The Sons of God

Looking outside Genesis 6, whenever bene ha’elohim, the exact phrase as that found in Genesis 6:2, and 6:4, in the original Hebrew is used, or when something very similar is written in Scripture, such as bene ‘ĕlōhîm, the term is referring to a celestial being in the OT. Always. Arguing this point is futile. Now, this is not necessarily true of other phrases that have a similar meaning. While Daniel 3 makes it clear that the Aramaic phrase bar ‘ĕlâ is a heavenly being, as it is clearly referencing a Christophany of Jesus Christ, other terms that could be translated “sons of God”, bēn ‘ēl, and bēn elyôn, could be talking about men. The context around these latter two terms’ appearance seems to strongly suggest heavenly beings are in view as well – but this can be successfully challenged. Psalm 29:1, and Psalm 89:6 are examples of this.

‘El: Its Meaning and Usage 

Since ‘ēl is a generic word that can mean “god” or is used as a standalone for God Himself in Scripture, it is often assumed that any reference to the term must indicate a supernatural being. This is not so. 

• Genesis 31:26a,29 – And Laban said to Jacob… It is in my power [‘ēl] to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.
• Deuteronomy 28:32 – Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength [‘ēl] in your hand.
• Nehemiah 5:5 – Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power [‘ēl] to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.”
• Psalm 36:6 – Your righteousness is like the great [‘ēl] mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
• Psalm 80:10 – The hills were covered with its shadow, and the mighty [‘ēl] cedars with its boughs.
• Proverbs 3:27 – Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power [‘ēl] of your hand to do so.
• Isaiah 31:3 – Now the Egyptians are men, and not God [‘ēl]; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out His hand, both he who helps will fall, and he who is helped will fall down; they all will perish together.
• Ezekiel 31:10-11 – “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and its heart was lifted up in its height, therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the mighty one [‘ēl] of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness.
• Ezekiel 32:21 – The strong [‘ēl] among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with those who help him: ‘They have gone down, they lie with the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’
• Micah 2:1 – Woe to those who devise iniquity and work out evil on their beds! At morning light, they practice it, because it is in the power [‘ēl] of their hand.

What these passages prove is that the word ‘ēl does not always signify a supernatural being. The word can be translated as “strength, power, or might”, and can thus be a reference to men. With that in view, the prayer of David in Psalm 29 may not definitively be about angels. Men could very much be the subject in that phrase. For one, the Psalm is a song composed by David! It’s a worship song, that could be telling people to praise the awesomeness of God. This position is made all the stronger when one considers that the song ends by speaking specifically about the goodness of God toward His chosen people.

• Psalm 29:11 – The Lord will give strength to His people [ʿam]; the Lord will bless His people [ʿam] with peace.

ʿAm is a word that means “nation”, and more specifically “national kinsmen”. Why would angels care that God, in His awesomeness, cares for a particular nation? Why should they give praise to Him for it, as David commands the ben ‘ēl to do at the beginning of the poem? However, if the ben ‘ēl of this psalm are the “mighty ones” of Israel, meaning their leaders, this makes all the sense in the world.

The same cannot be said of the phrase bēn ‘ēl as it appears in Psalm 89. Here, the context is heaven, thus, it makes the most sense that heavenly beings are in view.  However, that does not necessarily mean that they are angels when you consider the immediate textual evidence. David is once again leading a song of praise, this time for the faithfulness of God toward His people and the covenant that He made with them. The praise for this specific faithfulness is taking place among the “assembly of the saints [qāḏôš]”. Within the text, the qāḏôš are synonymous to the bēn ‘ēl. These qāḏôš could very well be men. Contextually, it would make the most sense that the faithful dead, who having already made it to the presence of the Lord, and being fully aware of His faithfulness, would be praising Him for it.

So, are these qāḏôš men, or angels? When qāḏôš is used in the OT, if not specifically about God, or His offerings, does it apply to humans, or angelic beings, or both? 

