man, anxious to prove himself righteous, asked further: “Who really is my neighbor [ple·siʹon]?” In Jesus’ illustration of the merciful Samaritan he made it emphatic that even though one is living at a distance, or is not a relative or an associate, the real neighbor is the one who will exercise the love and kindness to another that the Scriptures command.—Luke 10:29-37.

IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF ISRAEL

At Hebrews 8:11 the Greek word po·liʹtes, “citizen,” appears in most Greek texts; some manuscripts read ple·siʹon. Paul here quotes from the restoration prophecy of Jeremiah 31:34, spoken to those in the commonwealth of Israel: “‘And they will no more teach each one his companion [form of reʹaʽ] and each one his brother, saying, “Know Jehovah!” for they will all of them know me, from the least one of them even to the greatest one of them,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.” Paul applies it to the spiritual “holy nation,” the “Israel of God,” saying: “And they will by no means teach each one his fellow citizen and each one his brother . . . ” Here the flavor of the original languages is kept better by the expression companion (for reʹaʽ) and fellow citizen (for po·liʹtes), rather than neighbor.—1 Pet. 2:9; Gal. 6:16.

COUNSEL FROM PROVERBS

While one is to help his neighbor and to love him, yet he must exercise caution not to make attempts to become the most intimate associate of his neighbor or fellowman—to avoid imposing or presuming upon him. The proverb couches the thought in these terms: “Make your foot rare at the house of your fellow man [form of reʹaʽ], that he may not have his sufficiency of you and certainly hate you.”—Prov. 25:17.

However, faithfulness and trustfulness in a companion, and the advisability of calling on such a person in time of need is counseled in the Proverbs: “Do not leave your own companion or the companion of your father, and do not enter the house of your own brother on the day of your disaster. Better is a neighbor [sha·khenʹ] that is near than a brother that is far away.” (Prov. 27:10) Here the writer seems to be saying that a close family friend is one to be valued, and should be looked to for help rather than even so close a relative as a brother, if that brother is far away, as he may not be as ready or at least not in as favorable a position to render help as the family companion.

NEKODA

(Ne·koʹda) [retreat, or, speckled].

1. The forefather of a group of Nethinim who returned from Babylonian exile in 537 B.C.E.—Ezra 2:1, 43, 48; Neh. 7:46, 50.

2. The forefather of a group “unable to tell the house of their fathers and their origin.” (Ezra 2:59, 60; Neh. 7:61, 62) Since the names of Delaiah and Tobiah associated with Nekoda in these verses do not occur elsewhere in a list of returning exiles, it is assumed that this Nekoda is a person different from No. 1 above.

NEMUEL

(Nemʹu·el) [spread of God, day of God].

1. First listed of Simeon’s five sons and family head of the Nemuelites. (Num. 26:12-14; 1 Chron. 4:24) In the list of those who came into Egypt with Jacob he is called Jemuel.—Gen. 46:8, 10; Ex. 6:15.

2. Son of Eliab and great-grandson of Reuben. His brothers were the rebels Dathan and Abiram, whom the earth swallowed up.—Num. 26:5, 8, 9; Deut. 11:6.

NEMUELITES

(Nemʹu·el·ites).

A family of Simeon descended from Nemuel.—Num. 26:12.

NEPHEG

(Neʹpheg) [sprout, to spring forth].

1. Son of Izhar and brother of Korah and Zichri. Of the tribe of Levi, he was a cousin of Moses and Aaron.—Ex. 6:16, 18, 20, 21.

2. One of King David’s sons born at Jerusalem.—2 Sam. 5:13-15; 1 Chron. 3:5, 7; 14:3-6.

NEPHILIM

(Nephʹi·lim).

This is a transliteration of the Hebrew word n^ephi·limʹ, plural in all its three occurrences in the Bible. (Gen. 6:4; Num. 13:33 [twice]) It is believed to mean “fellers” or “those who cause others to fall down,” as it most likely stems from the Hebrew verb na·phalʹ (to fall) as found, for example, in Joshua 11:7.

The Bible account describing Jehovah’s displeasure with men in the days of Noah before the Flood relates that “the sons of the true God” took for themselves wives from among the attractive daughters of men. It then mentions the presence of “Nephilim,” saying: “The Nephilim proved to be in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of the true God continued to have relations with the daughters of men and they bore sons to them, they were the mighty ones [Heb., gib·bo·rimʹ] who were of old, the men of fame.”—Gen. 6:1-4.

