-
†. Gen 6:1-2 . . Now it came about, when men began to multiply on
the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons
of God saw that the daughters of men were good; and they took
wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
The Hebrew word for "good" in that passage is towb (tobe) which is the very
same word that Genesis utilizes to evaluate God's handiwork in creation;
e.g. Light (Gen 1:4) Land and Seas (Gen 1:10) Vegetation (Gen 1:12) Sun,
Moon, and Stars (Gen 1:18) Birds and Aquatic Life (Gen 1:21) Beasts and
Bugs (Gen 1:25) and the finished product. (Gen 1:31)
Towb is one of those ambiguous Hebrew words that can be utilized as either
a noun or an adjective in a wide variety of applications. It can indicate
morality, it can indicate a tasty meal, it can indicate a job well done, it can
indicate a nice man, it can indicate a pretty dress, it can indicate a shapely
woman and/or a handsome man, and it can indicate an expert musician
and/or a really groovy song like Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance"
In my judicious estimation, when God's handiwork turned out "good" towb
indicates that the cosmos-- and all of its forms of life, matter, and energy -
came out just the way God wanted it to; perfectly suited to the purposes He
had in mind when He designed everything. But in this case; I think it's pretty
safe to assume towb indicates a woman's looks.
NOTE: Ambiguous Hebrew words like towb serve to illustrate why it's
virtually impossible to translate Hebrew into English with 100% verbatim
precision. No linguist in his right mind would dare to say that English
versions of the Hebrew Old Testament are perfect word-for-word renditions
of the original manuscripts-- no; they can't even be certified perfect word
for-word renditions of the available manuscripts let alone the originals.
The precise identity of the "sons of God" has been debated. Some say they
were the sons of the aristocracy of that day who married attractive women
from among the commoners. Others say they were renegade spirit creatures
who cohabited with humans to produce a hybrid strain of hominid freaks.
Others say they were believing men who threw caution to the wind and built
themselves harems of irreverent women instead of marrying believing
women of like faith; viz: the men married infidels-- implying that "daughters
of men" were women who didn't fear the Bible's God. (e.g. Gen 26:34-35)
Intermarriage between men of faith and infidel women is as old a practice as
adultery; and a proven tactic for watering down, compromising, and even
extinguishing Bible beliefs and practices (e.g. Num 31:7-16). The people of
God are strictly, unequivocally, and clearly forbidden to marry outside their
faith. (Deut 7:1-4, 2Cor 6:14-18)
In a mixed relationship-- one a believer and the other an infidel --the
believer will be forced to compromise their convictions in order to keep the
relationship going. Compromise in the area of spiritual values is not a good
thing for God's people. It's not only bad for the conscience, but will quickly
ruin a believer's relationship with their Lord. (1John 1:6)
Most people want love, romance, companionship, and a family of their own.
According to Gen 1:27-28, and Gen 2:21-24, those things are Divine
blessings, they're perfectly normal and nothing to be ashamed of; nor is
there anything intrinsically naughty or sinful about them. But a believer has
to be self controlled, and not permit their base nature to make them lose
their heads and ruin their chances for happiness.
Adult dating is where it starts. And adult dating isn't harmless. It leads to
other things, and it leads into commitments and promises that are not easily
reneged. The end result of adult dating is ultimately marriage and children
(quite possibly illegitimate children). Whose spiritual philosophy will prevail
in the marriage? Whose spiritual philosophy will be taught to the children?
The believer's or the infidel's? And ultimately, who will get the children's
souls-- God, or the Serpent?
Some couples try to accommodate each other's beliefs by teaching their
children the concepts of both religions. For example, a marriage between a
Buddhist and a Christian. The children are given a choice between the Bible
and the Four Noble Truths; and between Christ and Siddhartha Gautama,
and between resurrection and reincarnation. That may seem like a good
idea, but it only creates confusion in the minds of the children. Why are
mom and dad not in agreement? Whose religion is right? Can both be right?
Does it mean that one religion is just as good as the next?
Teaching their children more than one system of spiritual beliefs and
practices is out of the question for Christians because the Lord and Master of
New Testament Christianity demands their exclusive devotion.
"I am the path and the truth . . No one comes to the Father except through
me." (John 14:6)
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and humanity; the
man Christ Jesus" (1Tim 2:5)
Wives can be very effective in influencing an otherwise pious man to
compromise his convictions (e.g. Gen 3:6). All too often, in a mixed
marriage, the mother's religion will be taught to her children because
husbands, as a rule, put a higher priority on sex and peace in the home than
religion, so they won't risk alienating mama by forcing the issue. The sons of
God in Noah's day-- whose wives were chosen based solely upon sex appeal
sans any spiritual prudence whatsoever --all perished in the Flood right
along with their infidel wives and children. Not a one of them had the good
sense to go aboard the ark with Noah.
