The Book of ENOCH

CHAPTER 65

And in those days Noah saw the earth that it was curved, and that its destruction was near.
2. And he lifted up his feet from there, and went to the ends of the earth, and called to his grandfather Enoch; and Noah said with a bitter voice: “Hear me! hear me! hear me!” three times.
3. And he said to him: “Tell me what is it that has been done on the earth, that the earth is so tired out and shaken? May I not be destroyed with it!”
4. And after this time there was a great trembling on the earth, and a voice was heard from heaven, and I fell on my face.
5. And Enoch, my grandfather, came and stood by me and said to me: “Why dost thou so bitterly and lamentingly cry to me?
6. A command has come from before the presence of the Lord over all those who dwell on the earth, that their end is at hand, because they know all the secrets of the angels, and all the violence of the satans, and all the powers of secrecy, and all the powers of those who practice sorcery and the powers of fascination, and the powers of those who make metal images of the whole earth;
7. and also how silver is produced from the dust of the earth, and how soft metal originates on the earth.
8. For lead and zinc are not produced like the former; a fountain it is which produces them, and an angel who stands in it; and that angel is excellent.”
9. And after that my grandfather Enoch took hold of me with his hand, and raised me up, and said to me: “Go, for I have asked the Lord of the spirits concerning this shaking of the earth.
10. And he said to me: ‘On account of their injustice their judgment is completed; and will not be counted before me concerning the months which they have searched out, and through which they have learned
that the earth will be destroyed and those who live thereon.
11. And for them there will be no place of refuge to eternity, because they have showed them that which was secret, and they will be judged; but not thou, my son; the Lord of the spirits knows that thou art clean and free of this blame concerning the secrets.
12. And he has strengthened thy name among the holy, and will preserve thee from those who dwell on the earth, and will strengthen thy seed in justice for kings and great honors; and from thy seed will proceed the fountain of the just and the holy, without number, to eternity.”

CHAPTER 66

And after that he showed me the angels of punishment, who are prepared to come in order to open all the powers of the water which is under the earth, that it may be a judgment and destruction over all those who live and dwell on the earth.
2. And the Lord of spirits commanded the angels who went forth, that they should not lift up their hands, but should wait; for these angels are over the power of the waters.
3. And I went away from the presence of Enoch.

CHAPTER 67

And in those days the voice of God was with me, and he said to me: “Noah, behold thy portion has ascended to me, a portion without blame, a portion of love and of rectitude.
2. And now the angels are making a wooden building, and when they are gone to that work, I will lift up my hands upon it and will preserve it; and out of it will be [i.e. come] the seed of life, and a change will come so that the earth does not remain empty.
3. And I will strengthen thy seed before me to all eternity, and will scatter those who dwell with thee over the face of the earth, and it [i.e. the seed] will be blessed and increased over the earth in the name of the Lord.”
4. And they will enclose those angels who have showed injustice in that flaming valley which my grandfather Enoch showed to me before, in the west, in the mountains of gold and of silver and of iron and of soft metal and of zinc.
5. And I saw that valley, in which there was a great shaking and a shaking of the waters.
6. And as this took place there was produced from that flaming, flowing metal, and out of the shaking that shook them, at that place, an odor of sulphur, and it united with those waters; and that valley of the angels who had led astray burned under that earth.
7. And through the valley of that earth come rivers of fire, where those angels who had led astray those who dwell on the earth are condemned.
8. And those waters will be in those days for the kings and the powerful and exalted and those who dwell on the earth, a medicine of the soul and of the body, but for a judgement of the spirit, because their spirits are full of lust, that they be punished in their bodies, because they have denied the Lord of the spirits, and see their judgments daily, and still believe not in his name.
9. And as the burning of their bodies increases there will be a change in their spirit to all eternity; for no one will speak a vain word before the Lord of the spirits.
10. For the judgment comes over them, because they believe in the lust of their flesh, and deny the spirit of the Lord.
11. And those waters themselves, in those days, suffer a change, for when those angels shall be condemned on those days, the heat of those fountains of the waters changes, and when the angels ascend, this water of the fountains changes and becomes cold.
12. And I heard the holy Michael answering and saying: “This judgment wherewith the angels are condemned is a testimony for the kings and the powerful and for those who hold the earth.
13. For these waters of judgment are a healing of the angels, and a death to their bodies, but they will not see and will not believe that those waters change, and will become a fire, which burns to eternity.”