• Exodus 19:6 – And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy [qāḏôš] nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
• Leviticus 11:45 – For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy [qāḏôš], for I am holy [qāḏôš].
• Deuteronomy 33:2-3 – “The Lord came from Sinai and dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints [qōḏeš]; from His right hand came a fiery law for them. Yes, He loves the people; all His saints [qāḏôš] are in Your hand; they sit down at Your feet; everyone receives Your words.
• Job 15:15-16 – If God puts no trust in His saints [qāḏôš], and the heavens are not pure in His sight, how much less man, who is abominable and filthy, who drinks iniquity like water!
• Psalm 16:3 – As for the saints [qāḏôš] who are on the earth, “They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”
• Psalm 106:16 – When they envied Moses in the camp, and Aaron the saint [qāḏôš] of the Lord.
• Daniel 8:13 – Then I heard a holy [qāḏôš] one speaking; and another holy [qāḏôš] one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”
• Zechariah 15:4 – Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus, the Lord my God will come, and all the saints [qāḏôš] with You.

What the preceding passages show is that qāḏôš can apply to both angels and men. It seems that context is all that can be appealed to when determining if men or spiritual beings are being referenced. A cursory look at the textual evidence suggests that the qāḏôšim of heaven seem to be angels. This is clearly true of Deuteronomy 33 (Paul references these angels in Galatians 3:19, as does Stephen in Acts 7:51), and every time human qāḏôš are mentioned, as with Psalm 16 and Psalm 106, it is with regards to the earth. However, Zechariah 15 complicates this simplistic view since Revelation tells us that the army of saints that is following the Lord Jesus when He returns to the earth, are the redeemed of the earth.

• Revelation 19:8,14 – And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints… And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.

Angels are not necessarily excluded here, though not mentioned, and in fact will come with the heavenly host when Jesus stands on the earth and defeats the Antichrist and his minions (Matthew 25:31). Perhaps, that is why Zechariah says “all” the saints, as he has in mind both human and angelic qāḏôš. However, considering what Revelation 19 tells us, this means that Zechariah is referencing human qāḏôš specifically positioned in heaven.

Since the exact phrase “assembly of the saints” is not used anywhere else in the OT, it might seem that pinning down whether angels or men are being referenced in Psalm 89 is impossible. However, we can look to other passages in Scripture that seem to point to this assembly in action. 1 Kings 22 lists such an assembly of angelic beings discussing the fate of king Ahab.

• 1 Kings 22:19,21 – Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left… Then a spirit [rûaḥ] came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’

This story tracks very closely with the language of Daniel 4 and the judgement pronounced against Nebuchadnezzar for his arrogance.

• Daniel 4:17 – ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones [qadîšîn], in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men.’

In both situations, it seems angelic qāḏôš are clearly the ones in the divine assembly of the Lord, qadîšîn being the Aramaic, plural, equivalent of qāḏôš in Daniel 4. However, that could be because the context is about judgement on the earth, and dead human saints are not involved in that. Once they are gone, they are gone. The reason I say “it seems” these are referencing angels is because Revelation 4 directly places humans in the assembly of the Lord, in His throne room.

• Revelation 4:4 – Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

In this view of the throne room, the apostle John doesn’t even see an angelic council. He only sees the twenty-four, human elders, and the four living creatures. That’s all he observes in the throne room at first. Now, it can be argued that they only got there after the resurrection. Many scholars think that dead believers, before Christ, were in Hades, below the earth, kept in a separate place from the wicked dead. They only ascended, so it goes, to the heavenly dimension, when Christ rose. A huge problem with that viewpoint, in my opinion, is that Enoch, Elijah, and Moses were clearly in the heavenly space before Christ had died! Enoch, for example, was taken to be with the Lord (Genesis 5:25); there is no indication he was sent to Hades (Sheol). Elijah likewise was taken up in a chariot of fire, to heaven (2 Kings 2:11). Proof that Elijah was not in Sheol is that he joined with Moses on the mount of transfiguration, before Christ’s resurrection (Matthew 17:2-3). This would not have been possible if these two were not in heaven. It is clear then, that men were in heaven, or at least in God’s throne room, before the resurrection of Christ, and they were clearly qāḏôš themselves as both Moses and Elijah were arrayed in the heavenly attire of the righteous in heaven on the Mount of Transfiguration. It is likely all of these were a part of the twenty-four elders around the throne, and thus were in the “assembly of the saints”.

