The purpose of the study is to establish the identity of the "sons of God" recorded in Genesis 6:2,4 and their relationship to the accountability of man for sin and the resultant judgment of the flood. Given the foundational nature of the Genesis narrative, it is most unusual that the author did not describe, in a meaningful way, his reference to the "sons of God" so that identification would be certain. They are an integral part of the narrative, apparently their actions being a component of the final reason why God's Spirit would not strive with man forever, Genesis 6:2-3.

It might be said that the actions of the "sons of God" are not necessarily connected to the removal of the Spirit from man, because the references leading up to the statement by God are simply historical recitations of a sequence of events. However, it seems apparent that a reading of Genesis 6:1-3 would indicate that the narrative portion was included as an introduction to, or clarification of, why God began to consider the removal of His Spirit from mankind and that removal of His Spirit had some connection with the "sons of God". Following Verse 3, Verses 6,7,11,12,13 and 17 indicate the proportions of God's displeasure regarding the conduct of mankind and His reasons for the decision to destroy mankind by means of a flood.

It is apparent from a reading of Chapter 6, that the actions of the "sons of God" and the actions of mankind, taken together, secured the attention of God, resulting in His displeasure at what He saw and the implementation of the final decision to destroy mankind. In view of the fact that the actions of the "sons of God" and the actions of mankind are both seen by God as the contributing factors leading to the flood and the destruction of humanity, and those actions are seen in conjunction with each other, Verses 3 and 5, then it is imperative that the actions of the "sons of God", because of which humanity bears a responsibility, Verse 13, and the identity of the "sons of God" be ascertained in order to understand the relationship of the "sons of God" to mankind and to God.

PART II
NECESSITY OF THE STUDY

In the vacuum left by the author of Genesis, by failing to identify the "sons of God" in a plain and obvious manner, have been proposed various theories to account for the identity of the "sons of God". These theories have been proposed, some reaching into the New Testament, not only to find an identity for the "sons of God", but to make a determination of their relationship to humanity, God, sin and the flood. Belief in one of the theories calls into question the accountability of mankind for sins committed prior to the flood, when the "sons of God" are identified as other than human beings themselves. It is the nature of human accountability that is the dilemma in relation to the "sons of God". Can humanity be held accountable for sin, as attributed by God in Genesis, when those sins may have been committed while under the control of those who are not of a human nature? If Genesis is a book regarding beginnings, then it is necessary, from the very start, to understand and be clear regarding the assignment by God of human responsibility for sin. The ultimate question to be asked is, in relation to the Genesis narrative, is mankind responsible solely for its own sin or is mankind assigned conjunctive responsibility with the sins of another? In the Genesis narrative, the sin of mankind is conjoined with the sin of the "sons of God" by the proposal of a theory that identifies the "sons of God" as angels from heaven. It is to this theory that this study applies, because the question can only be answered with a proper identification of the "sons of God" and their relationship to humanity, to God, to sin and to the judgment of the flood.

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