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The Book of Enoch is a title given to several works that are attributed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah; that is, Enoch son of Jared (Genesis 5:18). There are also three other biblical Enochs: the son of Cain (Genesis 4:17), the son of Midian (Genesis 25:4), and the son of Reuben (Genesis 46:9; Exodus 6:14). The last two are transcribed "Hanoch" in the modern translations.

Most commonly, the phrase Book of Enoch refers to 1 Enoch, which survives completely only in the Ethiopic language as far as we know. There are also 2 other books called Enoch, 2 Enoch (surviving only in Old Slavonic, c. 1st century; English translation by R. H. Charles (1896) and 3 Enoch (surviving in Hebrew, c. 5th-6th century.) The numbering of these texts has been applied by scholars to distinguish the texts from one another. The remainder of this article deals with 1 Enoch only.

Though many scholars consider the books of 1 Enoch to be pseudepigraphal, various groups, including the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Essenes, regard parts or all of 1 Enoch to be inspired Scripture. The currently known texts of this work are usually dated to Maccabean times (ca. 160s BC).

History[]

The book consists of five quite distinct sections:

  • The Book of Watchers (1 Enoch 1 - 36)
  • The Book of Parables (1 Enoch 37 - 71) (Also called the Similitudes of Enoch)
  • The Book of the Heavenly Luminaries (1 Enoch 72 - 82) (Usually abbreviated to The Book of Luminaries. Also called the Astronomical Book)
  • The Dream Visions (1 Enoch 83 - 90) (Also called the Book of Dreams)
  • The Epistle of Enoch (1 Enoch 91 - 108)

According to the some scholars, these five sections were originally quite independent works, and were only later redacted together. A great deal of the undercurrent to the narrative of the sections was claimed to be concerned with the era of the Maccabees and it is for that reason that these scholars date the sections as having originated during or after the 2nd century BC. 1 Enoch 6-11, part of the Book of Watchers, is thought to have been the original core of that Book, around which the remainder was later added, not least because Enoch is not mentioned in it.

The Book of Parables appears to be based on the Book of Watchers, but presenting a later development of the idea of final judgement - rather than being a final judgement of the fallen angels, the Book of Parables instead presents a final judgement of earthly kings. The Book of Parables contains several references to a Son of Man, as well as messianic themes, and has only been found in Christian editions of 1 Enoch, so several academics have taken the view that this section dates from more Christian times. However, since the term was also just a Jewish way of saying human, and since the final chapters of the section appear to identify Enoch himself as the Son of Man in question, the work may be earlier, and a number of academics have proposed that the Book of Parables may be as early as the late 1st century BC.

The Book of Dreams contains a vision of a history of Israel all the way down to the revolt of the Maccabees, leading scholars to date it to Maccabean times.

Jazef. T. Milik has suggested that the "Book of Giants" found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls should be part of the collection. Appearing after the Book of Watchers, however, there is no evidence for this to support his opinion.

Canonicity[]

The Greek language text was known to and quoted by nearly all Church Fathers.

There was some dispute about whether the Greek text was an original Christian production or whether it was a translation from an Aramaic text; the chief argument for a Christian author was the occurrence of references to the Messiah as the Son of Man. The Ethiopian Church considers the Ethiopic version to be the original, since it is the only complete version, while the other languages only have different fragments of it. Despite this, the majority of western scholars now claim a 3rd century BC Jewish authorship for its earliest parts, considering that a few Aramaic texts of Enoch were discovered at Qumran among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Before the Qumran discovery, the scholars had been unwilling to date it any earlier than the next earliest known reference, but once the Qumran discovery proved them wrong, they immediately revised their date backward to state that that was the earliest it could have been written.

The book maybe referred to, and quoted, in Jude, 1:14–15 (KJV):

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these [men], saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Compare this with Enoch 1:9, translated from the Ethiopian:

And behold! He cometh with ten thousand times a thousand of His holy ones To execute judgement upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh Of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.

A number of the Church Fathers thought parts of it was based on actual events, particularly Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian, some believed this based on its quotation in Jude. However, some later Fathers denied the canonicity of the book and some even considered the letter of Jude uncanonical because it refers to an "apocryphal" work (Cf. Gerome, Catal. Script. Eccles. 4.).

After being struck from the Hebrew Scriptures by the Sanhedrin at Yavneh c. 90 AD, the book was discredited after the (Christian) Council of Laodicea in 364; subsequently the Greek text was lost.

Some excerpts are given by the 8th century monk George Syncellus in his chronography, which are published in Dillmann's translation, pp. 82-86. In the 9th century it is listed as an apocryphon of the New Testament by Patriarch Nicephorus Cf. Niceph. (ed. Dindorf), I. 787.

Rediscovery[]

Outside of Ethiopia, the text of the Book of Enoch was considered lost until the beginning of the 17th century, when it was confidently asserted that the book was found in an Ethiopic translation there, and the learned Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc bought a book that was claimed to be identical to the one quoted by the Epistle of Jude (and the Epistle of Barnabas - Epistle xvi. 5) and by the Church Fathers: Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen and Clement of Alexandria. Hiob Ludolf, the great Ethiopic scholar of the 17th and 18th centuries, soon proved it to be a forgery produced by Abba Bahaila Michael (Ludolf, "Commentarius in Hist. Aethip." P. 347).

