The Rebellion of the Watchers

Chapter 6

1 And when the population of humans had increased during those times, beautiful and attractive daughters were born to them.⁠ 2 And the angels, the children of heaven, saw them and desired them,⁠ and said to each other: 'Come, let us choose wives from among the humans and father children.'⁠ 3 And Semjâzâ, their leader, said to them: 'I fear that you will not actually agree to do this, and I alone will have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' 4 And they all replied to him and said: 'Let us all take an oath, and all bind ourselves with a solemn promise not to abandon this plan but to carry out this act.' 5 Then they all took an oath together and bound themselves with a solemn promise to do so. 6 And there were in total two hundred who descended on the summit of Mount Hermon⁠ in the days of Jared, and they named it Mount Hermon because they had taken an oath and bound themselves with solemn promises there. 7 And these are the names of their leaders:⁠ Samîazâz, their leader,⁠ Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl.⁠ 8 These are their chiefs of tens.

Texts in conversation

The Watchers and Human Wives in 1 Enoch and Jewish Tradition

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Rabbinic

Summary

In 1 Enoch 6, two hundred angels swear a mutual oath on Mount Hermon and take human wives, an act their own leader calls a great sin before they do it. The Legends of the Jews retells this as a late Jewish midrash.

Passages

1 Enoch 6:2

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

1 And when the population of humans had increased during those times, beautiful and attractive daughters were born to them. 2 And the angels, the children of heaven, saw them and desired them, and said to each other: 'Come, let us choose wives from among the humans and father children.' 3 And Semjâzâ, their leader, said to them: 'I fear that you will not actually agree to do this, and I alone will have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' 4 And they all replied to him and said: 'Let us all take an oath, and all bind ourselves with a solemn promise not to abandon this plan but to carry out this act.' 5 Then they all took an oath together and bound themselves with a solemn promise to do so. 6 And there were in total two hundred who descended on the summit of Mount Hermon in the days of Jared, and they named it Mount Hermon because they had taken an oath and bound themselves with solemn promises there. 7 And these are the names of their leaders: Samîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. 8 These are their chiefs of tens.

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

Legends of the Jews 3

Rabbinic · Midrash

THE FALL OF THE ANGELS - The depravity of mankind, which began to show itself in the time of Enosh, had increased monstrously in the time of his grandson Jared, by reason of the fallen angels. When the angels saw the beautiful, attractive daughters of men, they lusted after them, and spoke: "We will choose wives for ourselves only from among the daughters of men, and beget children with them." Their chief Shemhazai said, "I fear me, ye will not put this plan of yours into execution, and I alone shall have to suffer the consequences of a great sin." Then they answered him, and said: "We will all swear an oath, and we will bind ourselves, separately and together, not to abandon the plan, but to carry it through to the end." Two hundred angels descended to the summit of Mount Hermon, which owes its name to this very occurrence, because they bound themselves there to fulfil their purpose, on the penalty of Herem, anathema. Under the leadership of twenty captains they defiled themselves with the daughters of men, unto whom they taught charms, conjuring formulas, how to cut roots, and the efficacy of plants. The issue from these mixed marriages was a race of giants, three thousand ells tall, who consumed the possessions of men. When all had vanished, and they could obtain nothing more from them, the giants turned against men and devoured many of them, and the remnant of men began to trespass against the birds, beasts, reptiles, and fishes, eating their flesh and drinking their blood.

1909 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Legends of the Jews

References

"... This reference to the "sinful desire" of the fallen angel over humans is intriguing since it alludes to the terminology found in Enochic tradition. Thus 1 Enoch 6 says that the Watchers had sinful desire for human creatures. The Midrash of Shemhazai and Azael also uses the term "evil desire" or "evil inclination" in reference to the relationships between the descended Watchers and the "daughters of man": Forthwith the Holy One allowed the evil inclination (יֵצֶר הָרָע) to rule over them, as soon as they descended. When they beheld the daughters of man that they were beautiful, they began to corrupt themselves with them, as it is said, "When the sons of God saw the daughters of man," they could not restrain their inclination. In the story from the Midrash of Shemhazai and Azael, the evil desire of the Watchers over humans seems to come as consequence of the Watchers' disrespect for humanity in general and the first human creature in particular ..."

Andrei A. Orlov, “The Flooded Arboretums: The Garden Traditions in the Slavonic Version of 3 Baruch and the Book of Giants,” in From Apocalypticism to Merkabah Mysticism: Studies in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 299–300.

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

How could humans give birth to giants? Are you sure they weren't female and made babies with man?! That seems more scientifically probable.

Katrina, July 28, 2024
it was not size it was intelligence , you dont have to be tall to be a giant among men , it means your above the rest

william gesick, November 18, 2024

The Rebellion of the Watchers

1 Enoch108 chapters

The Watchers and Human Wives in 1 Enoch and Jewish Tradition

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 6:2

Legends of the Jews 3

References

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