The Descent of the Watchers
1 Enoch 6-11 (Book of the Watchers)
Two hundred Watchers bind themselves by oath on Mount Hermon, take human wives, and father giants.
What the text says
1 Enoch 6-11 names Shemihazah as leader of two hundred Watchers who descend in the days of Jared, swear a mutual oath on Mount Hermon, take wives, and father giants. The giants consume the produce of humanity and then turn against it. Azazel teaches metalworking, weapons and cosmetics; others teach sorcery, root-cutting and astrology. The archangels bring the appeal to heaven; judgment and binding follow, and the Flood cleanses the earth.
Dating and status
The Book of the Watchers is generally dated to the third century BC, making it among the oldest surviving Jewish apocalyptic literature. Aramaic fragments of 1 Enoch were found at Qumran, confirming its circulation well before the New Testament era.
Canonical status
1 Enoch is not canonical in Rabbinic Judaism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Protestantism. It is canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the only complete surviving version is in Ge'ez.
Careful distinction
1 Enoch expands one ancient reading of Genesis 6. It is evidence of what some Jews in the Second Temple period believed the passage meant. It is not an independent witness to the events themselves.