Better success was achieved by the famous Scottish traveller James Bruce, who in 1773 returned to Europe from six years in Abyssinia with three copies of a Ge'ez version (Bruce, Travels, vol 2, page 422). One is preserved in the Bodleian Library, another was presented to the royal library of France (the nucleus of the Bibliothèque nationale), the third was kept by Bruce. The copies remained unused until the 1800s, Silvestre de Sacy, in "Notices ur le lire d' Enoch" in the Magazin Encyclopédique, an vi. tome I. P. 382 included extracts of the books with latin translations (Enoch chap 1,2,5-16,22,32). From this a German translation was made by Rink in 1801.

The first translation of the Bodleian/Ethiopic MS was published in 1821 by Professor Richard Laurence, afterwards archbishop of Cashel. Titled "The Book of Enoch, the prophet: an apocryphal production, supposed to have been lost for ages; but discovered at the close of the last century in Abyssinia; now first translated from an Ethiopic MS in the Bodleian Library. Oxford, 1821.". With a second edition being released in 1833 and a third edition in 1838.

Laurence in 1838 also released an edited Ethiopic text named "Libri Enoch Prophetae Versio Aethiopica". The text divided into 105 chapters was even then considered unreliable as was published in "The severe judgement on Laurence by Dillmann, Das Buch Henoch, p lvii".

Professor A. G. Hoffmann released a translation in 1833 based on this work called "Das Buch Henoch in vollständiger Uebersetxung, mit fortlaugendem Commentar, ausführlicher Einleitung und erläuternden Excursen" but due to the use at least in part of Laurence's later work there where a number of mistakes that are prevalent. Two other translations came out around the same time one in 1836 called "Enoch Retitutus, or an Attempt" (Rev Edward Murray) and in 1840 "Prophetae veteres Pseudepigraphi, partim ex Abyssinico vel Hebraico sermonibus Latine bersi" (Gfrörer). However both are considered to be poor - the 1836 translation most of all and is discussed in Hoffmann, Zweiter Excurs, pages 917-965.

The first reliable edition appeared in 1851 as "Liber Henoch, Aethiopice, ad quinque codicum fidem editus, cum variis lectionibus" which is based on the Ethiopic text edited by A. Dillmann, with a accurate translation of the book with reliable notes released in 1853 titled "Das Buch Henoch, übersetzt und erklärt" which was considered an impeccable edition until the 1900's. A famous edition was published in 1912 by the famous R.H. Charles.

European scholars and academics consider the Ethiopic version to be translated from Greek which was in turn translated from the Aramaic (possibly Hebrew for chapters 37-71). This is vehemently disputed by Ethiopian scholars and clergy, who insist that, since the only complete text of Enoch to surface so far is in Ethiopic, whereas the Aramaic and Greek copies exist only in separate and incomplete fragments, it proves their claim that this was the original language written by Enoch himself. In the Ethiopian Orthodox view, the following opening sentence of Enoch is the first and oldest sentence written in any human language, since Enoch was the first to write letters:

ቃለ በረከት ዘሄኖክ ዘከመ ባረከ ኅሩያነ ወጻድቃነ እለ ሀለው ይኩኑ
በዕለተ ምንዳቤ ለአሰስሎ ኲሉ እኩያን ወረሲዓን።
Qalä bäräkät zä-Henok zäkämä barräkä ḫəruyanä wätsadqanä 'əlä häläw yəkunu
bä`əlätä məndabe lä'äsäslo kwilu 'əkuyan wäräsiʿan
"Word of blessing of Henok, wherewith he blessed the chosen and righteous who would be alive in the day of tribulation for the removal of all wrongdoers and backsliders."
(To see the Ge'ez font above, you need to have GF Zemen True Type font in your computer's font folder)

In the early period of Ethiopian literature, before the introduction of Arabic influence, there was considerable translation activity of much Greek literature into Ge'ez by Ethiopian theologians. Because of this, there are many texts for which both the Ge'ez translation and the Greek original are known; however, in this case, the language and thought of Ge'ez Enoch are thoroughly Semitic, and show no indication of having been transmitted through Greek.

Since Bruce's discovery, an Old Church Slavonic translation has been identified, Greek fragments (En. 89:42–49, Codex Vaticanus Cod. Gr. 1809) as well as two separate fragments of a Latin translation. Fragments of papyri containing parts of the Greek version were recovered by a French archeological team at Akhmim and published five years later in 1892.