All of that to say that it is not possible to decipher whether bēn ‘ēl, which can be translated “sons of God”, is really describing angels, as is commonly assumed in Psalm 29 and Psalm 89. For Psalm 29, it is much more likely the phrase is regarding men, and its usage in Psalm 89 could be referring to either angels or men equally. Considering that believers in Jesus Christ are called “sons of God” [yhios theos] in the NT, and considering that this is because, through Christ, we are returned to a jurisdictional authority in the earth that was granted to mankind through Adam, it is more than possible that bēn ‘ēl in both passages refers to men, for Adam, in his original created state, certainly was a “son of God”. 

• John 1:12 – But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right [exousia] to become children [teknon] of God [theos], to those who believe in His name:
• Luke 3:38c – the son [yhios] of Adam, the son [yhios] of God [theos].

The bēn elyôn of Psalm 82 is another phrase that very likely refers to men as “sons of God”. Elyôn is a proper name for the God of Israel and its usage here is the only one of its kind in the OT. I will deal with by discussing the context of the psalm on which the term appears.

The Psalm 82 controversy  

Psalm 82 is one of the most debated Psalms in the Bible. Many bible prophecy scholars argue that the controversy that God has against His ĕlōhîm in the passage is that between God and the rebellious angels. The reasoning behind this is entirely based on the erroneous assumption that ĕlōhîm must refer to heavenly beings, and since the fallen angels are ĕlōhîm, then it is their judgement that is allegedly being discussed within this text. Taking this view of the passage leads directly to the idea that demonic entities control nations, and that they were given this control by God! This latter point has no biblical support whatsoever and creates serious theological problems when discussing the just character of God, but there are plenty of passages that can be brought forth to allegedly provide support for it, if this reading of Psalm 82 is taken, and of course, plenty of extra-biblical proof texts endorse it as well.  Thus, it is vital that we accurately determine who the ĕlōhîm of this Psalm are. 

• Psalm 82 – God has taken his place in the divine [‘ēl] council; in the midst of the gods [‘ĕlōhîm] he holds judgment [šāp̄at]: “How long will you judge [šāp̄at] unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah Give justice [šāp̄at] to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, “You are gods [‘ĕlōhîm], sons [bēn] of the Most High [ʿelyôn], all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” Arise, O God, judge [šāp̄at] the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!

It has already been established that the divine council can include human beings (Revelation 19:8,14; 4:4; Zechariah 15:4; Psalm 89:5-6). However, it is not essential for this passage that this must be so. It is very likely that the divine council being referenced is the angels of heaven, but it doesn’t matter either way, for this council is merely an audience to what is unfolding. 

God is angry at the injustice that is being perpetrated by the ĕlōhîm. Considering that we know the ĕlōhîm can be men, and specifically are those assigned to the seat of Moses, in the place of God Himself, when it comes to passing judgement on the people, it might be impossible to say for certain who is being addressed in this passage, whether angelic ĕlōhîm or men. Thankfully, Jesus Himself provides the answer to who is being addressed in this complicated passage. 

• John 10:33-36 – The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods [theos]”’? If He called them gods [theos], to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 

In the context of John 10, Christ is juxtaposing Himself, the true Shepherd of the sheep, against the hirelings, the Pharisees. As has already been shown, these were the ones who occupied the seat of Moses. They were supposed to be shepherds, but instead, they were wolves in sheep’s clothing. What Jesus tells them to their face is that the Holy Scripture says they are ĕlōhîm, in that they were in the place of God. This elevated them above other men, and other leaders, designated as princes. However, in their own vanity, they thought that made them special, and unlike all other men. The word of the Lord had been given to them, and through them was to be taught to the people. Despite this exalted position of authority, it would not save them from a fate appointed lower men, as Psalm 82 made clear.

