Genesis 6: Sons of Seth or Sons of Elohim? (A New Perspective)

YOU sat in the office of your church pastor attempting to make a case for angels having sex with the daughters of men and then weaning hungry giant babies with them, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He paid for his indoctrination at the name of some random Masonic-Zionist Institution, proudly framed behind his desk, and insists the sons of Elohim were really the sons of Seth, as angels do not have a penis, and are therefore incapable of procreating. The bigger question is why you are still attempting to argue with a graduate of The Establishment when you should be fleeing Babylon in order to pursue our heavenly Father’s commands. But that’s another topic entirely.

See, I’m already sidetracked. That happens often. We’re talking about the Sethite vs. Watchers theory in Genesis chapter 6 and finally, after arguing with myself endlessly for the last several years (and rarely seeming to agree), I finally have something to offer the Truth community. Sons of Seth or Sons of Elohim? I’ve made up my mind on the matter. The choice is self-evident, the more I think about it. The most obvious one, in fact. But I have yet to hear anyone who’s come to the same conclusion. You want to know what that is—don’t you? Well, I can’t very well give that verdict right this minute, as you wouldn’t believe me if I told. You will have to see the evidence for yourself.

If you’re already confused, then I will do my best to sum up the sons of Seth or sons of Elohim theory. In Genesis chapter 6, we read how the “sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them women of all which they chose.” Those adhering to the Sethite theory will claim the “sons of Elohim” spoken of were in fact the sons of Seth, breaking rank among their own guarded lineage to wed the clans of Cain. Contrarily, the book of Enoch delivers a narrative in which a confederation of angelic beings, known as the Watchers, descend from heaven and breed Nephilim giants through human women. There’s certainly far more to it than that, but I’m giving you the basics.

Beginning with the Yahudim’s exodus from Babylon and continuing on through the second Temple period, the Watchers theory was immensely popular, as even the book of the prophet Daniy’l includes one such visitor. It would take the Roman church fathers to turn the tide of battle and insist there are no curtains needing pulled, and that the sons of Elohim were in fact human all along. That’s the official history though.

One somewhat ancient text which apparently disagrees with Enoch’s Watchers is the First and Second Books of Adam and Eve. But does it really though? We shall see. Another book which seems to line up with the sons of Sethite theory in Adam and Eve is Jasher. Then again, Jubilees is hands down in agreement with Enoch in that angels are responsible. You see, even Scripture is divided. So, which is it, you want to know—Sethite or Watchers? Hold your horses, I’m getting to it.

6 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, ² That the sons of Elohiym saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them women of all which they chose.

³ And Yahuah said, My Ruach shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.

⁴ There were Naphaliym in the earth in those days; who also gathered afterward, when the sons of Elohiym came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children unto them, the same became warriors and tyrants which were from everlasting, mortal men of the name.

Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 6:1-4 [Cepher]

6 And it was when the sons of men began to multiply upon the face of the earth, and fair daughters were born to them, ² and the sons of the great saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and painted, and curled, walking with revelation of the flesh, and with imaginations of wickedness; that they took them wives of all who pleased them.

³ And Yahuah said by His Word, All the generations of the wicked which are to arise shall not be purged after the order of the judgments of the generation of the deluge, which shall be destroyed and exterminated from the midst of the world. Have I not imparted My Ruach HaQodesh to them, (or, placed My Ruach HaQodesh in them,) that they may work good works? And, behold, their works are wicked. Behold, I will give them a prolongment of a hundred and twenty years, that they may work repentance, and not perish.

⁴ Schamachazai and Uzziel, who fell from heaven, were on the earth in those days; and also, after the sons of the Great had gone in with the daughters of men, they bare to them: and these are they who are called men who are of the world, men of names.

Genesis 6:1-4 [Targum]

There is good reason why I lined up the Aramaic Targum right next to the Hebrew Masoretic. I suggest you read the Targum very carefully. Read it again. Do you see it? I do. Not ready to divulge quite yet though. I have underlined what I feel is the most important pieces to the puzzle. Perhaps you can already identify where I’m going with this. But if not, that’s okay. Let’s keep pushing forward.

