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

Compare 1 Enoch 6:2 and Tatian, Address to the Greeks 20

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Early Christian

Summary

The Christian theologian Tatian draws on the story of 1 Enoch, using it as an authoritative account of the origins of evil. He identifies the Watchers who descended to earth as demons expelled from heaven, using the story to explain their origins.

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.

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

Tatian, Address to the Greeks 20

Early Christian · Oratio ad Graecos

THANKS ARE EVER DUE TO GOD. Even if drugs heal you (I grant you that point as a courtesy), you should still credit God with the cure. For the world still draws us down, and through weakness I lean toward matter. For the wings of the soul were the perfect spirit, but, having cast this off through sin, it flutters like a nestling and falls to the ground. Having left its heavenly companionship, it longs for fellowship with inferior things. The demons were driven out to another dwelling; the first created human beings were expelled from their place: the former were cast down from heaven; the latter were driven from earth, yet not out of this earth, but from a more excellent order of things than exists here now. Now, longing for that original state, we should put aside everything that hinders us. Human being, the heavens are not infinite, but finite and bounded; and beyond them are the superior worlds which have no changing seasons to cause various diseases. Instead, they enjoy a perfectly pleasant climate, perpetual day, and light inaccessible to people below.

160–170 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Tatian, Address to the Greeks

References

"... Justin's student Tatian also used the Watcher story in his Address to the Greeks, though he does so in less clear form than his mentor. His allusion comes in a section of the Address that is dominated by his views about the demons (from chap. 8 on). Christians have repudiated the demons and follow the one God who created all things (chap. 19). Even if drugs effect cures, one must give the proper thanks to God ... While not all is pellucid in this statement, the parallelism - the demons driven to another abode which is then equated with being cast from heaven - shows that the beings whom Tatian called demons are the angels of 1 Enoch 6-16 ..."

James C. VanderKam and William Adler, eds., The Jewish Apocalyptic Heritage in Early Christianity, CRINT 3.4 (Assen: Van Gorcum, 1993), 65.

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

The Rebellion of the Watchers

1 Enoch108 chapters

Compare 1 Enoch 6:2 and Tatian, Address to the Greeks 20

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 6:2

Tatian, Address to the Greeks 20

References

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