The Book of Enoch 26
Book I The Book of the Watchers Chapters 1–36 · 3rd century BCE
The oldest core of 1 Enoch: the descent of the two hundred Watchers, the birth of the giants, Enoch's intercession, and his guided journeys through the cosmos and the places of judgment.
Dating & manuscripts. Among the oldest apocalyptic writings in existence. Aramaic copies were found at Qumran (4QEnoch a-c), confirming its pre-Maccabean date - older than the Book of Daniel.
Chapters 6-11 preserve an older Semjaza/Shemihazah myth cycle later woven together with the Azazel/Asael tradition; scholars read them as composite, with a Noah fragment embedded. Angel names vary by manuscript (Semjaza/Shemihazah, Azazel/Asael).
In later tradition. This section's imagery echoes through later scripture and tradition: the Epistle of Jude (verses 14-15) quotes 1 Enoch 1:9 by name, and the Watchers legend shaped 2 Peter, the Book of Revelation, and the theology of the Qumran community and early Christianity.
The Book of Giants. A sixth Enochic work that expands the Watchers story from the giants' point of view - their violence, their prophetic dreams, and their doom. Known from Aramaic fragments at Qumran and, centuries later, adopted into Manichaean scripture. It is not part of the Ethiopic 1 Enoch preserved here.
1 Enoch is an anthology of five distinct works, composed over roughly three centuries.
The Accursed Valley of Jerusalem
At the middle of the earth Enoch found a blessed place with trees bearing abiding and blooming branches from a dismembered tree. Themes: Divine Judgment and the Flood
1nd I went from thence to the middle of the earth, and I saw a blessed place in which there were trees with branches abiding and blooming of a dismembered tree.
2 And there I saw a holy mountain, and underneath the mountain to the east there was a stream and it flowed towards the south.
3 And I saw towards the east another mountain higher than this, and between them a deep and narrow 4 ravine: in it also ran a stream underneath the mountain.
4 And to the west thereof there was another mountain, lower than the former and of small elevation, and a ravine deep and dry between them: and another deep and dry ravine was at the extremities of the three mountains.
5 And all the ravines were deep rand narrow, (being formed) of hard rock, and trees were not planted upon them.
6 And I marveled at the rocks, and I marveled at the ravine, yea, I marveled very much.
Did You Know?
At the middle of the earth Enoch found a blessed place with trees bearing abiding and blooming branches from a dismembered tree.
Enoch saw a holy mountain with a stream flowing south from underneath it to the east.
Between the holy mountain and a higher mountain to the east ran a deep and narrow ravine containing a stream.
Westward a mountain of small elevation was lower than the others, with deep dry ravines between the three mountains.
Formed of hard rock and bare of trees, the deep narrow ravines left Enoch marveling very much at the sight.
← → arrow keys to navigate chapters · spacebar to play/pause audio
Commentary
In brief
Enoch goes to the middle of the earth and sees a blessed place of trees with abiding blooming branches of a dismembered tree, a holy mountain with a southward stream, surrounding higher and lower mountains and deep narrow dry or watered ravines of hard rock without trees, and marvels greatly at the rocks and ravines.