The grandaddy of all angelic sex stories comes to us in the book of Enoch, and as a reminder, it’s the same story from Genesis 6. But is it though? It reads as follows.

7 IT happened after the sons of men had multiplied in those days, that daughters were born to them, elegant and beautiful. ² And when the Watchers, the sons of heaven, beheld them, they became enamored of them, saying to each other, Come, let us select for ourselves women from the progeny of men, and let us beget children. ³ Then their leader Shemiy’aza said to them; I fear that you may perhaps be indisposed to the performance of this enterprise; ⁴ And that I alone shall suffer for so grievous a crime.⁵ But they answered him and said; We all swear; ⁶ And bind ourselves by mutual execrations, that we will not change our intention, but execute our projected undertaking. ⁷ Then they swore all together, and all bound themselves by mutual execrations. Their whole number was two-hundred, who descended upon Ardis, which is the top of Mount Chermon. ⁸ That mountain therefore was called Chermon, because they had sworn upon it, and bound themselves by mutual execrations.

⁹ These are the names of their chiefs: Shemiy’aza, who was their leader, Urakabarame’el, Akiybe’el, Tamiy’el, Ramu’el, Dan’el, Azke’el, Sarakny’al, Asa’el, Armers, Batra’al, Anane, Zavebe, Samsave’el, Erta’el, Tur’el, Yomya’el, Arazy’al. These were the prefects of the two hundred angels, and the remainder were all with them.

¹⁰ Then they took women, each choosing for himself; whom they began to approach, and with whom they cohabited; teaching them sorcery, incantations, and the dividing of roots and trees. ¹¹ And the women conceiving brought forth Naphaliym and they bore to them three races first, the great Naphaliym. The Naphaliym brought forth the Nephiliym, and the Nephiliym brought forth the Elioud. And they existed, increasing in power according to their greatness. ¹² Whose stature was each three hundred cubits. These devoured all the labor of men; until it became impossible to feed them; ¹³ When they turned themselves against men, in order to devour them; ¹⁴ And began to injure birds, beasts, reptiles, and fish, to eat one another’s flesh and to drink their blood. ¹⁵ Then the earth reproved the unrighteous.

Chanok (Enoch) 7:1-14 [Cepher]

That just about sums it up. Angels had the hots for babes. Together, they brought forth the first generation Naphaliym, who then brought forth the Nephiliym, and then finally, the Nephiliym brought forth the Elioud. The Naphaliym were HUGE. The Nephiliym were considerably smaller but still large enough to make shrimps out of basketball players. Each generation grew tinier. Are the Elioud the “little people”? We are not told. In reality, I actually didn’t expect you to read the entire passage. All the better if you did though. It’s why I took the marker out on “two-hundred angels.” Enoch makes a case for angels breaking rank from heaven. The defense rests. Sort of.

As mentioned earlier, Jubilees unquestionably supports the Enochian angel’s theory. The book itself is pruportedly written by angels. Their identities are even given away as the three men who visited Abraham at the oak of Mamre (Jubilees 16:1). So, if anybody should know about the inner workings of Genesis 6, it’s these three.

5 And it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the angels of Elohiym saw them on a certain year of this jubilee, that they were beautiful to look upon; and they took themselves women of all whom they chose, and they bore unto them sons and they were Naphaliym. ² And iniquity increased on the earth and all flesh corrupted its way, alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walks on the earth all of them corrupted their ways and their orders, and they began to devour each other, and iniquity increased on the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of all men was thus evil continually. ³ And Elohiym looked upon the earth, ad behold it was corrupt, and all flesh had corrupted its orders, and all that were upon the earth had wrought all manner of evil before his eyes.

Yovheliym (Jubilees) 5:1-3 [Cepher]

AND now you probably want to know why I had the tenacity to claim Jasher agrees with the Sethite theory. For starters, the incursion in Genesis 6 is strangely missing. “Just because it fails to mention angelic sex doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” you tell me. Also correct. But then consider the similarities between Jasher and Adam and Eve.