CHAPTER 68

And after that my grandfather Enoch gave me the signs of all the secrets in a book, and the Parables which had been give to him, and he compiled them for me in the words of the book of the Parables.
2. And on that day the holy Michael answered, saying to Rufael: “The power of the spirit forces me and angers me, and on account of the severity of the judgment of the secrets, the judgment over the angels; who can endure the severity of the judgment which is passed and remains, and before which they melt away?”
3. And the holy Michael answered again and said to Rufael: “Who is he whose heart is not softened concerning it, and whose reins are not shaken by this word? A judgment has come overt them from [i.e. on account of] those whom they have thus led out.”
4. And it came to pass as he stood before the Lord of the spirits, the holy Michael spoke to Rufael: “And I will not be for them under the eye of the Lord, for the Lord of the spirits is angered at them, because they act as if they were like gods.
5. Therefore judgment which is hidden comes over them, to all eternity; therefore, neither angel nor man will receive his portion, but they alone will receive their judgment to all eternity.”

CHAPTER 69

And after this judgement they will terrify and anger them, because they have showed this to those who dwell on the earth.
2. And behold the names of those angels! and these are their names: the first of them is Semjâzâ, the second Arestîqîfâ, the third Armên, the fourth Kakabâêl, the fifth Turêl, the sixth, Rûmjâl, the seventh Dânêl, the eighth Nûqaêl, the ninth Barâqêl, the tenth Azâzêl, the eleventh Armers, the twelfth Batarjâl, the thirteenth Basasâêl, the fourteenth Anânêl, the fifteenth Turjâl, the sixteenth Simâpîsîêl, the seventeenth Jetarêl, the eighteenth Tûmâêl, the nineteenth Tarêl, the twentieth Rûmâêl, the twenty-first Izêzêêl.
3. And these are the heads of the angels, and the names of their chiefs over a hundred and the chiefs over fifty and the chiefs over ten.
4. The name of the first Jeqûn; he is the one who has led astray all the children of the holy angels, and has led them down on the earth, and has led them astray through the daughters of men.
5. And the second is called Asbeêl; he is the one who has taught the children of the holy angels the wicked device, and has led them astray to destroy their bodies with the daughters of men.
6. And the third is called Gâdreêl; he is the one who has taught the children of men all the blows of death, and led astray Eve, and showed to the children of men the instruments of death, the coat-of-mail and the shield and the sword for battle, and all the instruments of death to the sons of men.
7. And from his hand they have come over those who dwell on the earth, from that time to eternity,
8. And the fourth is called Pênêmû; he has taught the sons of men the bitter and the sweet, and taught them all the secrets of their wisdom.
9. He taught men writing with ink and paper (GTR), and thereby many sinned from eternity and to eternity and up to this day.
10. For men were not born to the purpose that they should thus strengthen their fidelity with a pen (GTR) and with ink.
11. For man was not created otherwise than the angels, that they should remain just and pure, and death, which destroys all things, would not have touched them, but through this their knowledge they are destroyed, and through this power it devours me.
12. And the fifth is named Kasdejâ; he has taught the sons of men all the wicked beatings of the spirits and the demons, the beatings of the birth in the womb, that it [i.e. the birth] fall, and the beatings of the soul, the bites of the serpent, and the beatings which take place at noon, the son of the serpent whose name is
13. And this is the number of Kesbeêl, who showed the head of the oath to the holy ones, when he dwelt high in glory; and his name is Bêqâ.
14. And this one said to the holy Michael that he should show them the secret name, that they might see that secret name, and that they might mention this name in the oath, and they may tremble before that name and the oath, those that showed to the children of men all that is secret.
15. And this is the power of that oath, for it is powerful and strong, and he placed this oath Akâe’ into the hands of the holy Michael.
16. And these are the secrets of this oath, and they were strengthened by his oath, and heaven was suspended before the earth was made, and to eternity.
17. And by it the earth was founded on the water, and from the secret places of the mountains come beautiful waters for the living, from the creation of the world to eternity.
18. And by that oath the sea was created, and as its foundation he placed for it sand for the time of rage, and it dare not pass over from the creation of the world and to eternity.
19. And by that oath the depths were strengthened and stand and do not move from their places, from eternity and to eternity.
20. And by that oath the sun and the moon complete their course and depart not from their commands from eternity and to
21. And by that oath the stars complete their courses, and he calls their names and they answer him from eternity and to eternity.
22. And also the spirits of the water and of the winds, and of all the zephyrs and their paths, according to all the unions of the spirits.
23. And in it are preserved the repositories of the voice of thunder and of the light of the lightning, and there are preserved the repositories of hail and of the hoar-frost, and the repositories of the fog, and the repositories of the rain and of the dew.
24. And all these believe in and render thanks before the Lord of the spirits, and praise him with all their power, and their food is all thanksgiving, and they thank and praise and exalt in the name of the Lord of the spirits to all eternity.
25. And over them this oath is strong, and they are preserved by it, and their paths are preserved, and the courses are not destroyed.
26. And there was great joy among them, and they blessed and honored and
exalted, because the name of the Son of man had been revealed unto them.
27. And he sat upon the throne of his glory, and the sum of the judgment was given to him, the Son of man, and he causes to disappear and to be destroyed the sinners from the face of the earth, and also those who have led astray the earth.
28. They shall be bound with chains and shall be imprisoned in the assembling-place of destruction, and all their work shall disappear from the face of the earth.
29. And from that time on there will be nothing that will be destroyed, for he, the Son of man, has appeared, and sits on the throne of his glory, and all wickedness will disappear before his face and depart; but the word of that Son of man will be strong before the Lord of the spirits. This is the third Parable of Enoch.

