The Indecent Descent of the Sethites: The Provenance of the Sethites-Interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4Sárospataki FüzetekSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/XH6SBNT7/tei

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 2025-05-20-05:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.Jacob J. T.DoedensThe Indecent Descent of the Sethites: The Provenance of the Sethites-Interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4http://syriaca.org/cbss/XH6SBNT7https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/XH6SBNT7https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/XH6SBNT7Sárospataki Füzetek16:3-4201247-57Within Reformed exegesis, the narrative about the ‘sons of God’ and the ‘daughters of men’ in Gen 6:1–4 is usually interpreted as a story about descendants of the pious Seth, who married daughters from the family of Cain, thus warning for close relationships between believers and non-believers. A brief research into the history of exegesis, however, shows that this interpretation is not the earliest explanation of Gen 6:1–4. The earliest exegesis viewed the ‘sons of God’ as ‘angels’. This article, therefore, tries to discover the provenance of the so called ‘Sethites-interpretation’. As turns out, the origin of this exegesis most likely is to be found in the Syriac church fathers. Interestingly, however, their exegesis retained many elements of the earlier ‘angels-interpretation’ as found especially in the Enoch-tradition. The phrasing of the ‘Sethites-interpretation’ suggests that perhaps a changed view on sexuality, differing from the Old Testament, and the ideal of celibacy, as expressed in the monastic tradition, influenced the exegesis of the passage. Doedens, Jacob J. T. “The Indecent Descent of the Sethites: The Provenance of the Sethites-Interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4.” Sárospataki Füzetek 16:3-4 (2012): 47–57. Jacob J. T. Doedens, The Indecent Descent of the Sethites: The Provenance of the Sethites-Interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4, Sárospataki Füzetek 16:3-4 (2012): 47–57.