Enoch's Interaction with the Fallen Watchers

Chapter 12

1 Before these things, Enoch was hidden, and no one among the children of men knew where he was hidden, where he lived, or what had happened to him.⁠ 2 His dealings were with the Watchers, and he spent his days among the holy ones. 3 And I, Enoch, was praising the Lord of majesty and the King of the ages, and look! the Watchers called me⁠ - Enoch the scribe - and said to me:⁠ 4 'Enoch, you scribe of righteousness, go, tell the Watchers of heaven who have left the high heaven, the holy eternal place, and have defiled themselves with women, and have acted as the children of earth do, and have taken wives for themselves:⁠ 5 You have caused great destruction on the earth: and you shall have no peace or forgiveness of sin; and as much as they delight in their children, 6 They will witness the murder of their beloved ones, and they will mourn over the destruction of their children, and they will plead forever, but you will not find mercy or peace.'

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 12:3 and Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.16

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Early Christian

Summary

The Christian theologian Irenaeus draws on the narrative in 1 Enoch where angels sinned by taking human wives, using it as an authoritative source for teaching and theology, and using it as an example of Enoch's faithfulness.

Passages

1 Enoch 12:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

1 Before these things, Enoch was hidden, and no one among the children of men knew where he was hidden, where he lived, or what had happened to him. 2 His dealings were with the Watchers, and he spent his days among the holy ones. 3 And I, Enoch, was praising the Lord of majesty and the King of the ages, and look! the Watchers called me - Enoch the scribe - and said to me: 4 'Enoch, you scribe of righteousness, go, tell the Watchers of heaven who have left the high heaven, the holy eternal place, and have defiled themselves with women, and have acted as the children of earth do, and have taken wives for themselves: 5 You have caused great destruction on the earth: and you shall have no peace or forgiveness of sin; and as much as they delight in their children,

300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.16

Early Christian

2 And that man was not justified by these things, but that they were given as a sign to the people, this fact shows — that Abraham himself, without circumcision and without observance of Sabbaths, believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. Then, again, Lot, without circumcision, was brought out from Sodom, receiving salvation from God. So also did Noah, pleasing God, although he was uncircumcised, receive the dimensions [of the ark], of the world of the second race [of men]. Enoch, too, pleasing God, without circumcision, discharged the office of God's legate to the angels although he was a man, and was translated, and is preserved until now as a witness of the just judgment of God, because the angels when they had transgressed fell to the earth for judgment, but the man who pleased [God] was translated for salvation. Moreover, all the rest of the multitude of those righteous men who lived before Abraham, and of those patriarchs who preceded Moses, were justified independently of the things above mentioned, and without the law of Moses. As also Moses himself says to the people in Deuteronomy: The Lord your God formed a covenant in Horeb. The Lord formed not this covenant with your fathers, but for you.

175–190 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book 4

References

"... Irenaeus exhibits his familiarity with the angel story in several passages of his Against Heresies. The following were cited above in the first part of the chapter: 1.10.1; 1.15.6; 4.16.2; and 4.36.4. He also mentions it in In Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 18 ..."

James C. VanderKam and William Adler, eds., The Jewish Apocalyptic Heritage in Early Christianity, CRINT 3.4 (Assen: Van Gorcum, 1993), 66.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Enoch's Interaction with the Fallen Watchers

1 Enoch108 chapters

Compare 1 Enoch 12:3 and Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.16

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 12:3

Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.16

References

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