Seven fragments from the Book of Enoch in Aramaic have also been identified in the Qumran Cave 4, among the Dead Sea scrolls [1] and are in the care of the Israel Antiquities Authority. They were translated and talked about by Jazef. T. Milik and Matthew. Black in The Books of Enoch, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976. With a more modern translation being released by Vermes and Garcia-Martinez (Vermes 513-515; Garcia- Martinez 246-259). Milik described them as being white or cream in color, blankened in areas, made of leather which was smooth, thick and stiff. It was also partly damaged with the ink blurred and faint. The individual finds are:

  • Parts of Book Of Watchers. - 4QEna (4QEn201), 4QEnb (4QEn203)
  • Book of Watchers and The Dream Visions. - 4QEnd (4QEn205), 4QEne (4QEn206)
  • Book of Watchers, The Dream Visions, and Epistle of Enoch. - 4QEnc (4QEn204)
  • The Dream Visions - 4QEnf (4QEn207)
  • The Epistle of Enoch - 4QEng (4QEn212).
  • Book Of Luminaries - 4QEnastra, 4QEnastrb, 4QEnastrc, and 4QEnastrd

As well as the above find, a number of Greek versions of 1 Enoch were found in Qumran Cave 7 by Muro, Ernest A. Jr. They are chapter 103:3-4 in 7Q4, 7Q12 and Chapter 103:7-8 in 7Q8. These where written on papyrus with lines of a grid written on them, they are much smaller than those discovered in Cave 4.

Influence from the book has been traced in the Hiberno-Latin poem Altus prosator.

Content[]

The Book of Enoch describes the fall of the Watchers who fathered the Nephilim. The fallen angels then went to Enoch to intercede on their behalf with God. The remainder of the book describes Enoch's visit to Heaven in the form of a vision, and his revelations.

The book contains descriptions of the movement of heavenly bodies (in connection with Enoch's trip to Heaven), and some parts of the book have been speculated about as containing instructions for the construction of a solar declinometer (the Uriel's machine theory).

The Book of the Watchers[]

Dated: Believed to be 2nd century BCE [according to texts that are known to exist]

I-V. Parable of Enoch on the Future Lot of the Wicked and the Righteous.

VI-XI. The Fall of the Angels: the Demoralization of Mankind: the Intercession of the Angels on behalf of Mankind. The Dooms pronounced by God on the Angels of the Messianic Kingdom.

XII-XVI. Dream-Vision of Enoch: his Intercession for Azâzêl and the fallen angels: and his Announcement of their first and final Doom.

XVII-XXXVI. Enoch's Journeys through the Earth and Sheol.

  • XVII-XIX. The First Journey.
  • XX. Names and Functions of the Seven Archangels.
  • XXI. Preliminary and final Place of Punishment of the fallen Angels (stars).
  • XXII. Sheol or the Underworld.
  • XXIII. The fire that deals with the Luminaries of Heaven.
  • XXIV-XXV. The Seven Mountains in the North-West and the Tree of Life.
  • XXVI. Jerusalem and the Mountains, Ravines, and Streams.
  • XXVII. The Purpose of the Accursed Valley.
  • XXVIII-XXXIII. Further Journey to the East.
  • XXXIV-XXXV. Enoch's Journey to the North.
  • XXXVI. The Journey to the South.

This introduction to the Book of Enoch tells us who Enoch is, "a just man, whose eyes were opened by God so that he saw vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the sons of God showed to me, and from them I heard everything, and I knew what I saw, but [these things that I saw will] not [come to pass] for this generaion, but for a generation that has yet to come."

It discusses God coming to Earth on Mount Sinai with his hosts to pass judgement on mankind. It also tells us about the luminaries rising and setting in the order and in their own time and never change.

"Observe and see how (in the winter) all the trees seem as though they had withered and shed all their leaves, except fourteen trees, which do not lose their foliage but retain the old foliage from two to three years till the new comes."

How all things are ordained by God and take place in his own time. The sinners shall perish and the great and the good shall live on in light, joy and peace.

"And all His works go on thus from year to year for ever, and all the tasks which they accomplish for Him, and their tasks change not, but according as God hath ordained so is it done."

It depicts the interaction of the fallen angels with mankind; Sêmîazâz compels the other 199 fallen angels to take human wives to "beget us children".

"And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.'. Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it."

The names of the leaders are given:

"And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. These are their chiefs of tens."

This results in the creation of the Nephilim (Genesis) or Anakim/Anak (Giants) as they are described in the book:

"And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells [the Ethiopian text gives 300 cubits (135 meters), which is probably a corruption of 30 cubits (13.5 meters)]: Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood."

It also discusses the teaching of humans by the fallen angels chiefly Azâzêl:

"And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl, taught astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun, and Sariêl the course of the moon."

Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel appeal to God to judge the inhabitants of the world and the fallen angels. Uriel is then sent by God to tell Noah of the coming apocalypse and what he needs to do.

"Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spoke, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him: Go to Noah and tell him in my name "Hide thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. And now instruct him that he may escape and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world."

God commands Raphael to imprison Azâzêl:

"the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azâzêl hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dûdâêl (Gods Kettle/Crucible/Cauldron), and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azâzêl: to him ascribe all sin."

God gave Gabriel instructions concerning the Nephilim and the inprisonment of the fallen angels:

"And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the biters and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle"

Some suggest that 'biters' should read 'bastards' but the name is so unusual that some believe that the implication that's made by the reading of 'biters' is more or less correct. The biters may also be the Anunnaki.

