The Book of Enoch 34
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.
Enoch’s Journey to the North.
Enoch went north to the ends of the earth and saw a great and glorious device at the extremities of the whole earth.
1nd from thence I went towards the north to the ends of the earth, and there I saw a great and glorious device at the ends of the whole earth.
2 And here I saw three portals of heaven open in the heaven: through each of them proceed north winds: when they blow there is cold, hail, frost, snow, dew, and rain.
3 And out of one portal they blow for good: but when they blow through the other two portals, it is with violence and affliction on the earth, and they blow with violence.
Did You Know?
Enoch went north to the ends of the earth and saw a great and glorious device at the extremities of the whole earth.
Three portals of heaven stand open at the northern ends of the earth, each releasing the north winds.
North winds that proceed through the three portals bring cold, hail, frost, snow, dew, and rain.
One of the three northern portals releases winds that blow for good upon the earth.
Winds blowing through the other two northern portals arrive with violence and bring affliction on the earth.
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Commentary
In brief
Enoch journeys north to the ends of the earth, where he sees a great and glorious device and three open portals of heaven. North winds blow through them, bringing cold, hail, frost, snow, dew and rain - one for good, the others with violence and affliction.