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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 19

1 And Uriel said to me: 'Here shall stand the angels who have united with women, and their spirits, taking many different forms, are corrupting mankind and will lead them astray into sacrificing to demons as gods.⁠ Here they shall remain until the day of the great judgment when they will be judged and brought to an end.⁠ 2 And the women of the angels who went astray⁠ will become sirens.'⁠ 3 And I, Enoch, alone saw the vision, the ends of all things: and no man shall see as I have seen.

Texts in conversation

Pagan Gods as Demons in 1 Corinthians 10 and 1 Enoch 19

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul calls pagan gods demons, language he rarely uses. This is similar to the Greek Septuagint and texts like 1 Enoch, where idol worship was really contact with evil spirits, suggesting Paul was influenced by these traditions.
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Passages

1 Enoch 19:1

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 And Uriel said to me: 'Here shall stand the angels who have united with women, and their spirits, taking many different forms, are corrupting mankind and will lead them astray into sacrificing to demons as gods. Here they shall remain until the day of the great judgment when they will be judged and brought to an end. 2 And the women of the angels who went astray will become sirens.' 3 And I, Enoch, alone saw the vision, the ends of all things: and no man shall see as I have seen.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

1 Corinthians 10:20

New Testament
18 Look at the people of Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? 19 Am I saying that idols or food sacrificed to them amount to anything? 20 No, I mean that what the pagans sacrifice is to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot take part in the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Or are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we really stronger than he is?
55–57 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Corinthians

References

"... It is worth pausing to consider the theology of Paul at this point. In the undisputed Pauline letters, demons are mentioned in only one passage (1 Corinthians 10:20f; elsewhere only 1 Timothy 4:1) ... what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God ... In all this there are clearly parallels to the Greek concept of 'demon', but the actual overlap is limited. 'Demon' is used primarily as a contemptuous name for the heathen gods of idol worship (LXX Psalm 96:5, LXX Isaiah 65:3, 11; Baruch 4:7; Jubilees 1:11; 1 Enoch 19:1, 99:7) ..."
James D. G. Dunn, “Demon-Possession and Exorcism in The New Testament,” Churchman (1980): 210–225.

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

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Comments

  • Sirens is real or is not real?

    Gabrielle, May 31, 2023

  • Are sirens real?

    Dana, July 23, 2023

  • Why was the book of Enoch removed from the Bible?

    Ivy, January 28, 2024

  • Are sirens real?

    Vanessa, July 9, 2024

  • Why is it so hard to find out what to eat as righteous? It’s a sin to eat demon food which is almost everything, so what do we eat to be on Gods menu?

    Shane, September 13, 2024

  • In response to Gabrielle and Ivy's question I would answer that if we take the book of First Enoch as being real and inspired by God (which I most definitely do) then yes sirens are absolutely real, and they are also the source of the mythology behind sirens and mermaids.

    Clint, September 25, 2024

  • So sirens and giants are real they aren’t just mythical creatures but where once alive this doesn’t explain why we are told that giants and sirens didn’t exist once

    Unknown, November 6, 2024

  • Sirens are real, deep sea fisherman can confirm

    Adam, January 20, 2025

  • Sirens were not mermaids, but birds.

    Here is a discussion:

    I am a biblical scholar and Enoch does not say that sirens are mermaids. In biblical circles anyway, sirens and mermaids are two very different things. Of course everything is conjecture as to what they were. But here's what I've been ...

    Craig H, February 13, 2025

  • Craig H I want to get more knowledge on your POV

    G, March 10, 2025

  • Read the bible mermaids and sirens are make believe

    Anonymous, March 13, 2025

  • Why was the book of Enoch removed, and what color race was the world in the beginning, and was there ever mermaids and half man and animals, freakish creatures?

    Eddie Cochran, April 28, 2025

1 Enoch 19:1 and 1 Corinthians 10:20

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