The Lord commands Michael to bind the fallen angels. "And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjâzâ and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. 12. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated. 13. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: 〈and〉 to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations."

Book of Parables[]

Dated : presumed by many scholars to be written during 1st century BCE

XXXVIII-XLIV. The First Parable.

  • XXXVIII. The Coming Judgement of the Wicked.
  • XXXIX. The Abode of the Righteous and the Elect One: the Praises of the Blessed.
  • XL-XLI. 2. The Four Archangels.
  • XLI. 3-9. Astronomical Secrets.
  • XLII. The Dwelling-places of Wisdom and of Unrighteousness.
  • XLIII-XLIV. Astronomical Secrets.

XLV-LVII. The Second Parable.

  • XLV. The Lot of the Apostates: the New Heaven and the New Earth.
  • XLVI. The Head of Days and the Son of Man.
  • XLVII. The Prayer of the Righteous for Vengeance and their Joy at its coming.
  • XLVIII. The Fount of Righteousness: the Son of Man -the Stay of the Righteous: Judgement of the Kings and the Mighty.
  • XLIX. The Power and Wisdom of the Elect One.
  • L. The Glorification and Victory of the Righteous: the Repentance of the Gentiles.
  • LI. The Resurrection of the Dead, and the Separation by the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.
  • LII. The Seven Metal Mountains and the Elect One.
  • LIII-LIV. The Valley of Judgement: the Angels of Punishment: the Communities of the Elect One.
  • LIV.7.-LV.2. Noachic Fragment on the first World Judgement.
  • LV.3.-LVI.4. Final Judgement of Azazel, the Watchers and their children.
  • LVI.5-8. Last Struggle of the Heathen Powers against Israel.
  • LVII. The Return from the Dispersion.

LVIII-LXXI. The Third Parable.

  • LVIII. The Blessedness of the Saints.
  • LIX. The Lights and the Thunder.
  • [Book Of Noah fragments]
  • LX. Quaking of the Heaven: Behemoth and Leviathan: the Elements.
  • LXI. Angels go off to measure Paradise: the Judgement of the Righteous by the Elect One: the Praise of the Elect One and of God.
  • LXII. Judgement of the Kings and the Mighty: Blessedness of the Righteous.
  • LXIII. The unavailing Repentance of the Kings and the Mighty.
  • LXIV. Vision of the Fallen Angels in the Place of Punishment.
  • LXV. Enoch foretells to Noah the Deluge and his own Preservation.
  • LXVI. The Angels of the Waters bidden to hold them in Check.
  • LXVII. God's Promise to Noah: Places of Punishment of the Angels and of the Kings.
  • LXVIII. Michael and Raphael astonished at the Severity of the Judgement.
  • LXIX. The Names and Functions of the (fallen Angels and) Satans: the secret Oath.
  • LXX. The Final Translation of Enoch.
  • LXXI. Two earlier Visions of Enoch.

The Book of the Heavenly Luminaries[]

Dated: presumed by some scholars to have been written in 200 BCE to 100 BCE

  • LXXII. The Sun.
  • LXXIII. The Moon and its Phases.
  • LXXIV. The Lunar Year.
  • LXXVI. The Twelve Winds and their Portals.
  • LXXVII. The Four Quarters of the World: the Seven Mountains, the Seven Rivers, Seven Great Islands.
  • LXXVIII. The Sun and Moon: the Waxing and Waning of the Moon.
  • LXXIX-LXXX.1. Recapitulation of several of the Laws.
  • LXXX.2-8. Perversion of Nature and the heavenly Bodies due to the Sin of Men.
  • LXXXI. The Heavenly Tablets and the Mission of Enoch.
  • LXXXII. Charge given to Enoch: the four Intercalary days: the Stars which lead the Seasons and the Months.

This section uses the same calendar as that described in the Book of Jubilees and that used by the Dead Sea sect. For a great in detail description of the information of the Enoch calendar try going to Enoch Calendar Testifies of Christ by John P. Pratt

The Dream Visions[]

Dated: presumed to by some scholars, but not all, to have been written in 140 BCE to 37 BCE

LXXXIII-LXXXIV. First Dream-Vision on the Deluge. LXXXV-XC. Second Dream-Vision of Enoch: the History of the World to the Founding of the Messianic Kingdom.

  • LXXXVI. The Fall of the Angels and the Demoralization of Mankind.
  • LXXXVII. The Advent of the Seven Archangels.
  • LXXXVIII. The Punishment of the Fallen Angels by the Archangels.
  • LXXXIX.1-9. The Deluge and the Deliverance of Noah.
  • LXXXIX.10-27. From the Death of Noah to the Exodus.
  • LXXXIX.28-40. Israel in the Desert, the Giving of the Law, the Entrance into Palestine.
  • LXXXIX.41-50. From the Time of the Judges to the Building of the Temple.
  • LXXXIX.51-67. The Two Kingdoms of Israel and Judah to the Destruction of Jerusalem.
  • LXXXIX.68-71. First Period of the Angelic Rulers -from the Destruction of Jerusalem to the Return from Captivity.
  • LXXXIX.72-77. Second Period -from the Time of Cyrus to that of Alexander the Great.
  • XC.1-5. Third Period -from Alexander the Great to the Graeco-Syrian Domination.
  • XC.6-12. Fourth Period Graeco-Syrian Domination to the Maccabean Revolt.
  • XC.13-19. The last Assault of the Gentiles on the Jews (where vv. 13-15 and 16-18 are doublets).
  • XC.20-27. Judgement of the Fallen Angels, the Shepherds, and the Apostates.
  • XC.28-42. The New Jerusalem, the Conversion of the surviving Gentiles, the Resurrection of the Righteous, the Messiah. Enoch awakes and weeps.

