Literary notes about Nephilim (AI summary)
The term Nephilim is employed in literature to evoke a sense of ancient mystery and moral complexity. In some texts, it connects with primordial images—ranging from the “descending angels” and a race of giants tied to biblical figures like the Rephaim and the sons of Anak [1, 2, 3, 4]—to suggest the presence of formidable, even divine, adversaries. Other authors, however, use the word more abstractly, applying it to wicked or tyrannical figures, thereby transforming it into a potent symbol for corrupt power and downfall [5, 6]. Scholarly debates further complicate its usage, as the term is variably explained as “fallen ones” and discussed for its etymological roots and shifting connotations over time [7, 8, 9].
- The author notes the “avowed origin” of Theosophy from the “descending angels,” from the “Nephilim,” or the Angels of Genesis (vi), and the Giants.
— from The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 2 of 4 by H. P. (Helena Petrovna) Blavatsky - The word “giants” being once adopted as a synonym of Nephilim, the commentators have since identified them with the sons of Anak.
— from The Secret Doctrine, Vol. 2 of 4 by H. P. (Helena Petrovna) Blavatsky - There we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers,
— from The World English Bible (WEB): Numbers by Anonymous - We have the impression that we are looking down into the hells of the ancient people, the Anakim, the Nephilim, and the Rephaim.
— from William Blake, Painter and Poet by Richard Garnett - h. Moses chose the word Nephilim, which in his day designated a wicked people, to express the tyrants of the first World 130 .
— from Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 2: Luther on Sin and the Flood by Martin Luther - I accept, then, the word " Nephilim " as having an active signification, being equivalent to tyrants, oppressors, revelers.
— from Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 2: Luther on Sin and the Flood by Martin Luther - Their name as given in the old Testament, 'Nephilim' means 'fallen ones.'
— from The Mark of the Beast by Sidney Watson - Nephilim and derive it from Naphal , which signifies "to fall."
— from Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 2: Luther on Sin and the Flood by Martin Luther - The names of Rephaim and Nephilim appear unknown in [pg 091] America, being mere Hebrew epithets for giants and apostates.
— from The American Nations, Vol. I. Or, Outlines of a National History of the Ancient and Modern Nations of North and South America by C. S. (Constantine Samuel) Rafinesque
