What does Genesis 6:1 mean? Who are the sons of God? Are they angels? Do angels have gender?

The opening chapters of Genesis (specifically chapters 1-11, which cover everything before Abraham) can be very confusing to explain without some knowledge of the literary style of these chapters.

Genesis 1-11 (sometimes referred to as primeval history) tells the story of the world in its earliest days, before even the patriarchs. However, it does not tell these stories like a history book. Another question we received (on why some people in the Old Testament had such long lives) also covered this topic. I’ll quote this section of the response here:

It’s good to keep in mind, however, that many of those early chapters of Genesis were written in the style of folktales, songs, and legends–in other words, in the style of myth. That means the manner in which they convey truth is not the same as a history textbook. Today, we use the word “myth” to refer to something false–but in its original sense, myth refers to a kind of story which often conveys its truths in symbols and archetypes.

So when we say the early chapters of Genesis are told in a mythic style, we’re not saying that they’re fake; rather, what we mean is that the authors usually weren’t concerned with historical accuracy. Their concerns were about showing how in the stories that had been handed down for many generations, you can see God’s hand at work.

In simpler terms, the stories are concerned with theological truth first, and historical truth is secondary. They aren’t just stories made up out of nowhere, but they might not be historically accurate.

Having this context in mind is very useful for us as we look at the beginning chapters of Genesis. These chapters are filled with ancient oral traditions which were handed down for many generations until eventually they were written down. Again, that does not make them false or meaningless! Remember why the stories were recorded in this mythic style: to convey theological truth.

Genesis 6:1-4 in particular is an etiological story–a fancy term for a story that explains where something came from or why things are the way they are today. It borrows from legends and folklore of the ancient Near East to explain two things: first, where the “Nephilim” came from; second, why the world became so wicked before the flood.

The ancient Hebrews were influenced by the pagan peoples around them. In the very ancient times before Abraham or Moses (and even for a time after), they thought of God as a ruler over a court in heaven which included other lesser divine beings (similar to angels). These were called the “sons of God.”

The sacred author refers to these legendary figures to explain why human beings became so wicked. The “sons of God” were not totally obedient to God in the story of Genesis. They had many offspring with human beings, and those offspring were even more wicked as a result. Those offspring were known as the Nephilim, another figure from Near Eastern legend–they are also called “the giants.” The Hebrews often thought of Goliath as one of this race.

Remember: this is folklore. The author is using folkloric figures to explain how humanity got so bad that God chose to flood the earth. The most important part of this story is the theological message it is conveying.As to your last question, whether or not angels have gender, they actually do not. God created humanity “male and female” (Genesis 1:27), but he did not create the angels the same way. Angels do not produce offspring or marry–they were not created to “be fruitful and multiply,” as the living beings of the material world were. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, that also means that each angel is actually a species all its own. We refer to St. Michael, for example, as a “he,” because we have long associated his role as defender of the Church and the faith with masculine qualities. But technically speaking no angel is male or female, masculine or feminine–they are asexual creatures.