One of several hypothetical reconstructions of the meanings in the dream is as follows based on the works of R. H. Charles and G. H. Schodde:

  • White color of moral purity
  • Black color of sin and contamination of the fallen angels
  • Red the color of blood refernce to his martydom
  • White bull is Adam
  • Female heifer is Eve (notice she becomes a cow)
  • Red calf is Abel
  • Black calf is Cain
  • White calf is Seth
Noah Section
  • Lord of the sheep is God
  • Fallen star is either Samyaza or Azazel
  • Elephants are Giants
  • Camels are Nephilim
  • Asses are Elioud
  • Sheep are the faithful
  • Rams are leaders
  • Herds are the tribes of Israel
  • Wild Asses are Ishmael, and his descendants including the Midianites (Gen. 16:12, :37:28, Ex. 2:15)
  • Wild Boars are Esau and his descendants, Edom and Amalek (Gen. 36:15-19, 36:15-16)
  • Bears (Hyenas/Wolves in Ethiopic) are the Egyptians
  • Dogs are Philistines
  • Tigers are Aramites
  • Hyenas are Assyrians
  • Ravens (Crows) are Seleucids (Syrians)
  • Kites are Ptolemies
  • Eagles are Macedonians (Greeks)
  • Vultures (possibly bad Ethiopic translation)
  • Foxes are Ammonites and Moabites (Gen. 19:37-38)

This book contains history pertaining to the last assault of Gentiles and does have history of the Messianic period but many propose it is likely written in the early Hasmonean period (140 BCE to 37 BCE) after the date the Book of Daniel was written.

There are a great many links between the first book and this one including the outline of the story and the imprisonment of the leaders and destruction of the Nephilim. The dream includes sections relating to the book of Watchers:

"And those seventy shepherds were judged and found guilty, and they were cast into that fiery abyss. And I saw at that time how a like abyss was opened in the midst of the earth, full of fire, and they brought those blinded sheep." - The fall of the evil ones

"And all the oxen feared them and were affrighted at them, and began to bite with their teeth and to devour, and to gore with their horns. And they began, moreover, to devour those oxen; and behold all the children of the earth began to tremble and quake before them and to flee from them." - The creation of the Nephilim et al.

86:4, 87:3, 88:2, and 89:6 all describe the types of Nephilim that are created during the times described in The Book of Watchers though this doesn't mean that the authors of both books are the same. Similar references exist in Jubilees (7:21-22).

The book describes their release from the Arc along with three bulls white, red and black which are Shem, Japheth, and Ham in 90:9. It also covers the death of Noah described as the white bull and the creation of many nations:

"And they began to bring forth beasts of the field and birds, so that there arose different genera: lions, tigers, wolves, dogs, hyenas, wild boars, foxes, squirrels, swine, falcons, vultures, kites, eagles, and ravens" 90:10

It then describes the story of Moses and Aaron (90:13-15) including the miracle of the river splitting in two for them to pass, and the creation of the stone commandments. Eventually arriving at a "pleasant and glorious land" (90:40) where attacked by dogs (Philistines), foxes (Ammonites, Moabites) and wild boars (Esau).

"44. And that sheep whose eyes were opened saw that ram, which was amongst the sheep, till it †forsook its glory† and began to butt those sheep, and trampled upon them, and behaved itself unseemly. 45. And the Lord of the sheep sent the lamb to another lamb and raised it to being a ram and leader of the sheep instead of that ram which had †forsaken its glory†." - David replacing Saul as leader of Israel

The creation of Solomon's temple it also describes the house which may be the tabernacle "50. And that house became great and broad, and it was built for those sheep: (and) a tower lofty and great was built on the house for the Lord of the sheep, and that house was low, but the tower was elevated and lofty, and the Lord of the sheep stood on that tower and they offered a full table before Him". This interpretation is accepted by Dillmann p 262, Vernes p 89, and Schodde p. 107. It also describes the escape of Elijah the prophet, In 1 Kings 17:2-24 he is fed by 'ravens' so if Kings uses a similar analogy he may have been fed by the Seleucids.

"saw the Lord of the sheep how He wrought much slaughter amongst them in their herds until those sheep invited that slaughter and betrayed His place." This describes the various tribes of Israel 'inviting' in other nations 'betraying his place' i.e. the land promised to their ancestors by God.