¹⁴ And it was in the fifty sixth year of the life of Lemek when A’dam died; nine hundred and thirty years old was he at his death, and his two sons, with Chanok and Methushelach his son, buried him with great pomp, as at the burial of kings, in the cave which Elohiym had told him. 15 And in that place all the sons of men made a great mourning and weeping on account of A’dam; it has therefore become a custom among the sons of men to this day, 16 And A’dam died because he ate of the tree of knowledge; he and his children after him, as Yahuah Elohiym had spoken.

Yashar (Jasher) 4:14-16

See what I mean? I took out the trusty marker and highlighted the fact that Adam was buried in a cave. Definitely not a whoop-de-do. That’s Adamic literature—right there. And from what I’ve so far found, Adamic literature always takes the Sethite view. Even if Adamic literature wasn’t a thing yet, and wouldn’t be for several hundred more years, the writer of Jasher had to be sourcing his information from somewhere. Anyone who has ever read First and Second Adam and Eve will know the cave, or rather the Cave of Treasures, was a central location in the life of Adam and his Sethite children.

⁶ Then Seth, Eve, and their children, came down from the mountain to the Cave of Treasures. ⁷ But Adam was the first whose soul died in the land of Eden, in the Cave of Treasures; for no one died before him, but his son Abel, who died murdered. ⁸ Then all the children of Adam rose up, and wept over their father Adam, and made offerings to him, one hundred and forty days.

2 Adam and Eve 9:8

Then again, Jubilees gives a similar account.

And at the close of the close of the nineteenth jubilee, in the seventh week in the sixth year thereof, A’dam died, and all his sons Mark>buried him in the land of his creation, and he was the first to be buried in the earth.

Yovheliym (Jubilees) 4:29 [Cepher]

Jubilees tells us that he was buried in the land of Eden. No mention though of a cavern. So, there’s that. And Jubilees takes the angelic view. Not Adamic literature then.

Supposing you have no clue what I’m talking about; which probably wouldn’t be the first time; the Cave of Treasures was located somewhere near the summit of the Mountain of Worship. Where was the Mountain of Worship exactly? I’ll get to that in a little while. From there, Adam and Hava, as well as their Sethite descendants, could hear the angels sing in Paradise. They could peer through the gate and see the tree of life, still guarded by Cherubim. And on a breezy day, they could smell every delectable aroma of the garden. From what I’ve so far found, every mention of both or either location, the Cave of Treasures and the Mount of Worship, has taken the Sethite view.

The picture being formed here is that the sons of Cain left the Mountain of Worship, choosing their own pursuit of the divine rather than Yahuah, while the sons of Seth stayed behind. That is, until they too left. Eventually. But their abandonment of the mountain, thereby forsaking their calling as the sons of Elohim, wouldn’t happen until the days of Jared. I scoured both books seeking a segment that would give the best description of life on the mountain. 2 Adam and Eve chapter 11 accomplishes that. Follow along.

11 AFTER the death of Adam and of Eve, Seth severed his children, and his children’s children, from Cain’s children. Cain and his seed went down and dwelt westward, below the place where he had killed his brother Abel. ² But Seth and his children dwelt northwards upon the mountain of the Cave of Treasures, in order to be near to their father Adam.

³ And Seth the elder, tall and good, with a fine soul, and of a strong mind, stood at the head of his people; and tended them in innocence, penitence, and meekness, and did not allow one of them to go down to Cain’s children.

⁴ But because of their own purity, they were named “Children of Elohim,” and they were with Elohim, instead of the host of angels who fell; for they continued in praises to Elohim, and in singing psalms unto Him, in their cave—the Cave of Treasures.

Pause. I highlighted the important parts again. Contextually, we can easily conclude that the host of angels who fell were the Sons of Cain, choosing not to remain loyal to the land of Eden. The Sethite view. Continuing.

⁵ Then Seth stood before the body of his father Adam, and of his mother Eve, and prayed night and day, and asked for mercy towards himself and his children; and that when he had some difficult dealing with a child, he would give him counsel.

⁶ But Seth and his children did not like earthly work, but gave themselves to heavenly things; for they had no other thought than praises, doxologies, and psalms unto Elohim.

⁷ Therefore did they at all times hear the voices of angels, praising and glorifying Elohim; from within the garden, or when they were sent by Elohim on an errand, or when they were going up to heaven.

