The Book of Enoch 32
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 Tree of Wisdom
Enoch beheld seven mountains to the north-east full of choice nard and mastic and cinnamon and pepper.
1o the north-east I beheld seven mountains full of choice nard and mastic and cinnamon and pepper.
2 And thence I went over the summits of all these mountains, far towards the east of the earth, and passed above the Erythraean sea and went far from it, and passed over the angel Zotiel. Etheopic Greek
3 And I came to the Garden of Righteousness, and from afar off trees more numerous than these trees and great two trees there, very great, beautiful, and glorious, and magnificent, and the tree of knowledge, whose holy fruit the eat and know great wisdom.
4 That tree is in height like the fir, and its leaves are like (those of) the Carob tree: and its fruit is like the clusters of the vine, very beautiful: and the fragrance of the tree penetrates afar.
5 Then I said: 'How beautiful is the tree, and how attractive is its look!'
6 Then Raphael the holy angel, who was with me, answered me and said: 'This is the tree of wisdom, of which thy father old (in years) and thy aged mother, who were before thee, have eaten, and they learnt wisdom and their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked and they were driven out of the garden.'
Did You Know?
Enoch beheld seven mountains to the north-east full of choice nard and mastic and cinnamon and pepper.
Far towards the east of the earth Enoch passed above the Erythraean sea and went far from it and passed over the angel Zotiel.
Enoch came to the Garden of Righteousness and saw the tree of knowledge whose holy fruit they eat and know great wisdom.
The tree of knowledge is in height like the fir with leaves like the carob tree fruit like vine clusters and fragrance that penetrates afar.
Raphael revealed that Enoch's old father and aged mother ate from the tree of wisdom learnt wisdom opened their eyes knew they were naked and were driven out.
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Commentary
In brief
Enoch beholds seven mountains of choice spices in the northeast and journeys far east past the Erythraean sea and angel Zotiel to the Garden of Righteousness. Raphael explains that the tree of knowledge is the tree of wisdom his parents ate, opening their eyes to nakedness and driving them from the garden.