This part of the book can be taken to be the kingdom splitting into the northern and southern tribes. That is Israel and Judah eventually leading to Israel falling to the Assyrians in 721 BCE and Judah falling to the Babylonians a little over a century later 597 BCE.

"55. And He gave them over into the hands of the lions and tigers, and wolves and hyenas, and into the hand of the foxes, and to all the wild beasts, and those wild beasts began to tear in pieces those sheep." - God abandons Israel for they have abandoned him.

There is also mention in fifty nine of seventy shepherds with their own seasons; there seems to be some debate on the meaning of this section some suggesting that its a reference to the 70 appointed times in 25:11, 9:2, 1:12 KJV. Another interpretation is the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24. However the general interpretation is that these are simply Angels. This section of the book and later near the end describes the appointment by God of the 70 angels to protect the Israelites from enduring too much harm from the 'beasts and birds'. The later section (110:14) describes how the 70 angels are judged for causing more harm to Israel than he desired finding them guilty and are "cast into an abyss, full of fire and flaming, and full of pillars of fire."

"66. And the lions and tigers eat and devoured the greater part of those sheep, and the wild boars eat along with them; and they burnt that tower and demolished that house." The sacking of Solomon's temple and the tabernacle in Jerusalem by the Babylonians as they take Judah in 587 BCE/586 BCE exiling the remaining Jews.

"72. And forthwith I saw how the shepherds pastured for twelve hours, and behold three of those sheep turned back and came and entered and began to build up all that had fallen down of that house;"

"Cyrus allowed Sheshbazzar, a prince from the tribe of Judah, to bring the Jews from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Jews were allowed to return with the Temple vessels that the Babylonians had taken. Construction of the Second Temple began." - History of ancient Israel and Judah the temple is finished being built in 515 BCE.

The first part of this next section of the book clearly described the Maccabean revolt of 167 BCE against the Seleucids.

The following two quotes have been altered from their original form to make the meanings of the animal names clear.

"And I saw in the vision how the [Seleucids] flew upon those [faithful] and took one of those lambs, and dashed the sheep in pieces and devoured them. And I saw till horns grew upon those lambs, and the [Seleucids] cast down their horns; and I saw till there sprouted a great horn of one of those [faithful], and their eyes were opened. And it looked at them and their eyes opened, and it cried to the sheep, and the rams saw it and all ran to it. And notwithstanding all this those [Macedonians] and vultures and [Seleucids] and [Ptolemies] still kept tearing the sheep and swooping down upon them and devouring them: still the sheep remained silent, but the rams lamented and cried out. And those [Seleucids] fought and battled with it and sought to lay low its horn, but they had no power over it." 109:8-12

"All the [Macedonians] and vultures and [Seleucids] and [Ptolemies] were gathered together, and there came with them all the sheep of the field, yea, they all came together, and helped each other to break that horn of the ram." 110:16

The first sentence is most likely the death of High Priest Oniass III who is murdered which is described in 2 Macc 3, 33-35 (Dies aprox 171 BCE). The 'great horn' clearly isn't Mattathias the initiator of the rebellion as he dies a natural death as described in 1 Maccabees 2 49. It's also not Alexander the Great as the great horn is described as a warrior who has fought the Macedonians, Seleucids and Ptolemies. Judas Maccabeus (167 BCE-160 BCE) has fought all three of these, with a large number of winning battles against the Seleucids over a large period of time "they had no power over it". He is also described as "one great horn among six others on the head of a lamb" possibly pertaining to his five brothers and Mattathias. If you take this in context of the history from Maccabeus time Dillman Chrest Aethiop says verse 13 can find its explanation in: 1 Maccabees iii 7; vi. 52; v. 2 Maccabees vi. 8 sqq., 13, 14 1 Maccabees vii 41, 42 2 Maccabees x v, 8 sqq. The evidence does seem to suggest that this is in fact the life and times of Judas Maccabeus. He is eventually killed by the Seleucids at the Battle of Elasa where he faced "twenty thousand foot soldiers and two thousand cavalry".

At one time it was believed this passage possibly belonged to John Hyrcanus the only reason for this was the time between Alexander the Great and John Maccabeus was too short. However the large amount of evidence has led to the belief that this section does indeed discuss Maccabeus.

It then describes "And I saw till a great sword was given to the sheep, and the sheep proceeded against all the beasts of the field to slay them, and all the beasts and the birds of the heaven fled before their face." This might be simply the "power of God", God was with them to avenge the death. It may also be perhaps Jonathan Apphus taking over command of the rebels to battle on after Judas death.

Other possible appearances are John Hyrcanus (Hyrcanus I) (Hasmonean dynasty) "And all that had been destroyed and dispersed, and all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the heaven, assembled in that house, and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced with great joy because they were all good and had returned to His house." Possibly describing Johns reign a time of great peace and prosperity. Scholors also say Alexander Jannaeus of Judaea is included in this book. The end of the book describes the new Jerusalem culminating in the birth of a Messiah:

"37. And I saw that a white bull was born, with large horns and all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air feared him and made petition to him all the time. 38. And I saw till all their generations were transformed, and they all became white bulls; and the first among them became a lamb, and that lamb became a great animal and had great black horns on its head; and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced over it and over all the oxen."

