The Book of Enoch 86
Book IV The Book of Dream Visions Chapters 83–90 · c. 165-160 BCE
Two dream visions, including the Animal Apocalypse - a symbolic history of the world from Adam to the end, with peoples shown as animals.
Dating & manuscripts. The Animal Apocalypse (85-90) allegorizes the Maccabean revolt, which dates it precisely to the 160s BCE - the reign of Antiochus IV and Judas Maccabeus.
1 Enoch is an anthology of five distinct works, composed over roughly three centuries.
The Fall of the Angels and the Demoralization of Mankind.
A star fell from heaven then arose and ate and pastured amongst the oxen in Enoch's vision. Themes: The Watchers and Their Fall
1nd again I saw with mine eyes as I slept, and I saw the heaven above, and behold a star fell from heaven, and it arose and eat and pastured amongst those oxen.
2 And after that I saw the large and the black oxen, and behold they all changed their stalls and pastures and their cattle, and began to live with each other.
3 And again I saw in the vision, and looked towards the heaven, and behold I saw many stars descend and cast themselves down from heaven to that first star, and they became bulls amongst those cattle and pastured with them amongst them.
4 And I looked at them and saw, and behold they all let out their privy members, like horses, and began to cover the cows of the oxen, and they all became pregnant and bare elephants, camels, and asses.
5 And all the oxen feared them and were affrighted at them, and began to bite with their teeth and to devour, and to gore with their horns.
6 And they began, moreover, to devour those oxen; and behold all the children of the earth began to tremble and quake before them and to flee from them.
Did You Know?
A star fell from heaven then arose and ate and pastured amongst the oxen in Enoch's vision.
Many stars cast themselves down from heaven to the first star and became bulls that pastured amongst the cattle.
The bulls let out their privy members like horses and began to cover the cows of the oxen.
All those cows became pregnant and bare elephants, camels, and asses after being covered by the bulls.
All the oxen feared the elephants, camels and asses and bit with teeth and gored with horns as those beasts devoured oxen and children of the earth fled.
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Commentary
In brief
In a vision a star falls from heaven and pastures among the oxen. Many stars then descend and become bulls that cover the cows who bear elephants, camels and asses; the oxen fear them, bite and gore, and the beasts devour the oxen as the children of the earth tremble and flee.