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Enoch, Jubilees and others · 2 Enoch 18:1–3

The Grigori in the fifth heaven

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Reference2 Enoch 18:1–3
Writtenc. 1st century CE
SetEnoch's journey
I saw there many soldiers, called Grigori, of human appearance, and their size was greater than that of great giants and their faces withered, and the silence of their mouths perpetual.

Translation: Morfill and Charles, 1896 · About the translator

Read it literally

The loyal Watchers who stayed behind, silent and grieving for their brothers imprisoned below. Enoch talks them into holding a service again.

What scholars say

'Grigori' is the Greek egregoroi, 'watchers'.

From the sky Giants and hybrids

Quick answers about 2 Enoch 18:1–3

Where is 2 Enoch 18:1–3 found?

2 Enoch 18:1–3 (Enoch, Jubilees and others). Translation quoted: W. R. Morfill and R. H. Charles, The Book of the Secrets of Enoch (1896).

When was 2 Enoch 18:1–3 written?

c. 1st century CE.

What do scholars say about 2 Enoch 18:1–3?

'Grigori' is the Greek egregoroi, 'watchers'.

Files in this passage

PersonEnochGenesis spends only a few lines on Enoch, and then breaks its own pattern. Everyone else in his family line dies, but of him it says only that God took him. He lived 365 years, the same number as days in a solar year. That odd ending sparked a whole library of visions, still being read today.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. W. R. Morfill and R. H. Charles, The Book of the Secrets of Enoch (1896)Primary text
  2. Genesis 5:18–24, King James VersionPrimary text
  3. 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.

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