THE BOOK OF THE WATCHERS
Last time we began by speaking about “the Jewish scene in the time of Jesus”[1] and the necessity to understand who else was on this scene besides the followers of Jesus, and to grasp the ideas and the concepts that existed on the scene at this time. We would all understand that the New Testament writers were influenced by these ideas and concepts, simply because they belonged to this period and to this community. No New Testament text can be understood properly outside of this context—we miss so much if we read it without knowledge of the historical and cultural background; without being aware of the prevailing theologies of the day; without understanding who else, besides “Jesus folk,”[2] was on this scene.
As promised, today we will be discussing the first part of the book of Enoch: The Book of the Watchers. Just to remind you, the First Book of Enoch, or Ethiopic Enoch, is in fact a compilation of several books, each of which appears with its own title and usually its own conclusion. These books, known as the Book of the Watchers (chaps. 1-36), the Similitudes (also known as Parables, chaps. 37-71), the Book of the Luminaries (chaps.72-82), the Book of the Dreams (chaps. 83-90), and the Epistle of Enoch (chaps. 92-105), are combined into a single work in the Ethiopic version, in which alone the whole is preserved.
So the book of Watchers is the first part of 1 Enoch. There is a remarkably large portion of common content with the Hebrew Bible in this book: e.g. Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel; the marriage of the angels with the daughters of men. However, it is precisely the differences and the additions in the retelling of the well-known biblical narratives which draw our attention, and can possibly point to some specific patterns and concepts in Second Temple Jewish thought. The most striking example of this discrepancy we find in the infamous beginning of chapter 6 of the book of Genesis. While this story occupies just a few verses in Genesis, it becomes the main narrative in the Book of the Watchers, where Chapters 6-9 tell the story (in fact, two interwoven stories) about the fall of the evil angels. Let us read together a few verses from 1 Enoch 6-7 in order to see how the writer expands upon Genesis 6:1-4:
1 Enoch 6:1 And when the sons of men had multiplied, in those days, beautiful and comely daughters were born to them. 2 And the watchers, the sons of heaven, saw them and desired them. And they said to one another, “Come, let us choose for ourselves wives from the daughters of men, and let us beget for ourselves children.”… 5 Then they all swore together and bound one another with a curse. 6 And they were, all of them, two hundred, who descended in the days of Jared onto the peak of Mount Hermon.[ 53]… 1 Enoch 7: 1 These and all the others with them took for themselves wives from among them such as they chose. And they began to go in to them, and to defile themselves through them, and to teach them sorcery and charms, and to reveal to them the cutting of roots and plants. 2 And they conceived from them and bore to them great giants. And the giants begat Nephilim…
THE SIN OF THE WATCHERS
Before proceeding any further, I would like to mention once again, and also recommend to my readers, a wonderful book by a brilliant scholar, Dr. Michael Heiser, “Reversing Hermon: Enoch, the Watchers, and the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ”. This particular article draws heavily on this book.
In my last post I mentioned that, even though the supernatural interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4 (that the “sons of God” were angels or some kind of divine beings) is not very popular in either modern Christianity or modern Judaism, this was not the case in Second Temple Judaism. According to the book of Enoch, the Watchers (“the sons of God” of Genesis) “are clearly celestial (nonhuman) beings whose actions are regarded not only as morally evil, but spiritually destructive”[3]. The Book of the Watchers describes the revolt of the heavenly Watchers, which leads to evil on the earth and foretells God’s judgment. The Watchers produce giants on earth by their union with human women, and these giants are evil. Then, in Chapter 10, God finally intervenes, and the familiar story of Noah begins.
However, Second Temple Judaism saw in Genesis 6:1-4, not only the story of a supernatural rebellion, but one of the central passages in biblical theology and in understanding God’s plan in history. Here is a very important quotation from Michael Heiser’s introduction to his book, explaining why this topic is so important: “If one were to ask a modern Christian, ‘Why is the world and all humanity so thoroughly wicked?’ the chances are very high that an answer of ‘the Fall’ would be forthcoming. We have been conditioned by church history (ancient and modern) to look only to Genesis 3 for such theology. But if you asked a Jew living in the Second Temple Period the same question, the answer would be dramatically different. Yes, the entrance of sin into God’s good world occurred in Eden, but the unanimous testimony of Second Temple Judaism is that the Watchers are to blame for the proliferation of evil on the earth.”[4]
Since the New Testament writers belonged to Second Temple Judaism, this understanding of the Watchers being responsible for the spread of evil on earth had to be part of their theology. “Consequently, for New Testament writers, the coming of Jesus… meant not only reversing the curse of death brought upon humanity by the sin of Adam, but also the undoing of depravity.”[5] Next time, we will try to read the New Testament through Second Temple Jewish eyes, and to see the traces of this concept on its pages.
If you like my articles on this blog, you might enjoy also my books, you can get them through my page on this blog, https://blog.israelbiblicalstudies.com/julia-blum/
[1] Boyarin, Daniel. The Jewish Gospels (Kindle Location 1103). The New Press. Kindle Edition.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Heiser, Michael S. Reversing Hermon: Enoch, the Watchers, and the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ (Kindle Locations 302).
[4] Ibid., Kindle location 101-107
[5] Ibid. Kindle location 931-933
Olá Julia. Saudações aqui do Brasil.
