The nephilim were the offspring of a mortal woman and a seraph (plural: seraphim). The angels who came from the heavens taught man of magic and vanity. These angels had off spring with the mortal women known as the Nephilim.

When God wiped out the Seraphim and the Nephilim with a flood he trapped the Nephilim on earth because they were not completely of the heavens, so they could not enter heaven. Nor were they completely of the earth, so they could not die.

The Nephilim were the first to be called what is known as demons or djinn, forever trapped on earth without corporeal form. Nephilim inhabited the bodies of mortals in a form of possession which was believed could be passed by touch such as with the major motion picture Fallen. Keep in mind, biblically speaking, Azazel was actually the leader of the seraphim who came down from heaven to be with man, and NOT a Nephilim. After the flood, the seraphim were imprisoned in hell or buried alive deep, deep within the earth where they supposedly still reside.

Throughout the bible, the nephilim are typically refered to as giants (They inherited height from their angel lineage, but they did not inherit the wings).

A good reference point for the Seraphim and the Nephilim is the apocrypha which was once part of the bible but later removed due to questions over origin. The Greek Orthodox still retain the apocrypha within their version of the bible.
In the Exile/Avernum series of adventure games, the Nephilim are a species of feline humanoids. Though native to the surface world, they were long ago banished to Exile by the Empire. They live in tribes, often led by shamans or by members of the stronger Nepharim breed. While a large number of Nephilim remain "wild" and prey upon the human Exile population through banditry, many have become "civilized" and allied to the Exiles.

Nephilim tend to be very dexterous, and favor the use of missile weapons in combat.

According to Genesis 6:4, the Nephilim or Giants are the offspring of the 'Sons of God' (angels) and mortal women. Rabbinic wisdom has it that the Flood was sent to kill the Nephilim, whilst their angelic progenitors were cast into the chasm of Dudael (according to Ethiopic Enoch). There's no reference to the Flood being directed at Seraphim in general, who include many loyal angels and demons. The Nephilim and their fathers may be identified with the followers of the tattered flag in Dante's Inferno, canto 3, in the Vestibule of Hell.

2501 needs to tighten the definition of Apocrypha, by the way. The books of Enoch are apocryphal (and pseudonymous), but are not considered canonical by Protestant, Reformed, Catholic or Orthodox Christians, or by any major group of Muslims or Jews.

Neph"i*lim (?), n. pl. [Heb. nphilim.]

Giants.

Gen. vi. 4. Num. xiii. 33.

 

© Webster 1913.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.