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CHAP. 65, 1. Now follows to 69:25 another Noachic interpolation. That it is such appears beyond a doubt from its contents. It has the peculiarities of chapter 60, and treats of the same subject, viz. revelation to Noah concerning the flood and attending circumstances. It is entirely of a fragmentary character, and certainly never existed as a tract of itself. In thought and expression it seeks to imitate the Parables. That Noah is here introduced as the seer alone stamps it as an addition foreign to the rest of the book. In 60:2 the vision was inaugurated with a motion of the heavens; here it is done by a curving of the earth.—2. Enoch had ascended on high, 60:8, from the garden of Eden, therefore Noah goes to the ends of the earth to seek his explanation of what he had seen.—3. The earth is here represented as weak and sickly, undoubtedly as a result of sin.—4. Before an answer was returned there was a violent shaking of the earth. A voice, cf. vs. 6.—6. A command was the voice heard in vs. 4. The destruction of the earth is at hand. Secrets of the angels, i.e. of the fallen; cf. 7:1; 8:1 sqq.

Angels and satans; a clear proof that the fragmentist seeks to imitate the Parables, as the satans are unknown to the first part; cf. note on 40:7. Metal images; same as idolatry in chap. 7 and 8.—7. Out of the dust, cf. Job xxviii. 2. Soft metal, cf. 52:2, 5.—8. This soft metal is declared to be lead and zinc, whose origin the author, after his peculiar manner (cf. 60:13-15, 16, 21, etc.), explains in anything but a clear way. That even this mysterious fountain has its angel agrees perfectly with 60:16 sqq.—9. Cf. vs. 4.—10. Through their astrology (8:3) these sinners had learned that a judgment would come at a certain time, but on account of their sins God will not wait to the completion of that time; cf. also Tertullian, De Cultu Fem. I. 10: Et metallorum opera nudaverunt..... et incantationem vires promulgaverunt et omnem curiositatem usque ad stellarum interpretationem designaverunt.—11. Enoch here speaks to Noah. Free, cf. Gen. vi. 9.—12. Noah is to be the father of a generation of the righteous. Fountain, cf. Deut. xxxiii. 28; Ps. lxviii. 26.

CHAP. 66, 1. The angels of punishment, found only in the Parables (cf. notes on 53:3), are taken over from there, and are here employed for a purpose entirely foreign to them. Above they were employed in the final punishment, but here in the first. The object of the interpolator to connect his statements with the Parables is observed again here.—2. There is no difficulty in accepting angels here as referring to those mentioned in the previous verses. The angels of punishment are, although enemies of God, nevertheless subordinate to his will, like Satan in the Book of Job; cf. note on 40:7.

CHAP. 67, 1. The author’s paraphrase on Gen. vi. 9.—2. As the ark is to be the means of saving the seed of life, angels construct it. That angels thus assist in forwarding God’s plans in this direct manner is not unknown to other writers: cf. 2 Macc. iii. 25 sq. with 4 Macc. § 4. The account by a different author, 89:1, is more biblical. Lift up, cf. Gen. vii. 16; En. 89:1. To that work; not to the building of the ark, but for the purpose of letting the waters loose; cf. chap. 66.—3. Cf. 65:12.—4. With this is connected the punishment of the angels also; and as they were the real cause of men’s sin, their punishment shall be by a more terrible element—by fire.

The portrait here given of this punishment, although based on the rest of the book, deviates in not a few particulars. Showed me, cf. chap. 52; 55. But what is stated above should take place in the final judgment the fragmentist boldly employs in the first. Notwithstanding the valley and the mountains are locally separated, 54:1, they are here placed together. In the west; taken from 52:1, and therefore does not require us to seek a place west of Palestine or Jerusalem; much less does it compel us to take a trip to Italy, and seek the burning valley near Vesuvius after the eruption, A.D 79, as e.g. Hilgenfeld and Drummond want us to do. In the general indefinite character of the description here it is just as easy to understand by this valley Gehinnom, even if this was east and not west of Jerusalem.—5. We see we are still in the time of the deluge.—6-8.

