Two very different ancient ideas
The Anunnaki belong to the religious world of ancient Mesopotamia, the region associated with places such as Babylon and Assyria. In Mesopotamian stories, including material connected with the Epic of Gilgamesh, they are divine beings within a many-god religious system. They are not presented as human descendants or as a people called Nephilim.
The Bible never uses the name Anunnaki. It also never links the Nephilim to Gilgamesh, Sumer, Babylon, or any Mesopotamian deity. Similar themes can appear in neighbouring ancient cultures, especially stories about gods, heroes, floods, and mighty figures. But a similarity does not prove that two names refer to the same beings.
The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
What Genesis actually says
Genesis mentions the Nephilim only briefly, in the troubling setting before the flood. The passage says they were on the earth in those days and describes mighty men of old and men of renown (Genesis 6:4). The KJV calls them giants, but the Hebrew word behind that translation is nephilim. Its precise meaning and background remain debated.
The verses also mention the sons of God and daughters of men. Some Christians understand the sons of God as rebellious angels. Others see them as men from the godly line of Seth who married women from an ungodly society. Both views have been held by readers who take Scripture seriously. Genesis does not identify either group as the Anunnaki.
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
And what about Numbers?
The Nephilim appear again when frightened Israelite spies report on Canaan. They compare themselves to grasshoppers beside the people they saw and claim to have seen Nephilim there (Numbers 13:32-33). Yet the wider story makes clear that these spies were spreading fear and discouraging Israel from trusting God.
Their report may preserve a memory of unusually formidable people, or it may include fearful exaggeration. Either way, the passage does not explain that the Nephilim were gods, visitors from another world, or figures from the Epic of Gilgamesh. It records what the spies said in a moment of unbelief.
And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Stay close to what God has revealed
Questions about ancient mysteries can be fascinating. Still, the Bible's main message is not a code about lost civilisations. It tells the story of the holy God who judges evil, keeps mercy in view, and rescues people through Jesus. The flood account itself moves quickly from humanity's violence to God's dealings with Noah (Genesis 6:5-8).
So it is wise to hold theories about the Nephilim lightly. Don't let dramatic claims carry more authority than the text. Scripture is given to make God's people wise and equipped for faithful living (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Read Genesis carefully, ask honest questions, and let the clear truth of God shape how you handle the unclear details.