It's never wise for believers to marry outside their faith. A good example is
Solomon. He got off to a good start but down the road accumulated a harem
of foreign women who led him into idolatry; which subsequently caused The
Lord to engineer rebellion in the kingdom. (1Kgs 11 & 12)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 6:1-2 . . Now it came about, when men began to multiply on
the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons
of God saw that the daughters of men were good; and they took
wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
The Hebrew word for "good" in that passage is towb (tobe) which is the very
same word that Genesis utilizes to evaluate God's handiwork in creation;
e.g. Light (Gen 1:4) Land and Seas (Gen 1:10) Vegetation (Gen 1:12) Sun,
Moon, and Stars (Gen 1:18) Birds and Aquatic Life (Gen 1:21) Beasts and
Bugs (Gen 1:25) and the finished product. (Gen 1:31)
Towb is one of those ambiguous Hebrew words that can be utilized as either
a noun or an adjective in a wide variety of applications. It can indicate
morality, it can indicate a tasty meal, it can indicate a job well done, it can
indicate a nice man, it can indicate a pretty dress, it can indicate a shapely
woman and/or a handsome man, and it can indicate an expert musician
and/or a really groovy song like Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance"
In my judicious estimation, when God's handiwork turned out "good" towb
indicates that the cosmos-- and all of its forms of life, matter, and energy -
came out just the way God wanted it to; perfectly suited to the purposes He
had in mind when He designed everything. But in this case; I think it's pretty
safe to assume towb indicates a woman's looks.
NOTE: Ambiguous Hebrew words like towb serve to illustrate why it's
virtually impossible to translate Hebrew into English with 100% verbatim
precision. No linguist in his right mind would dare to say that English
versions of the Hebrew Old Testament are perfect word-for-word renditions
of the original manuscripts-- no; they can't even be certified perfect word
for-word renditions of the available manuscripts let alone the originals.
The precise identity of the "sons of God" has been debated. Some say they
were the sons of the aristocracy of that day who married attractive women
from among the commoners. Others say they were renegade spirit creatures
who cohabited with humans to produce a hybrid strain of hominid freaks.
Others say they were believing men who threw caution to the wind and built
themselves harems of irreverent women instead of marrying believing
women of like faith; viz: the men married infidels-- implying that "daughters
of men" were women who didn't fear the Bible's God. (e.g. Gen 26:34-35)
Intermarriage between men of faith and infidel women is as old a practice as
adultery; and a proven tactic for watering down, compromising, and even
extinguishing Bible beliefs and practices (e.g. Num 31:7-16). The people of
God are strictly, unequivocally, and clearly forbidden to marry outside their
faith. (Deut 7:1-4, 2Cor 6:14-18)
In a mixed relationship-- one a believer and the other an infidel --the
believer will be forced to compromise their convictions in order to keep the
relationship going. Compromise in the area of spiritual values is not a good
thing for God's people. It's not only bad for the conscience, but will quickly
ruin a believer's relationship with their Lord. (1John 1:6)
Most people want love, romance, companionship, and a family of their own.
According to Gen 1:27-28, and Gen 2:21-24, those things are Divine
blessings, they're perfectly normal and nothing to be ashamed of; nor is
there anything intrinsically naughty or sinful about them. But a believer has
to be self controlled, and not permit their base nature to make them lose
their heads and ruin their chances for happiness.
Adult dating is where it starts. And adult dating isn't harmless. It leads to
other things, and it leads into commitments and promises that are not easily
reneged. The end result of adult dating is ultimately marriage and children
(quite possibly illegitimate children). Whose spiritual philosophy will prevail
in the marriage? Whose spiritual philosophy will be taught to the children?
The believer's or the infidel's? And ultimately, who will get the children's
souls-- God, or the Serpent?
Some couples try to accommodate each other's beliefs by teaching their
children the concepts of both religions. For example, a marriage between a
Buddhist and a Christian. The children are given a choice between the Bible
and the Four Noble Truths; and between Christ and Siddhartha Gautama,
and between resurrection and reincarnation. That may seem like a good
idea, but it only creates confusion in the minds of the children. Why are
mom and dad not in agreement? Whose religion is right? Can both be right?
Does it mean that one religion is just as good as the next?
Teaching their children more than one system of spiritual beliefs and
practices is out of the question for Christians because the Lord and Master of
New Testament Christianity demands their exclusive devotion.
"I am the path and the truth . . No one comes to the Father except through
me." (John 14:6)
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and humanity; the
man Christ Jesus" (1Tim 2:5)
Wives can be very effective in influencing an otherwise pious man to
compromise his convictions (e.g. Gen 3:6). All too often, in a mixed
marriage, the mother's religion will be taught to her children because
husbands, as a rule, put a higher priority on sex and peace in the home than
religion, so they won't risk alienating mama by forcing the issue. The sons of
God in Noah's day-- whose wives were chosen based solely upon sex appeal
sans any spiritual prudence whatsoever --all perished in the Flood right
along with their infidel wives and children. Not a one of them had the good
sense to go aboard the ark with Noah.
It's never wise for believers to marry outside their faith. A good example is
Solomon. He got off to a good start but down the road accumulated a harem
of foreign women who led him into idolatry; which subsequently caused The
Lord to engineer rebellion in the kingdom. (1Kgs 11 & 12)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=