Nephilim

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The '''Nephilim''' ([[Hebrew]]: נְפִילִים) are, are ... well, no one has any idea really. They get a mention in the [[Bible]], though. But apparently not in previous [[mythology]].  The [[Septuagint]], which underlies most  [[Christianity|Christian]] Bibles, translates the word ''nephilim'' as ''γίγαντες'', "[[giant]]s", which is the word used in both the [[King James Bible|King James]] and [[Douay-Rheims]] versions in English.

Depending on your point of view they are one of the following:

#A third category of creatures, separate from Men and [[angel]]s
#[[Extraterrestrial|Aliens]]
#Giants
#[[Human]]-angel hybrids
#Humans with the [[soul]] of a non-human race
#The result of the Bible being an inconsistent mishmash of previous mythologies
#A simple mistranslation

==Spottings==
The Nephilim are mentioned in the Bible in two sections:

{{cquote|The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.|||{{bible|Genesis|6|4}}}}

{{cquote|And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."|||{{bible|Numbers|13|32|33}}}}

==Hoax spottings==
Some Internet pranksters have attempted to [[Deceit|pass off]] manipulated images of giant skeletons at [[archaeological]] dig sites as real. These images have been claimed as proof of the giants mentioned in the Bible,<ref name="Giants_in_Greece">David Emery. [http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/supernaturalwonders/ss/giants_in_greece_6.htm "Nephilim Bones: Were Giant Human Skeletons Found in Greece?"].</ref> the [[Qu'ran]], or [[Hinduism|Hindu]] texts,<ref>[http://www.hoax-slayer.com/giant-skeleton.html Example 1 is the Koran version, Example 2 is the Hindu version.]</ref> depending on the story. It's even referenced as yet another [[Deep web secrets|deep web secret]] that can be found.

==Other sightings==
A story in 2015 claimed that Nephilim [[DNA]] had been extracted from a mysterious 19<sup>th</sup> century female corpse from the Caucasus.<ref>[http://allnewspipeline.com/DNA_Proof_Of_Nephilim.php DNA Proof Of Nephilim Discovered? "Ape Woman" Was "Not Human"  According To DNA Tests], All News Pipeline, April 5, 2015</ref> Seemingly, reporters made the deduction that if someone's DNA was a bit odd, they had to be a Biblical giant descended from angels. (Do angels have DNA? Can they be cloned? Report to your nearest [[wikipedia:Neon Genesis Evangelion|NERV]] recruiting station if you have the answers!)

Reports in the nutty [[right-wing]] [[Christian]] media in 2016 claimed that American soldiers had engaged and killed a Nephilim in [[Afghanistan]] and his corpse had been flown back to the USA.<ref>[http://www.wnd.com/2016/08/is-u-s-government-hiding-the-giant-of-kandahar/ Is US Government Hiding the "Giant of Kandahar"?], WND</ref>

==External links==
*{{wpa|Fields of the Nephilim}}
*[http://www.snopes.com/photos/odd/giantman.asp Snopes]
*[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071214-giant-skeleton.html National Geographic] ([http://archive.is/mBSkp archive])
*[http://magiccards.info/query?q=t%3A%22nephilim%22&v=card&s=cname Magic: the Gathering]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Biblical figures]]
[[Category:Cryptozoology]]
[[Category:Hoaxes]]
[[Category:Old Testament]]
[[Category:Mythology]]

Categories: Biblical figures, Cryptozoology, Hoaxes, Old Testament, Mythology