1 Enoch

About this book

Chapter 7

1 And all the others together with them took wives for themselves, each choosing one for himself, and they began to unite with them and defiled themselves with them.⁠ They taught them sorcery, spells, and the art of extracting medicinal substances from plants.⁠ 2 The women became pregnant and gave birth to enormous giants,⁠ whose height was three thousand ells.⁠ 3 These giants consumed everything humans produced. 4 And when humans could no longer support them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind.⁠ 5 They began to sin against birds, beasts, reptiles, and fish, eating each other’s flesh and drinking the blood.⁠ 6 Then the earth brought charges against these lawbreakers.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 4:10 and 1 Enoch 7:6

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

1 Enoch 7 echoes Genesis 4, describing the earth as a witness to violence through the cries of those killed. In Genesis, Abel’s blood calls out after his murder, and in 1 Enoch, the earth similarly responds to violence caused by the Nephilim.

Passages

Genesis 4:10

Hebrew Bible

8 Cain spoke to his brother Abel.²¹ While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?” 10 But the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 So now you are banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you try to cultivate the ground it will no longer yield its best for you. You will be a homeless wanderer on the earth.”

750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

1 Enoch 7:6

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

2 The women became pregnant and gave birth to enormous giants, whose height was three thousand ells. 3 These giants consumed everything humans produced. 4 And when humans could no longer support them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. 5 They began to sin against birds, beasts, reptiles, and fish, eating each other’s flesh and drinking the blood. 6 Then the earth brought charges against these lawbreakers.

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

References

"... 1 Enoch Chapters 7-8 explain how the Watchers chose wives and had children with them. Their children were the Nephilim or giants, and these giants devoured the supplies of food that were available to men to the point that they began to kill and eat men, birds, insects, fish, and even each other. This causes the earth to accuse the Nephilim to heaven, reminiscent of Abel’s blood crying from the ground in Genesis 4:10. The Watchers teach all the mysteries to their wives and children, and as men are dying their cries reach to heaven ..."

Colby J. Townsend, “The Use of Scripture in 1 Enoch 1–36” (diss., University of Utah, 2016), 36.

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

1 Enoch108 chapters

Compare Genesis 4:10 and 1 Enoch 7:6

Summary

Passages

Genesis 4:10

1 Enoch 7:6

References

Your feedback

Leave a comment

Glossary

Search the Library