Book of Enoch

At a glance

History, context & interpretation

The text and its story

Tells of the Watchers, angels who descended, fathered giants (the Nephilim) and taught forbidden arts. It is part of the Bible of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Traditional attribution

Written by Enoch, great-grandfather of Noah, who 'walked with God'.

Historical scholarship

Five separate books by anonymous authors; the oldest part, the Book of the Watchers, dates to about 300–200 BCE.

Context and curiosity

It survives complete only in Ge'ez; Europe rediscovered it when James Bruce brought copies from Ethiopia in 1773.

Chronology and transmission

This text belongs to Judaism (Second Temple Judea; Ethiopia). The catalogue gives its approximate dating as c. 300 BCE – 1st century CE and original language or script as Aramaic (original), Ge'ez (complete). The dated manuscript witnesses and traditional claims may not refer to the same historical event.

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Sources and further reading

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch

Historical descriptions are educational summaries. Religious traditions, scholarly interpretations and unverified claims are distinguished where possible; imagery may be illustrative rather than an artifact photograph.