Gostei muito do seu artigo, tenho estudado muito Genesis 6, e venho buscando suas relações e a influência deste evento na dramática história do povo de Deus. Sem exagero, este estudo tem colaborado muito para o meu entendimento da missão de nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo. Incluindo nosso contexto atual.
Como na montagem de um quebra-cabeça, uma visão começa a tomar forma e a forma mostra seu significado.
Ainda há muito a ser estudado, mas a cada nova descoberta surge também novo estímulo.
Obrigado! E continue produzindo o conhecimento, estaremos acompanhando.
Below is my explanation to your question Matt. This is something God has been showing me since the 1990s.
Our tainted “first Adam” blood/DNA/code via the fall culminated inside of Mary’s egg that contributed to Jesus’ earthly body. Our tainted blood was redeemed and re-purposed, via the death of this sinless second Adam, Jesus. He fulfilled within his body, for ALL, God’s decree of the penalty of death for disobedience-
Gen. 2:17-
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Jesus perfectly fulfilled for us that death requirement.
Mary’s contribution on all of humanity’s behalf was her egg. It contained the DNA signature of every person who’s ever lived beginning with Adam all the way through to the last human that will ever be born in the future.
Why? Because that is the pattern. In the first Adam, in the garden where we were ALL present. Therefore, for the sake of continuity of the truth of redemption for ALL, we had to be “present” inside the body of the second and last redeeming Adam, Jesus.
Heb 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
This concept powerfully links what we call the Old Testament and the New Testament, together. Truly they are not two, but ONE Testament.
The Testament of once sinless innocent blood, becoming sinful blood, then returning to the state of its original sinlessness again was through the work on the tree of the last Adam, Jesus Christ.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
If you’ve ever wondered why there was so much death and destruction of humanity recorded in what we call the old testament, there is a reason. God was working on the bloodline of his son, preparing him a body as scripture says. God was ferreting DNA combinations “in and out” of that bloodline. You see he wiped the world clean of certain DNA codes through the flood. Then began again with Noah, whom he said was a righteous man in his time. Of course, the enemy began again to infiltrate mankind, even after the flood. Thereafter, you see the righteous judgment of God, wiping out entire nations of peoples. And sometimes carefully crafting a plan to include an individual in the lineage of his son, such as Rahab, the harlot and Ruth, the Moabitess. This illustrates the point I was making. That he indeed, was bio-engineering the bloodline and body of his son that would contain the DNA combinations and codes of every human being ever created. That is why the Bible truthfully says he died for all. All do not recognize or receive him, nevertheless, he died for all. And in doing so he completed that pattern that first began in Adam and Eve. We were all present in code in the garden within their bodies. And we were all present in the body of Jesus Christ, as he paid OUR price on the cross- He, in the most painful way- us, in the most merciful way. What a mighty God He is!
Additional scriptures:
Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Demonic Book of Enoch every witch sorecreor and cult needs.. Genesis 6 is about the sons of SETH and the sons of CAIN so stop the Demonic lies as the Greek Mythogy distorted Genesis 6. But if you read Genesis 4 and 5 in context. You see that these were sons of God where MEN.. So please stop the Lies.
Very easy to understand thank you for all the work and information you have given
Witchcraft is inherently evil because it usurps divine authority and sets up itself as being more just than God. It denies it’s own dark origins and even if it doesn’t it has no capacity to renounce it.
They’re trapped by an evil knowledge and they keep sacrificing to keep it and doing dark deeds that changes their souls into darkness.
It deserves divine punishment and that’s what will happen if they don’t receive the gift of repentance.
Why should the book of Enoch not be included in the Canon? It very well should be.
The book of Enoch is was and will continue to be Holy scriptures. Demons and compromised theologians teach the ignorant to be afraid of it and spread falsehood about it just as you’re doing.
Not knowing how the books survived does not invalidate it’s authenticity and authority. You can tell it’s holy scriptures if you have the holy spirit. The same way the dead sea scrolls were recently found, some scriptures were sealed and only to be revealed at an appointed time, just as Daniel was instructed to do. Invalidating the scripture because you cannot tell how it came about shows a lack of trust for God or knowing his ways.
When I was in the New age, I decided to read the book of Enoch since it happened to be the banned books of the church and what I found there led me to immediately repent and renounce the new age practices and all it teaches.
The book of Enoch is, was and will continue to be Holy scriptures.
I do not believe that the knowledge of witchcraft was inherently evil, angels possess the knowledge, only difference is that God (for whatever reason) did not want humans to have access to it, other than that warcraft, make up, herborism, etc were knowledge bound to be learned by humanity eventually nonetheless. Magic is therefore of divinely source. On the other hand I believe depictions in Roman and Greek religions of Gods, demigods, centaurs, Pegasus, satyrs and so on are based on the events described by Enoch. One might infer that the purpose of the Great Flood, based on Enoch”s description of Noah’s birth was to do a reset/update on humanity, as of the survivors only Noah’s wife and their brethren’s partners held (100%) pre diluvial DNA, Noah’s children held Noah’s refurbished DNA that among other things may have re-engineered humans to die at younger age than pre diluvial people, It may be assumed therefore that it was never the intention that there were anymore survivors than Noah and his family.