The picture drawn by the author is this: There is a valley in which is medicinal water, used for the purpose of health by the powerful of the earth. But this valley shall through eruptions become a river of fire, and with that the place where the fallen angels will be punished. For a subterranean fire in Gehenna cf. note on chap. 27. And as the water-place Dillmann refers to Kallirrhoe mentioned by Josephus, Antiqq. xvii. 6, 5; Bel. Jud. I. 33, 5. This is indeed open to the objection that Josephus in the last passage quoted expressly states that these waters were sweet enough for drinking purposes, hence were not sulphurous as stated in vs. 6. But not only was sulphur often found in Palestine, especially in the region from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea (cf. Josephus, Bel. Jud. vii. 6,3), but is also in the Old Testament a standard medium of punishment for the wicked (cf. Deut. xxix. 23; Job xviii. 15; Ezek. xxxviii. 22; Ps. xi. 6); and that an author like ours, so characterized by inaccuracy, should fail in his chemistry when the failure was easily suggested by numerous Scripture passages is not surprising. Hilgenfeld and others have deemed it necessary to insist on the baths at Baiae and the eruption of Vesuvius, A.D. 79, as the only legitimate explanation of this passage.

Hence, too, at least the present compilation of the Book of Enoch could not have taken place before that date. But even if we must do what the author permits us nowhere else,—go to the far west, and seek the baths of Baiae,—it is therefore by no means necessary to think of the eruption of Vesuvius. As Holtzmann has already remarked (Jahrbücher für Deutsche Theol., vol. xii. p. 391), Mt. Epomeo on the island of Ischia, much nearer Baiae than Vesuvius, suffered eruptions in the years 46 and 35 B.C., and then not again until 1301 A.D. This explanation is also recommended by the fact that Enoch pictures these phenomena as repeated. In verse 8 the so-called Trichotomy is distinctly taught.—9.

Their spirits will change, will no longer remain so proud, haughty, and God-denying; their pride will be broken.—11. But after the angels have been removed for their final punishment from this place of temporal punishment, then those warm waters will grow cold. This makes it clear that the author imagined those springs heated by the fire underneath where the fallen angels were enduring their temporal torture. The author evidently does not trouble himself about the fact that the first part plainly taught that the temporal punishment consisted in being bound under the hills; cf. chap. 10.—12. The moral of his account is that this temporal torture of the fallen angels in such a manner that its evidence is constantly before the eyes of the rich who are luxuriating in the bathing-places is a warning for them. In making the powerful the object of his warning he again connects with the Parables.—13. The stress is a lies on angels; they were healed, i.e. as Dillmann remarks, probably repent; but it does not produce a similar effect on the rulers and powerful. Therefore, too, the second judgment shall be by a more terrible element—by fire; cf. Wisd. x. 7; Jude 7.

CHAP. 68, 1. Should there have been any doubt that the author of the Noachic fragments seeks to follow the Parables, this doubt will be removed here, where he expressly quotes them as the source of his information. As the Parables treat mainly of the second judgment it is probable that the fragmentist desires to do so too in the following. This probability is heightened by the fact that the judgment is hidden. The author stands at the time of the first judgment, but there is in reserve yet a hidden future judgment that seems almost too severe in the eyes of the angels. Then, too, the judgment, according to verse 5, is to all eternity. —3. By this word, i.e. the word of God that declares this punishment.—4. But before the throne of God Michael acknowledges the justice of the judgment, and suppresses the involuntary pity; cf. Isa. xiv. 11-13.—5. This verse seems to say that the final punishment of the angels is so severe that none other will be like it.

CHAP. 69. After again dwelling briefly on the terrors of this punishment, the author gives a catalogue of the angels that fell, differing to some extent from the account in 6:7. Most of these names in both places are of doubtful etymology and of little importance, nothing but the invention of some ingenious speculator.—4. This task is assigned to Semjaza in 6:3.—9. The abuse of this art was sinful. The writers sin for such reasons as are assigned 99:2; 104:9, 10.—10, 11. Writing is sinful, as it indicates a state of dishonesty; cf. Wisd. I. 13, 14; ii. 23, 24; Matt. v. 37. It, i.e. death.—12. Cf. Ps. xci. 5, 6, 13, according to the old Jewish interpretation. Beatings that take place at noon, cf. Ps. xci. 6.—13. The divine name used in swearing and witchcraft.—17. Cf. Ps. xxiv. 2; cxxxvi. 6.—18. Cf. Jer. v. 22; Prov. viii.; Job xxxviii.—19. Cf. Prov. viii. 28.—21. Calls their names, cf. Isa. XL. 26; Ps. cxlvii. 4.—24. Cf. En. 41:7.—26. With this verse we are, as the name Son of man, used of the Messiah, already indicates, again in the Parables, and this is proved by the ending of vs. 29. But whether these verses to 29 are a portion of a chapter cut out by the interpolator to furnish room for his remarks, or are to be connected with a certain part of the third parable must remain doubtful. They are, however, a good summary and close of this parable.


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