⁸ For Seth and his children, by reason of their own purity, heard and saw those angels. Then, again, the garden was not far above them, but only some fifteen spiritual cubits.

⁹Now one spiritual cubit answers to three cubits of man, altogether forty-five cubits.

¹⁰ Seth and his children dwelt on the mountain below the garden; they sowed not, neither did they reap; they wrought no food for the body. not even wheat; but only offerings. They ate of the fruit and of trees well flavored that grew on the mountain where they dwelt.

¹¹ Then Seth often fasted every forty days, as did also his eldest children. For the family of Seth smelled the smell of the trees in the garden, when the wind blew that way.

¹² They were happy, innocent, without sudden fear, there was no jealousy, no evil action, no hatred among them. There was no animal passion; from no mouth among them went forth either foul words or curse; neither evil counsel nor fraud. For the men of that time never swore, but under hard circumstances, when men must swear, they swore by the blood of Abel the just.

¹³ But they constrained their children and their women every day in the cave to fast and pray, and to worship the Most-High Elohim. They blessed themselves n the body of their father Adam, and anointed themselves with it.

¹⁴ And they did so until the end of Seth drew near.

2 Adam and Eve 11:1-14

That was a rather long passage, but every detail was delectable. Definitely the Sethite theory. Cain and his children were the first fallen angels. And you obviously know where this is going by now, as the Sethites will select wives from among the Cains in Genesis 6, thereby becoming fallen angels themselves. The obvious implications here is that the Cains were serpent seed. Ironically, just about anyone who takes the Sethite theory would pass a kidney stone at the mere thought of Satan having sex with Hava, but it’s the elephant in the room, is it not? Why else would the sons of Elohim be forbidden to play house with a daughter of Cain? Because Cain was a literal child of Satan, and tipi time with his descendants brought about little Cains. Little Cains everywhere running about the earth. Up to no good. Wreaking havoc.

Just so we’re clear, fingering the Sethite theory as a closeted serpent seed doctrine, while ultimately true, is not the conclusion which I had earlier spoken of. We’re not there yet. The tension here is how one can reconcile two separate genres of Scripture in regards to the Big Event in Genesis 6. What if I told you that the location of the Mount of Worship not only affirms the Sethite theory, but the fallen Watchers story as well? You probably never thought the Aramaic Targum would side with Adamic literature. But it does.

And Yahuah Elohim took the man from the mountain of worship, where he had been created, and made him dwell in the garden of Eden, to do service in the law, and to keep its commandments.

Genesis 2:15 [Targum]

See what I mean? We have already covered the fact that Adam was created on the mountain of worship and then placed in Paradise in my paper, The Two Creation Contradiction. What I purposely didn’t tell you however is that Adam and Hava were returned to Mount Moriah after they were expelled from Paradise. But wait… Weren’t Adam and Hava sent to the Mountain of Worship after being expelled from Paradise? They were. Sometimes the Mountain of Worship is referred to as the Holy Mountain. The Holy Mountain and Mount Moriah are the same.

And Yahuah Elohim removed him from the garden of Eden; and he went and dwelt on Mount Moriah, to cultivate the ground from which he had been created.

Genesis 3:23 [Targum]

The cat is out of the bag. Meow. It says Adam cultivated the ground from which he had been created. Notice how he wasn’t returned to Iraq or Turkey or the North Pole. Adam and the Sethites lived for a millennium and some change on Mount Zion. Israel is the land of Eden. Now you should be able to see why Noah returned to Zion after the flood. He had been raised there. He died there too. That’s where Shem continued the Melchizedek priesthood—from the city of Shalom.

And anyways, Mount Hermon is just to the north of Jerusalem. That’s where the Watchers touched down. The children of Cain had initially spread out westward towards Gaza but would have surrounded the Mount of Worship by that time. The plains of Jericho and Sodom along the Jordan, Hebron in the south, as well as the valley of Tel Megiddo in the north were likely all a part of their settlement plan. That is to say, if the Watchers were to take wives with the daughters of men, it would only seem logical that they would descend upon a mountain revered by the Cainites, and Hermon was the one. What is our true kingdom we long for but Eden, descended once again upon the earth? The story of Scripture from beginning to end takes place in, and at the very least, sets its sights upon the promised land.