IDENTITY

Bible commentators, considering verse four, have offered several suggestions as to the identity of these Nephilim. Some have thought that the derivation of the name indicates that the Nephilim had fallen from heaven, that is, that they were ‘fallen angels’ who mated with women to produce “mighty ones . . . the men of fame.” Other scholars, focusing their attention particularly on the statement “and also after that” (verse 4), have said the Nephilim were not the ‘fallen angels’ or the “mighty ones,” since the Nephilim “proved to be in the earth in those days” before the sons of God had relations with women. These latter scholars hold the opinion that the Nephilim were simply wicked men like Cain—robbers, bullies and tyrants who roamed the earth until they were destroyed by the Flood. Still another group, taking into consideration the context of verse four, conclude that the Nephilim were not themselves angels, but were the hybrid offspring resulting from materialized angels having intercourse with the daughters of men.

Same as “gib·bo·rimʹ”

Certain Bible translations adjust the location of the phrase “and also after that,” placing it near the beginning of verse four, thus identifying the Nephilim with the “mighty ones,” the gib·bo·rimʹ, mentioned in the latter part of the verse. For example: “In those days, as well as afterward, there were giants [Heb., n^ephi·limʹ] on the earth, who were born to the sons of the gods whenever they had intercourse with the daughters of men; these were the heroes [Heb., gib·bo·rimʹ] who were men of note in days of old.”—Gen. 6:4, AT; see also Moffatt and Zürcher Bibel (German).

The Greek Septuagint also suggests that both the “Nephilim” and “mighty ones” are identical by using the same word giʹgan·tes (giants) to translate both expressions.

Reviewing the account, we see that verses one to three tell of “the sons of the true God” taking wives and of Jehovah’s statement (doubtless made to Noah) that he was going to end his patience with men after 120 years. Verse four then speaks of the Nephilim proving to be in the earth “in those days,” evidently the days when Jehovah made the statement. Then it shows that this situation continued “after that, when the sons of the true God continued to have relations with the daughters of men,” and describes in more detail the results of the union of “the sons of the true God” with women.

The fathers of the Nephilim

Who were “the sons of the true God” that were involved? Were they men who were worshipers of Jehovah (as distinguished from the general run of wicked mankind), as some claim? Evidently not. The Bible infers that their marriage to the daughters of men resulted in whipping up the badness in the earth. Noah and his three sons, along with their wives, were the only ones in God’s favor, and preserved through the Deluge.—Gen. 6:9; 8:15, 16; 1 Pet. 3:20.

Hence, if these “sons of the true God” were merely men, the question arises, Why were their offspring “men of renown” more than those of the wicked, or of faithful Noah? Also, the question might be asked, Why mention their marriage to the daughters of men as something special? Marriage and childbearing had been taking place for more than 1,500 years.

The sons of God mentioned at Genesis 6:2, therefore, must have been angels, spirit “sons of God.” This expression is applied to angels at Job 1:6; 38:7. This view is supported by Peter, who speaks of “the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient when the patience of God was waiting in Noah’s days.” (1 Pet. 3:19, 20) Also Jude writes of “the angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place.” (Jude 6) Angels had the power to materialize in human form, and some angels did so to bring messages from God. (Gen. 18:1, 2, 8, 20-22; 19:1-11; Josh. 5:13-15, and other texts) But heaven is the proper abode of spirit persons, and the angels there have positions of service under Jehovah. (Dan. 7:9, 10) To leave this abode to dwell on earth and to forsake their assigned service to have fleshly relations would be rebellion against God’s laws, and perversion.

The Bible states that the disobedient angels are now “spirits in prison,” having been thrown “into Tartarus” and “reserved with eternal bonds under dense darkness for the judgment of the great day.” This seems to indicate that they are greatly restricted, unable again to materialize as they did prior to the Flood.—1 Pet. 3:19; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6.

INCREASED WICKEDNESS

The “mighty ones who were of old, men of fame” that were produced by these marriages were not men of fame with God, for they did not survive the Flood, as did Noah and his family, They were “Nephilim,” bullies, tyrants who no doubt helped to make conditions worse. Their angelic fathers, knowing the construction of the human body and being able to materialize, were not creating life, but lived in these human bodies and, cohabiting with women, brought forth children. Their children, “mighty ones,” were therefore unauthorized hybrids. Apparently the Nephilim did not, in turn, have children.

IN MYTHOLOGY

The fame and dread of the Nephilim, it appears, were the basis for many mythologies of heathen people who, after the confusion of languages at Babel, were scattered throughout the earth. Though the historical forms of the Genesis account were greatly distorted and embellished, yet there was a remarkable resemblance in these ancient mythologies (those of the Greeks being only one example), in which gods and goddesses mated with humans to produce superhu-man heroes and fearful demigods having god-man characteristics.—See GREECE, GREEKS (Greek Religion).

