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Enoch, Jubilees and others · Genesis Apocryphon, column 2 (1QapGen)

Lamech's wife swears

EvidenceDocumentedThe text exists and is quoted from a published translation. What it describes is a separate question.What this means
ReferenceGenesis Apocryphon, column 2 (1QapGen)
WrittenCopy c. 50 BCE–50 CE
SetBirth of Noah
Lamech is afraid his son was conceived 'from the Watchers' and confronts his wife Batenosh. She reminds him of their intimacy and swears by the Great Holy One that the child is his and 'from no stranger, no Watcher, no son of heaven'.

Summary by the editors. Translation: Summary in my own words

Read it literally

A domestic scene with huge stakes. Great material for a chapter.

What scholars say

Aramaic scroll from Qumran Cave 1, published 1956. No public-domain English version.

Giants and hybrids
People and places hereLamech (father of Noah)Qumran

Quick answers about Genesis Apocryphon, column 2

Where is Genesis Apocryphon, column 2 found?

Genesis Apocryphon, column 2 (1QapGen) (Enoch, Jubilees and others). Translation quoted: Summary in my own words.

When was Genesis Apocryphon, column 2 written?

Copy c. 50 BCE–50 CE.

What do scholars say about Genesis Apocryphon, column 2?

Aramaic scroll from Qumran Cave 1, published 1956. No public-domain English version.

Rabbit holes in this passage

PersonLamech and BitenoshA Dead Sea Scroll describes a newborn who lights up the whole house like the sun, with hair white as wool. His terrified father suspects the child was fathered by a Watcher, and his wife swears an oath that he is wrong. It is one of the few female voices in this literature. Whose child was Noah?BeingThe Watchers (Grigori)The story says some angels who never sleep came down to a real mountain summit, picked up human wives, and taught people metalworking, spells and astronomy. Their leaders are named, each in charge of ten others. The same word shows up in the Book of Daniel as a heavenly council. So who exactly were the Watchers?

Sources

  1. 1 Enoch 106:1–18, trans. R. H. Charles, The Book of Enoch (1917)Primary text
  2. 1 Enoch 6–8, trans. R. H. Charles, The Book of Enoch (1917)Primary text

Scholarly dates are rounded. The wording follows the named public-domain translation.

Updated