Sin, Immortality and Genesis 6:1–4
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.12775/BPTh.2025.021Mots-clés
Sons of God, Daughters of Men, Genesis 6, immortality, death, PentateuchRésumé
The incident in Gen 6:1-4, has proved an alluring and disturbing mystery for exegetes. There are two broad explanatory strategies I will argue against here. Firstly, that Gen 6:1-4 is a Schuld und Strafe story, one of sin and punishment. Secondly, that the incident provides a motivation for the Flood. I will conclude that Gen 6:1-4 is not a story about sin and punishment. Instead, it is a story about death, or more precisely about shutting down an opportunity for human immortality.
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