From here on out, I hope to show you that both views are deliberately accurate. The Watchers forsook heaven and the sons of Seth the Holy Mountain, both by swearing an oath together. We have already seen the Watchers swear their oath in Enoch chapter 7. And now, in 2 Adam and Eve chapter 20, the sons of Seth do the same. The comparisons are not by accident, nor are they intended to cancel each other out.

²⁴ After this, a hundred men of the children of Seth gathered together, and said among themselves, “Come, let us go down to the children of Cain, and see what they do, and enjoy ourselves with them.”

2 Adam and Eve 20:24

Try not to roll your eyes while telling me this passage only covers the Sethite theory, telling us nothing about the Watchers. Well, I haven’t gotten there yet. I am trying to go about this in somewhat of an orderly fashion, and a good story takes time.

They didn’t do the math right—you’ll tell me. There should be two-hundred of them. Oh, really? The Hebrew Masoretic doesn’t say there were two-hundred of them. Nor does the Aramaic Targum. Only the book of Enoch says two-hundred. Therefore, Second Adam and Eve is still in agreement with Genesis. But Enoch! Oh, stop it. Perhaps Moshe isn’t strictly speaking about Enoch. Or to put this in slightly different terms, perhaps Adam and Eve really is in agreement with Moshe and both parties consider the Watchers incursion as a different event entirely. Even before a hundred Sethites swore an oath, the Watchers had already appeared. Follow along.

⁴ Satan then appeared to him with thirty men of his hosts, in the form of handsome men; Satan himself being the elder and tallest among them, with a fine beard.

⁵ They stood at the mouth of the cave, and called out Jared, from within it.

2 Adam and Eve: 17:4-5

The him here is Jared, son of Mahalalel. Satan has arrived at the Cave of Treasures in order to trick and ultimately seduce Adam’s third-great grandchild into a life with his Cainite children in the valley below. “But the math is still wrong,” you tell me. No, it isn’t. Why do all two-hundred have to appear with Satan at the Cave of Treasures? The other 170 were probably occupied. Selecting brides. Teaching magic, root cutting, and the art of warfare and stuff. Had Second Adam and Eve counted 202 angels in his rank I would agree with you that the math is wrong, but they didn’t. Anything less than 200 would still be correct. If anything, it adds to the believability. The only time all 200 are recorded as having assembled together is on Mount Hermon, while swearing an oath.

The scene continues. Satan and his 30 helpers are successful in convincing Jared that they are Adam and his other dead fathers, thereby luring him away from the Mountain to a nearby village. But something very interesting happens there.

³⁵ But when the sons of Cain saw them, they wondered at them and thought: “These are beautiful to look at, and such as we never saw before.” So, they rose and came with them to the fountain of water, to see their companions.

³⁶ They found them so very handsome, that they cried aloud about their places for others to gather together and come and look at these beautiful beings. Then they gathered around them both men and women.

³⁷ Then the elder said to them, “We are strangers in your land, bring us some good food and drink you and your women, to refresh ourselves with you.”

³⁸ When those men heard these words of the elder, every one of Cain’s sons brought his wife, and another brought his daughter, and so, many women came to them; every one addressing Jared either for himself or for his wife; all alike.

³⁹ But when Jared saw what they did, his very soul wrenched itself from them; neither would he taste of their food or of their drink.

⁴⁰ The elder saw him as he wrenched himself from them, and said to him, “Be not sad; I am the great elder, as thou shalt see me do, do thyself in like manner.”

⁴¹ Then he spread his hands and took one of the women, and five of his companions did the same before Jared, that he should do as they did.

⁴² But when Jared saw them working infamy he wept, and said in his mind, My fathers never did the like.

⁴³ He then spread his hands and prayed with a fervent heart, and with much weeping, and entreated Elohim to deliver him from their hands.

⁴⁴ No sooner did Jared begin to pray than the elder fled with his companions; for they could not abide in a place of prayer.

⁴⁵ Then Jared turned round but could not see them, but found himself standing in the midst of the children of Cain.

