wards whenever (G (
Greek characters)) the sons of the gods came in . . . and they (the women) bore unto them] That is to say, the production of Nephîlîmphîlîm p. d145] was not confined to the remote period indicated by v.1f., but was continued in after ages through visits of angels to mortal wives,—a conception which certainly betrays the hand of a glossator. It is perhaps enough to remove (Hebrew characters) as an interpolation, and connect the (Hebrew characters) with (Hebrew characters); though even then the phrasing is odd (v.i.).—Those are the heroes ((Hebrew characters)) that were of old, the men of fame] ((Hebrew characters), cf. Nu. 162). [He has for its antecedent not (Hebrew characters) as obj. to (Hebrew characters) (We.), but (Hebrew characters). There is a touch of euhemerism in the notice (We.), the archaic and mythological (Hebrew characters) being identified with the more human (Hebrew characters) who were renowned in Hebrew story. It is probable that the legend of the Nephîlîm had a wider circulation in Heb. tradition than could be gathered from its curt handling by the editors of the Hex. In Ezk. 32 we meet with the weird conception of a mighty antique race who are the original denizens of Sheol, where they lie in state with their swords under their heads, and are roused to a transient interest in the newcomers who disturb their majestic repose. If Cornill's correction of v.27 ((Hebrew characters)) be sound, these are to be identified with the Nephîlîm of our passage; and the picture throws light on two points left obscure in Gen.: viz., the character of the primæval giants, and the punishment meted out to them. Ezekiel dwells on their haughty violence and warlike prowess, and plainly intimates that for their crimes they were consigned to Sheol, where, however, they enjoy a kind of aristocratic dignity among the Shades. It would almost seem as if the whole conception had been suggested by the supposed discoveries of prehistoric skeletons of great stature, buried with their arms beside them, like those recorded by Pausanias (i. 35. 5 f., viii. 29. 3, 32. 4) and other ancient writers (see Rob. Sm. in Dri. Deut. 40 f.). VI. 5-IX. 29.—Noah and the Flood.
Analysis of the Flood-Narrative.—The section on the Flood (65-917) is, as has often been observed, the first example in Gen. of a truly composite narrative; i.e., one in which the compiler "instead of excerpting the entire account from a single source, has interwoven it out of excerpts taken alternatively from J and P, preserving in the process many duplicates, as well as leaving unaltered many striking differences of representation and phraseology" (Dri. 85). The resolution of the compound narrative into its constituent elements in this case is justly reckoned amongst the most brilliant achievements of purely literary criticism, and affords a particularly instructive lesson in the art of