 Jesus’ point was not lost upon them, which is why they did not have a ready rejoinder to it. As Psalm 82 lays out, because of the ĕlōhîm’s rebellion against God, when they should have been representing Him rightly to the people, God’s judgement would be meted out upon them, and though they thought they would have a better end than everyone else, they would die just as everyone else does. They would not escape God’s justice any more than anyone else could simply because they were in the exalted station of an ĕlōhîm while being mere men. Their positional authority would not spare them the fate awaiting other men, and in fact, they would be judged more severely by the Lord for it (Matthew 23:13-14).  

John 10 shows clearly that the ĕlōhîm of Psalm 82 are men. They are a specific set of men, the judges and priests of Israel. This is precisely the view held by the Rabbis, and one that many conservative, Christian scholars hold as well. It is the correct view, as has been amply demonstrated. As such, it is further evidence that the term ĕlōhîm can be used of humans and is not merely a term for angelic beings and God. This is important because it helps clear up who the sons of God in Psalm 82 are.

The ‘ĕlōhîm as human judges. 

Since the gods of the nations are called the ‘ĕlōhîm, and since the term is used most often for the God of Israel when the phrase “The Lord God” appears, the assumption that every time ‘ĕlōhîm is used it must be referencing a heavenly being is fairly solid. Yet, a closer study shows this is not so.  

The word itself, being the plural form of ’el, like it’s singular form, can be used functionally or positionally and not merely to describe the essence of something. For example, ’el, can be translated as “might, or strength”, and refer to “a mighty one”, which can be human or non-human. Likewise, ‘ĕlōhîm  can be translated as “judge” and describes the specific function performed by the one who has the ability to act in this capacity. The Bible makes clear that Israel had human judges who were called ‘ĕlōhîm.  

• Exodus 21:6 – …then his master shall bring him to the judges [‘ĕlōhîm]. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.
• Exodus 22:7-9,28 – “If a man delivers to his neighbor money or articles to keep, and it is stolen out of the man’s house, if the thief is found, he shall pay double. If the thief is not found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the judges [‘ĕlōhîm] to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor’s goods. “For any kind of trespass, whether it concerns an ox, a donkey, a sheep, or clothing, or for any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whomever the judges [‘ĕlōhîm] condemn shall pay double to his neighbor… “You shall not revile God [‘ĕlōhîm], nor curse a ruler of your people.

In these verses, it seems relatively straight forward that the judges being described here are the leaders of Israel, who often, were from the Levitical priesthood. Mediating between God and men was specifically their duty. Whether it was through the sacrifices offered for sin or meting out the punishment that God had decreed for crimes, these judges were to be the voice and hand of God on the earth. Now, this seems obvious in lieu of what is known from the rest of the OT, but many scholars try to claim that the reference to ĕlōhîm in these passages is talking about God, rather than His agents on earth. This is done because of the assumption that the term always refers to a heavenly being. Yet, there is one other passage of Scripture that destroys this argument entirely. 

• 1 Samuel 2:25 – If one man sins against another, God [‘ĕlōhîm] will judge [pālal] him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede [pālal] for him?” Nevertheless, they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them. 

As with the passages in Exodus, scholars say the use of ‘ĕlōhîm here is better translated as God, which is what the NKJV does. The KJV translates ĕlōhîm as “the judges”, rather than God in the text because the context tells the reader that human judges are being discussed here, not God. The key to distinguishing this fact is the use of the word pālal. Pālal means “to intervene, interpose, pray”, “to mediate, judge”. Most often, when this word is used, it is best translated and understood as “to pray”. The person or “judge” who is mediating between men or on their behalf is one who is standing in the gap between the offending human and God! This is precisely what the priests did for the people of Israel. 

The context of 1 Samuel 2 is the story of the High Priest, Eli, and his wicked sons. Eli is pleading with them to stop sinning against God, for who, even in the capacity of a priest, can intercede with God when one sins against Him? Through Scripture, it is men who pālal for other men before God.  