The Epistle of Enoch[]

Dated: some scholars propose a date somewhere between the 1st century BCE to 170 BCE

XCII, XCI.1-10, 18-19. Enoch's Book of Admonition for his Children.

  • XCI.1-10, 18-19. Enoch's Admonition to his Children.
  • XCIII, XCI.12-17. The Apocalypse of Weeks.
  • XCI.12-17. The Last Three Weeks.
  • XCIV.1-5. Admonitions to the Righteous.
  • XCIV.6-11. Woes for the Sinners.
  • XCV. Enoch's Grief: fresh Woes against the Sinners.
  • XCVI. Grounds of Hopefulness for the Righteous: Woes for the Wicked.
  • XCVII. The Evils in Store for Sinners and the Possessors of Unrighteous Wealth.
  • XCVIII. Self-indulgence of Sinners: Sin originated by Man: all Sin recorded in Heaven: Woes for the Sinners.
  • XCIX. Woes pronounced on the Godless, the Lawbreakers: evil Plight of Sinners in The Last Days: further Woes.
  • C. The Sinners destroy each other: Judgement of the Fallen Angels: the Safety of the Righteous: further Woes for the Sinners.
  • CI. Exhortation to the fear of God: all Nature fears Him but not the Sinners.
  • CII. Terrors of the Day of Judgement: the adverse Fortunes of the Righteous on the Earth.
  • CIII. Different Destinies of the Righteous and the Sinners: fresh Objections of the Sinners.
  • CIV. Assurances given to the Righteous: Admonitions to Sinners and the Falsifiers of the Words of Uprightness.
  • CV. God and the Messiah to dwell with Man.
  • [Fragment of the Book of Noah]

This section contains a text called the "Apocalypse of Weeks" which some scholars believe to have been written at about 167 BCE. A better title could be "the Instruction of Enoch" considering that these chapters aren't written in the form of a letter. It can be found at 93:1-10 and 91:11-17.

No parts of chapters 37-71 were found in Qumran where many of the oldest copies of the Books of Enoch where located. This once lead many experts (Lucke (1832), Hofman (1852), Wiesse (1856), Phillippe (1868) and J.T. Milik (1950)) to believe that those chapters where written in the 2 century 'AD' by a Jewish Chirstian to enhance Christian beliefs with Enochs authoritive name. However James H. Charlesworth in his book "The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament" says:

"It became obvious that Milik had not proved his position, as Fitzmyer pointed out as soon as The Book of Enoch had been published. Repeatedly the specialists on I Enoch have come out in favor of the Jewish nature and its first century C.E. origin, and probable pre-70 date. The list of specialists on I Enoch arguing for this position has become overwhelmingly impressive: Issac, Nickelsburg, Stone, Knibb, Anderson, Black, VanderKam, Greenfield and Sutter. The consensus communis is unparalleled in almost any other area of research; no specialists now argues that I Enoch 37-71 is a Christian and postdates the first century." Page 89.

Chapter 105 some suppose that it may be a Christian additiona and 108 many believe to be a later addition.

Miscellaneous[]

Names of the Fallen Angels[]

Some of the fallen angels that are given in the following list have other names; such as Rameel ('morning of God'), who becomes Azazel ('arrogant towards God') who is also called Gadriel ('wall of God') in Chapter 69. Another example is that Araqiel ('Earth of God') becomes Aretstikapha ('world of distortion') in Chapter 69. These are the names of the 20 leaders of the Watchers as listed in the translation of the Greek and Ethiopion texts.

The suffix of the names 'el' means 'God' (List of names referring to El) which is used in the names of high ranking angels. The Archangels all include this such as Uriel (Flame of God) or Michael "he who is like God" or "likened unto God".