A REPORT INTENDED TO TERRORIZE

The ten spies who brought back to the Israelites in the wilderness a false report on the land of Canaan declared: “All the people whom we saw in the midst of it are men of extraordinary size. And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who are from the Nephilim; so that we became in our own eyes like grasshoppers, and the same way we became in their eyes.” No doubt there were some large men in Canaan, as other scriptures show, but never except in this “bad report,” which was carefully couched in language designed to strike terror and cause panic among the Israelites, are they called Nephilim.—Num. 13:31-33; 14:36, 37.

NEPHTOAH

(Neph·toʹah) [an opening].

The name associated with a spring on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin. (Josh. 15:1, 9; 18:11, 15) This spring is usually identified with the one at Lifta, to the E of Kiriath-jearim and about two miles (3 kilometers) NW of Jerusalem. Although this identification would agree with Joshua 15:9, Joshua 18:15, 16 appears to place “the spring of the waters of Nephtoah” W of Kiriath-jearim. Bible translators have variously handled this seeming discrepancy. Following the reading of the Septuagint Version, The Jerusalem Bible replaces “westward” with “towards Gasin.” In the Revised Standard Version the text has been changed in harmony with Joshua 15:9 and reads “to Ephron” instead of “westward.” Ronald A. Knox translates the Hebrew word yamʹmah (westward) according to its literal meaning as “seaward” and, in a footnote, explains: “This ought to mean westwards, towards the Mediterranean, but it seems quite clear that at this point the boundary of Benjamin turned eastward; and the sea is presumably the Dead Sea, its eastward limit.”

NEPHUSHESIM

(Ne·phushʹe·sim), Nephusim (Ne·phuʹsim) [to scatter, or, hackled ones].

A family head of Nethinim, some of whose descendants returned from Babylonian exile with Zerubbabel, 537 B.C.E. (Neh. 7:6, 7, 46, 52; Ezra 2:43, 50) Possibly he was of Ishmaelite ancestry through the Naphish tribe.—Gen. 25:13-15; 1 Chron. 1:29-31; 5:19.

NER

[lamp].

A Benjamite, son of Abiel (Jeiel), father of Abner and Kish, and grandfather of King Saul.—1 Sam. 14:50, 51; 1 Chron. 8:33; 9:39; see ABIEL No. 1.

NEREUS

(Neʹreus) [wet].

A brother who, with his sister, was included in Paul’s greetings to the Roman congregation. (Rom. 16:15) The name is also found on Roman inscriptions listing some of the emperor’s household, as well as in legend.

NERGAL

(Nerʹgal) [lord of the great city].

A Babylonian deity especially worshiped at Cuthah, a city repeatedly referred to in ancient inscriptions as the “city of Nergal.” The people of Cuth (Cuthah), whom the king of Assyria settled in the territory of Samaria, continued worshiping this deity. (2 Ki. 17:24, 30, 33) Some authorities suggest that Nergal was originally associated with fire and the heat of the sun and that later he came to be regarded as a god of war and hunting as well as a bringer of pestilence. The fact that this deity is associated with hunting has given rise to the conjecture that Nergal represents the deified Nimrod, “a mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah.” (Gen. 10:9) The appellatives applied to Nergal in religious texts indicate that he was basically viewed as a destroyer. He is called “the raging king,” “the violent one” and “the one who burns.” Nergal also came to be regarded as the god of the underworld and the consort of Ereshkigal. The human-headed and winged lion is thought to have been the emblem of Nergal.

Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, one of King Nebuchadnezzar’s princes, was evidently named after this god.—Jer. 39:3, 13.

NERGAL-SHAREZER

(Nerʹgal-sha·reʹzer) [‘Nergal, protect the king’].

1. A Babylonian prince of Nebuchadnezzar’s time.—Jer. 39:3.

2. Another important prince in Nebuchadnezzar’s forces at the overthrow of Jerusalem, distinguished from No. 1 above by the added title Rabmag. It was this Rabmag who assisted in the release of Jeremiah from prison.—Jer. 39:3, 13, 14.

Because this name and title bear such a striking resemblance to that found on Babylonian bricks, legal contracts and inscriptions (Nergal-shar-uzur, Rabemga), some authorities think this prince was Neriglissar (Greek form), believed to be the successor of King Evil-merodach (Amel-Marduk).

NERI

(Neʹri) [lamp].

A descendant of King David through Nathan in the royal lineage of Jesus. According to Luke, Shealtiel was “the son of Neri,”