• Genesis 20:7 – Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray [pālal] for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
• Deuteronomy 9:20 – And the Lord was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him; so, I prayed [pālal] for Aaron also at the same time.
• 1 Samuel 7:5 – And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray [pālal] to the Lord for you.”

Nowhere in the OT is it said that God prays, pālal, for men on behalf of men! One of the best examples of this type of judging in action occurred in the life of Phinehas, the son of Aaron, the High Priest. 

• Psalm 106:28-31 – They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices made to the dead. Thus, they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened [pālal], and the plague was stopped. And that was accounted to him for righteousness to all generations forevermore.
• Numbers 25:6-13 – And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So, the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’”

Phinehas stood up and judged (pālal) the wrongdoer. This was his duty, and it was well-pleasing to the Lord. The idea that it takes a man to plead on behalf of man is theologically consistent with the mission of Christ. He became our High Priest so that He could adequately intercede on our behalf. It took a man to appeal to God on behalf of all men! Jesus obviously has always been the Yᵊhōvâ ‘ĕlōhîm , but He didn’t become a human ‘ĕlōhîm until He took on flesh. 

• Hebrews 4:14-16 – Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
• Hebrews 5:1-4 – For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins.  And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.
• John 14:16 – And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever…
• 1 Timothy 2:5-6 – For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time…
• 1 Corinthians 17:31 – …because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

It is Jesus, as a man, who intercedes for mankind, and it is in His capacity as a man that He will judge the whole world! Thus, the earthly ‘ĕlōhîm that are depicted in the OT, were men who spoke prophetically of Christ. They sat in the stead of God when judging right and wrong. This was called the seat of Moses. 

• Matthew 23:1-4 – Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

Moses derived his authority to judge the people of Israel directly from God on Mt. Sinia. He is the one man that the Bible clearly tells us stood as ĕlōhîm on behalf of God. This authority was then invested upon certain elders of Israel who were invested with the weighty responsibility of judging God’s people. They were expected to do it in righteousness and in the fear of the Lord. Yet, they did not do this, and God judged them for it. 

• Exodus 4:16 – So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God [ĕlōhîm].
• Exodus 7:1 – So the Lord said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God [ĕlōhîm] to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
• Exodus 18:15-26 – And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge [šāp̄at] between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.” So, Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And let them judge [šāp̄at] the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge [šāp̄at]. So, it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.” So, Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. And Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. So, they judged [šāp̄at] the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged [šāp̄at] every small case themselves.
• Deuteronomy 25:1-2 – “If there is a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may judge [šāp̄at] them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, then it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, that the judge [šāp̄at] will cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows.
• Psalm 58:1-11 – Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge [šāp̄at] uprightly, you sons of men? No, in heart you work wickedness; you weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth. The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; they are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear, which will not heed the voice of charmers, charming ever so skillfully. Break their teeth in their mouth, O God! Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! Let them flow away as waters which run continually; when he bends his bow, let his arrows be as if cut in pieces. Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes, like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the burning thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, as in His living and burning wrath. The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, so that men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely He is God [ĕlōhîm] who judges [šāp̄at] in the earth.”
• Numbers 11: 16, 25-26 – So the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you…So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again.
• Isaiah 3:12-15 – Youths oppress my people; women rule over them. My people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path. The Lord takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people. The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: “It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
• Micah 3:9-12 – Now hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build up Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity: her heads judge [šāp̄at] for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us.” Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the temple like the bare hills of the forest.
• Zephaniah 3:1-5 – Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, to the oppressing city! She has not obeyed His voice, she has not received correction; she has not trusted in the Lord, she has not drawn near to her God. Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; her judges [šāp̄at] are evening wolves that leave not a bone till morning. Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law. The Lord is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, but the unjust knows no shame.

The men who were appointed judges in Israel, to defend righteousness under law amongst His people, were the human ĕlōhîm, of which Moses was the first. They did not do what they were supposed to do, and as a result, God poured out His judgement upon them. It is this judgement, upon these earthly ĕlōhîm, that is being discussed in Psalm 82.