2 Adam and Eve 17:35-45

I highlighted the sentences of interest. Satan’s confederacy of fallen angels are selecting human women for wives and then asking Jared to do the same. In other words, ancient Adamic literature wasn’t saying that the Watchers never took human wives. Rather, it simply wasn’t interested in that fact. The only story which the Sethites were concerned with was their own.

Soon after Jared’s return to the mountain, it is safe to assume the Watchers have been busy procreating. That’s my problem—you tell me. I assume too much. Well then, let’s continue with the narrative, shall we?

¹⁴ And the sons of Cain who wrought all this, and shone in beauty and gorgeous apparel, gathered together at the foot of the mountain in splendor, with horns and gorgeous dresses, and horse races, committing all manner of abominations.

¹⁵ Meanwhile the children of Seth, who were on the Holy Mountain, prayed and praised Elohim, in the place of the hosts of angels who had fallen; wherefore Elohim had called them “angels,” because He rejoiced over them greatly.

¹⁶ But after this, they no longer kept His commandment, nor held by the promise He had made to their fathers; but they relaxed from their fasting and praying, and from the counsel of Jared their father. And they kept on gathering together on the top of the mountain, to look upon the children of Cain, from morning until evening, and upon what they did, upon their beautiful dresses and ornaments.

¹⁷ Then the children of Cain looked up from below, and saw the children of Seth, standing in troops on the top of the mountain; and they called to them to come down to them.

2 Adam and Eve 20:14-17

It says right there that the women seduced the sons of Seth with beauty and gorgeous apparel. But how can that be? I thought the Watchers introduced beautifying techniques. They did. Enoch says as much.

8 MOREOVER Aza’zel taught men to make swords, knives, shields, breastplates, the fabrication of mirrors, and the workmanship of bracelets and ornaments, the use of paint, the beautifying of the eyebrows, stones of every valuable and select kind, and all sorts of dyes, so that the world became altered. ² Impiety increased; fornication multiplies; and they transgressed and corrupted all their ways.

Chanok (Enoch) 8:1-2 [Cepher]

Again, you will say Enoch is proof that one account or the other is true, but certainly not both, as we are otherwise dealing with a glaring contradiction. But I’m here to tell you that they’re both correct. Two-hundred Watchers descended upon Mount Hermon and swore an oath and then one-hundred sons of Seth did the same from their own mountaintop. We are simply dealing with two separate events that are closely connected on a linear timeline.

To see precisely how this works, let’s once again read from the Aramaic Targum. Specifically, to see if our sleuth skills can be employed as a remedy to this mystery.

³ And Yahuah said, My Ruach shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.

Bere’shiyth (Genesis) 6:1-4 [Cepher]

Genesis 6:1-4 [Targum]

Boom. There it is. The sons of the Great were seduced by beautified women. Eyes painted. Hair curled. And who taught them the art? The Watchers did. Therefore, the sons of the Great cannot possibly be the Watchers now, can they? If it’s contradictions you’re after, then the women seduced the Watchers with painted eyebrows only to be taught the art of painting their eyebrows by the Watchers. See what I mean? What this tells me is, the sons of the Great are indeed the same as the sons of Seth inhabiting the Mountain of Worship.

But Enoch—you tell me. What of Enoch? I’ve already highlighted it for you. A few lines down, the Targum specifically references Enoch in stating that Schamachazai and Uzziel “were on the earth in those days,” but that they had already fallen from heaven before the sons of the Great “had gone in with the daughters of men.” Boom. There it is. It doesn’t actually say they were among the sons of the Great, only that they were on the earth in those days, and also that they bare to the daughters of men afterwards.

If you need this spelled out for you, the Watchers first descended upon Mount Hermon. After making an oath, they taught women the art of beautification (among many other artforms). In return, and with the Watchers to guide them, the beautified women seduced the sons of Seth from the bottom of the mountain. Do recall Satan and the thirty angels who led Jared out of the cave and down the mountainside. They were certainly not shy in taking wives.

³⁷ Then the elder said to them, “We are strangers in your land, bring us some good food and drink you and your women, to refresh ourselves with you.”

2 Adam and Eve 17:37-38

The Watchers were showing Jared, son of Mahalaleel, precisely how it’s done.

The Unexpected Cosmology

Genesis 6: Sons of Seth or Sons of Elohim? (A New Perspective)

Noel