# Translated Aramaic Greek Description Michael Knibb
1. Samyaza/Sêmîazâz/Semjâzâ/Shemyaza שמיחזה Σεμιαζά Infamous for his Arrogance; 'shem' [meaning 'name' or 'fame' {whether positive or negative}] + 'azaz' [which means 'rebellion' or 'arrogance' as a negative particle]. Knibb lists him as “the (or my) name has seen” or “he sees the name”. The interesting thing about the second interpretation is there is a tale about Semjâzâ knowing the explicit name of God and making a deal with a human Istahar to tell her the name.
2. Arâkîba/Araqiel/Arakiel ףלא ףקתן ‘Αραθάκ Κιμβρά Earth of God; the combination of araq (Babylonian in origin) and 'God'. Knibb lists him as a combination of two names “the land of the mighty one” or “the land is mighty”
3. Râmêêl/Azazel רמשןאל ‘Αρρκιήλ Arrogant towards God; the combination of azaz [as a negative partivcle] and 'God'. “The evening of God”
4. Kôkabîêl כוככאל χωβαβιήλ Star of God; the combination of kokab and 'God' “Star of God”
5. Tâmîêl Not known Ταμιήλ Perfection of God; the combination of tamiym and 'God'. “God is Perfect” or “Perfection of God”
6. Râmîêl דעמאןל ‘Ραμιήλ Thunder of God; the combination of ra'am and 'God' “Thunder of God”
7. Daniel/Dânêl רניאל Δανειήλ Judgment of God; the combination of dan and 'God'. Knibb says it is “God has judged” and lists him as the seventh angel who taught the signs of the sun.
8. Chazaqiel/Êzêqêêl זיקיאל ‘Εζεκιήλ Cloud of God; the combination of chazaq and 'God' “Shooting star of God”
9. Barâqîjâl/Baraqel ברקאל Βαρακιήλ Lightning of God; the combination of baraq and 'God'. “Lightning of God”
10. Asâêl צסאל ‘Ασεάλ Unknown but it's speculated to be 'creation of God' as a result of asah and 'God'. “God has made”
11. Armârôs תרמני ‘Αρεαρώς Suggested to be 'accursed one' “the one from Hermon”
12. Batariel/Batârêl מטראל Βατριήλ Valley of God; the combination of bathar (Babylonian in origin) and 'God'. “Rain of God”
13. Ananiel/Anânêl עננאל ‘Ανανθνά Rain of God; the combination of anan and 'God' “cloud of god”
14. Zaqîêl סתראןל ‘Ρρκειήλ Purity of God; the combination of zaqaq and 'God' Possibly “God has hidden” or “God has protected”
15. Shamsiel/Samsâpêêl שמשין אל Σεμιήλ Sun of God; the combination of shamash (Babylonian in origin) and 'God' “Sun of God” a derivative of Shamash the sun God.
16. Satariel/Satarêl/Sartael שהריאל Σαθιήλ Side of God; the combination of shetar (Babylonian in origin) and 'God' Possibly “Moon of God” or “Dawn of God”
17. Turiel/Tûrêl טויאלר Τονριήλ Rock of God; the combination of tuwr and 'God' Means “Mountain of God” or “Rock of God”
18. Yomiel/Jômjâêl אל ימין ‘Ιωμειήλ Day of God; the combination of yom and 'God' “Day of God”
19. Sariêl זהריןאל ‘Ατριήλ Moon of God; the combination of sa'ar and 'God' Possibly “light of God” or “moon of God” however in Knibb he is listed as Araziel.
20. Bezaliel/Busasejal/Basasael ןיאל (damaged) Θωνιήλ (damaged) shadow of God; the combination of tsel and 'God' No listing due to lack of decent text with which to translate. It also isn’t included in Chaper 3 of R. H. Charles' translation, which was made in 1917. Knibb says as of 1982 there were various translations all with different names and meanings. This name is taken from the list that can be found in Chapter 69; he's listed as the 13th.

The following name is found in very few translations but most text don't include it:

  • Antares (Anti Ares)

This name really shouldn't be counted in the list because scholars would generally agree that the 20 names that are listed above or variations of those names were the only ones that were originally included; in the list in section 2 of the Book of Watchers.

Whoever posted this name from should post a link to the text that has it below.

Ahiah[]

The Legends of the Jews by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg describes Ahiah as the son of the fallen angel Semjâzâ.

Notes[]

The quotes that are found on this article were taken from a revised form of Archbishop R.H. Charles' translation. This version includes the Ethiopic the Greek preserved In Syncellus which consists of two seperate forms, and the Greek Version discovered at Akhmîm which is stored at Gizeh Museum, Cairo. The link is below in the External Links List.

If you include a quote from a later edition that you consider to be of better quality, such as Charlesworth, please list where it comes from here and if possible the source materials used.

References[]

  • The Book of Enoch compiled and edited by Ronald K. Brown ISBN 096757370X
  • 1 Enoch: A New Translation, translated by George W.E. Nichelsburg and James C. VanderKam. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004. ISBN 0-800636945
  • The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4, Milik, Jazef. T.
  • The Books of Enoch, Aramaic Fragments., Milik J. T., and Black Matthew. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976.
  • The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament, James H. Charlesworth, Trinity Press International, ISBN 1-56338-257-1, Copyright 1998
  • Qumran & Apocalyptic Studies on the Aramaic Texts from Qumran., Martinez, Garcia F., New York: E. J. Brill, 1992.
  • The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English. Complete ed., Vermes, Geza, New York: Allen Lane/Penguin Press, 1997.
  • Judaism Outside the Hebrew Canon, ?, pp. 137-138
  • The Ethiopic Book Of Enoch., Knibb, Michael A., Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978, repr. 1982.
  • Histoire des Idees Messianiques, Maurice Vernes, 1874
  • De Apokalypse van Henoch en het Essenisme, Tijdschrift, Mei, 1875., Tideman
  • Archiv II. 2, p. 163-246, Gebhardt, Merx's (The 80 shepherds and their significance)
  • The Book Of Enoch translated by R. H. Charles D.LITT., D.D. with an introduction by W. O. E. OESTERLEY, D.D., Charles. H. R, 1917
  • The Book of Enoch translated from the Ethiopic with Introduction and notes by Rev George H Schodde Ph. D., Schodde. H. G., 1882, Andover Warren F Draper

See also[]

External links[]

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