The Ben elyôn As Human Sons of God 

At the start of this study, as we explored the different usages of the phrase “the sons of God” in the OT, we discovered that most are contextually used of angelic beings, or most likely reference them. These were the terms we explored: Bene ha’elohim, bene ‘ĕlōhîm, bar ‘ĕlâh, and bēn ‘ēl. The first three all refer to heavenly beings, and the last one most likely does, though it can be argued that it is used of humans as well as angels. The only term we didn’t look at was bēn elyôn, which we will now do. This exact Hebrew phrase only appears in Psalm 82.  

• The Psalm 82:6 – I said, “You are gods [ĕlōhîm], and all of you are children [bēn] of the Most High [elyôn].

Having determined with absolute certainty that this psalm is talking about men, then it can be deduced that the bēn elyôn spoken of here are likewise men! It makes even more sense of what Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 10 that this is the proper reading of the text because Jesus tells the Pharisees if they are called “gods”, then why should they get mad that He is calling Himself the Son of God, the very thing that the ĕlōhîm of Psalm 82 are called! His point was: you are called gods, and as such are the sons of God, as Scripture says, so why are you trying to claim I am blaspheming by calling myself the same? This is why the Pharisees could not respond. He caught them in their own devices and used Psalm 82 to do it. 

The discussion between Jesus and the Pharisees in John 10 clearly articulates that the bēn elyôn of Psalm 82 are men, as are the ĕlōhîm that they are synonymous with. To argue otherwise is to decontextualize John 10, and seriously torture not only that text, but the psalm it elucidates. Far too many so-called biblical scholars today do this, especially Bible prophecy teachers. Mostly, this is done to support the erroneous notion that there exists some sort of demonic group of angelic beings who were originally members of the divine council, but rebelled, and because of the rebellion of mankind, they were given control over the nations of the earth by God to punish the nations. This is utterly absurd and is, in fact, a direct attack upon the just nature of God, though this is probably not the intent of these scholars.

Genesis 6 in the New Testament 

When looking at the two places in the NT that seem to specifically reference the Genesis 6 story, it is highly probable from the texts themselves, as received, that angels are what is being discussed there.  

• Jude 1:6-7 – And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

From this scripture, it is clear angels left their proper, spiritual place and were punished for doing so. When referencing the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, we are told that they were like that of the angels. We know, from Jude, that Sodom and Gomorrah were specifically destroyed for their grotesque sexual sins (Genesis 18:20, 19:5). Hence, Jude is connecting the sins of the angelic beings to those of Sodom and Gomorrah. It logically follows then that these angels committed some form of sexual sin. But when and where? We cannot say that Jude necessarily refers to what happened in Genesis 6, though it seems most logical. 2 Peter provides the link that, when coupled with Jude, absolutely connects the angels in these passages to Genesis 6. 

• 2 Peter 2:4-10 – For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell [tartaroō] and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority.

Here again we have an oblique witness to the sins of angels. Peter is obviously referencing the same angelic beings as Jude because he refers to those who are chained in darkness awaiting judgement. However, unlike Jude, Peter specifically connects them to angels in the pre-diluvian world. He, likewise, connects their sin, in some way, to the world that was judged by the Flood and out of which Noah was rescued. Also, Peter, just as Jude had done, connects these angels to the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah from which Lot was rescued. 

It is clear therefore, if one is honest with these biblical texts, that angels, indeed, committed a sin that in some way paralleled the sexual transgressions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and that story is found in the pre-Flood world. There is only one story that fits: that of the “sons of God” marrying the “daughters of men” as found in Genesis 6. 

Conclusion 

From what has been presented, it should be clear that the phrase “sons of God” in the OT is not necessarily only used of angelic beings. However, the “sons of God” referenced in Genesis 6 are definitely angels who left the spiritual realm and engaged in sexual sin with human women. This is not only true because of the consistent usage of the phrase bene ha’elohim, and its close associates, for supernatural beings, but because of the proofs from the NT that strongly supports this reading of the text as well.