Page 15 - Book Of Enoch

The Book of Enoch

Notes

(3) REBELS AMONG THE WATCHERS (pages 15-17)

This is the story of the fallen angels. The beginning, 6.1-2, is virtually identical
with Genesis 6.1-2. In Enoch's book, we get their names and many other details.

At 6.6, Enoch explains the naming of Mount Hermon - in Hebrew it means

curses. The mountain that he was actually referring to is possibly somewhere near Lake
Van in Turkey. It is common for translators to update names rather than use phonetics,

so the few names that appear, mainly mountains and rivers, can’t be relied upon as

accurate identifications. We don’t know whether there was another mountain called
‘curses’ or even what language the book was originally written in.

At 7.2, he says they had giant sons. I believe that this means, not that they were
physically big, but powerful and wealthy with private armies. Nevertheless, the

Watchers may have been larger than the local people were. Many years of advanced
healthcare and nutrition can lead to increasing average size.

They were probably quite young, these runaway angels, but they had weapons

and knowledge (8.1) that meant they were able to dominate Enoch's people easily.
Since they could have children, by women, I think it is safe to assume that they

are men, and not angels (or any other non-human entity), since breeding is species
specific by definition. They were regarded as angels by Enoch and his people, (see

what Lamech says at 106.5-6 in section 10), but Enoch also says they could appear like
men when they wished, (see 17.1), but even so, he never seems to doubt their divinity.

At 8.4, the scene switches: to the angels in heaven - the Watchers at their home

base. The activities of the runaways cause them to be noticed.
This section ends with some of the Watchers asking their Headman what should

they do about the runaways. Alternatively, it could be seen as God being informed that

no souls wish to incarnate on the Earth because conditions are becoming so bad.

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