Jon, sons of God, and Giants

Job and the sons of God

Let me explain why I think the "sons of God" are humans in Job 1-2, and why Job is one of them.

There is an assumption that “sons of God” always refers to angels in the Old Testament, but this is not necessarily true.

First, we see that God’s covenant people, both corporately and individually, are referred to as "sons of God":

• “You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” (Deut 14:1)

• “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’” (Ex 4:22)

In both of these references, being “sons of God” is directly connected to being a people set apart to serve God in worship.

Second, there is a common hermeneutical trap people often fall into with the term “sons of God.” It is somewhat circular, akin to dating geological strata:

• “How do we know the age of this rock layer?”

• “By the fossils we find in it.”

• “Okay. How do we know the age of the fossils?”

• “By the rock layers we find them in.”

Similarly, with “sons of God”:

• “We know that Genesis 6 refers to angels because the sons of God are angels in Job 1-2.”

• “How do you know that the sons of God are angels in Job 1-2?”

• “Because they are angels in Genesis 6.”

This may not be how everyone makes the determination, but it does happen frequently.

So, who are the sons of God in Job 1-2?

I believe they are human worshipers of the true God.

Job opens with a strong emphasis on festivals and sacrifices:

• “His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all.” (v. 4-5)

Note the emphasis on “day” in connection with feasts and offerings. Then in v. 6 we read:

• “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.”

I interpret this “day” as referring to a liturgical festival. The idea of “presenting” oneself to the Lord is priestly language (see Lev 23). We also see “presenting to the Lord” in the context of feasts in Scripture. For example:

• “These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day…” (Lev 23:27)

I see Job and other faithful followers of God gathering for a liturgical feast or holy convocation where they are “presenting themselves to God.” This is similar to what we read:

• “Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God.” (Josh 24:1)

But what about Satan? That’s a good question.

Note that it only says Satan “came among them.” This does not mean he was one of the sons of God; it just means he was present during the liturgical feast or holy convocation. It would be odd to refer to Satan (the accuser of the brethren) as a son of God.

We know that Satan was present in the garden to tempt the first son of God, Adam. In the vision of Zechariah 3, we see Satan at the right hand of Joshua the High Priest, accusing Joshua as he presents himself before the Angel of the Lord. Satan tempted Jesus, entered Judas, and poisoned Ananias and Sapphira. Satan is never far from the people of God; he is always on the prowl. In Job 1:7, the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” This aligns with 1 Peter 5:8: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Giants

I don’t believe the giants in Scripture require anything unnatural.

Let me explain…

We make many assumptions and leaps regarding the size of “giants” in Scripture. For example, there is considerable debate over the exact height of Goliath.

This is because of two issues: textual variants and determining which cubit was used.

First, there are significant textual variants. Some sources state Goliath was “six cubits and a span” (see MT, the Three, Vulgate, Peshitta, Targum), while others claim he was “four cubits and a span” (QSama, LXXB L, Josephus, Antiquities 6.171). Depending on the cubit, one interpretation has Goliath at 6’9” and the other as tall as 10’ and a few inches. Both measurements are approximate because...

Second, Israel doesn’t appear to have had its own cubit and likely used the cubits of surrounding nations. A cubit is the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. There were Common Cubits (18 inches), Royal Cubits (20.6-20.8 inches), Babylonian Cubits (19.8-20.6 inches), and others. The big question then is which cubit was used when describing the height of Goliath.

I favor the “four cubits and a span” variant. At 6’9”, Goliath would have been a giant to the 5’0” - 5’6” ancient Hebrews.

Take, for example, Nikolai Valuev, who is 7’0”. Here is a picture of him next to Evander Holyfield, who is 225 lbs and 6’2”.

I’ve read some recent papers that accept “six cubits and a span,” suggesting the cubit used had Goliath in the range of 8’6” - 9’0”. The tallest confirmed man in history, Robert Wadlow, was 8’11”.

All in all, you can have "giants" without angelic meddling.