The “Sons of God” as a Polemic against Royal Immortality:
A Philological and Literary Comparison of Genesis 6:1–4 and the Epic of Kirta

by Darren M. Slade

Have you ever wondered what Genesis 6:1–4 is all about with its weird and cryptic description of “sons of God” taking the “daughters of men” as wives? And who in the world are the Nephilim!?!

The Research Director of the FaithX Project, Darren Slade, has just published a new article in Evangelical Journal exploring a never-before-seen theory about the literary and philological parallels between Genesis 6 and the ancient Ugaritic Epic of Kirta.

The purpose of the article is to identify the function of the “sons of God” in the literary and socio-historical context of Genesis 6:1–4.  The article first presents presuppositions to the research, as well as the importance of Ugaritic literature in biblical studies. The investigation then presents a comparative study with the Ugaritic Epic of Kirta and a potential new theory regarding the Genesis pericope. It concludes by suggesting that literary parallels may reveal the Epic of Kirta as a close paradigm for understanding the function of the Genesis passage, concluding that the specific sin of the “sons of God” may not have been unsanctioned marriages, adultery, polygamy, or rape. Rather, the biblical account could act as a polemic against the belief that divine kings obtained immortality through marriage and reproduction, which exacerbated Yahweh’s decision to eradicate humanity and to demonstrate the finiteness of these so-called ancient god-kings.

Check out the article for free by clicking here.