Jubilees, counted as canonical by this church, differ from western academic editions. The "Sons of Seth view" is also the view presented in a few extra-biblical, yet ancient works, including Clementine literature, the 3rd century Cave of Treasures, and the ca. 6th Century Ge'ez work The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan. In these sources, these offspring of Seth were said to have disobeyed God, by breeding with the Cainites and producing wicked children "who were all unlike", thus angering God into bringing about the Deluge, as in the Conflict:
這也是衣索比亞正教會的觀點，而他們自己的吉茲文抄本和海爾塞拉希聖經的阿姆哈拉文版則是支持他們觀點的來源，而以諾一書和禧年書則被該教會當成正典，這與西方的學術觀點不同。這種「塞特之子的觀點」也是一些雖非聖經，但卻是古代著作的觀點，包括革利免文獻、三世紀的 Cave of Treasures，和大約在六世紀的吉茲文著作亞當與夏娃對撒旦的衝突(暫譯)。在這些資料中，據說這些塞特的後代是因為與該隱那族的人一起繁衍並生下「完全不同」的邪惡的孩子，才背叛了上帝，從而惹怒上帝，讓他降下大洪水來，就像在衝突一文中所提到的：
Certain wise men of old wrote concerning them, and say in their [sacred] books that angels came down from heaven and mingled with the daughters of Cain, who bare unto them these giants. But these [wise men] err in what they say. God forbid such a thing, that angels who are spirits, should be found committing sin with human beings. Never, that cannot be. And if such a thing were of the nature of angels, or Satans, that fell, they would not leave one woman on earth, undefiled ... But many men say, that angels came down from heaven, and joined themselves to women, and had children by them. This cannot be true. But they were children of Seth, who were of the children of Adam, that dwelt on the mountain, high up, while they preserved their virginity, their innocence and their glory like angels; and were then called 'angels of God.' But when they transgressed and mingled with the children of Cain, and begat children, ill-informed men said, that angels had come down from heaven, and mingled with the daughters of men, who bear them giants.
某些古代的智者寫下了關於他們的故事，在他們的[聖]書中說，天使從天而降，與該隱的女兒混在一起，讓她們懷有這些巨人。但是這些[智者]卻說錯了。上帝禁止這樣的事情發生，那些身為聖靈的天使若與人類在一起，將會被認為有罪。這是絕對、萬萬不可能發生的。而且若真的有這樣具有天使或撒旦的本質的生物存在，並墮落到地上，那麼他們就不可能不去玷汙任何一位地上的女人......但是卻有許多人說天使從天而降，與女人結合，並與她們生下孩子。這不可能是真的啊。但是他們是亞當的孩子塞特所生下的孩子，他們住在高聳的山上，同時他們也保留了他們的童貞、他們的天真和他們的光輝，就像天使一樣；所以才會被稱為「上帝的天使」。但是，當他們違背了上帝並和該隱的孩子混在一起，生下孩子時，所知不多的人就會說，天使從天而降，與那些人類的女兒混在一起，讓她們懷有孩子。
Arguments from culture and mythology
文化和神話中的爭論
In Aramaic culture, the term niyphelah refers to the Constellation of Orion and nephilim to the offspring of Orion in mythology. However the Brown–Driver–Briggs lexicon notes this as a "dubious etymology" and "all very precarious".
在亞蘭文化的神話中，niyphelah一詞指的是獵戶座，而nephilim中是指獵戶座的後代。不過，Brown-Driver-Briggs 詞典卻將其稱為是一個「含糊不確定的詞源」以及「都是非常危險的」。
J. C. Greenfield mentions that "it has been proposed that the tale of the Nephilim, alluded to in Genesis 6 is based on some of the negative aspects of the Apkallu tradition". The apkallu in Sumerian mythology were seven legendary culture heroes from before the Flood, of human descent, but possessing extraordinary wisdom from the gods, and one of the seven apkallu, Adapa, was therefore called "son of Ea" the Babylonian god, despite his human origin.
J. C. Greenfield提到「有人提出，在創世紀第6章中所提到的拿非利人的故事是基於阿普卡盧傳統中一些負面的內容而來的」。蘇美神話中的阿普卡盧是指七個在大洪水之前傳說中的神話英雄，他們有著人類的血統，但卻從眾神那裡取得過人的智慧，而阿普卡盧中有一個人叫做阿達帕，儘管他只有人類的血統，但後來卻被稱為「巴比倫神伊亞的兒子」。
Fossil remains
化石遺骨
Cotton Mather believed that fossilized leg bones and teeth discovered near Albany, New York in 1705 were the remains of nephilim who perished in a great flood. However, paleontologists have identified these as mastodon remains.
Cotton Mather相信，1705年在紐約阿伯尼附近發現的化石腿骨和牙齒是在大洪水時死亡的拿非利人的遺體。然而，古生物學家卻已辨別出這些化石是乳齒象的遺骸。
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