Elioud

Last updated

In the Book of Enoch and Book of Jubilees, copies of which were kept by groups including the religious community of Qumran that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Elioud (also transliterated Eljo) [1] are the antediluvian children of the Nephilim, and are considered a part-angel hybrid race of their own. [2] Like the Nephilim, the Elioud are exceptional in both ability and wickedness.

Contents

Canonicity

The texts that use the term "Elioud" are non-canonical in modern Rabbinic Judaism, Western Christianity and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, but are considered canonical by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians and Beta Israel Jews (i.e. certain Ethiopian Jews). The canonical Book of Genesis mentions Enoch, the putative source of this revelation about the Elioud only in passing (as a long-lived ancestor of Noah), [3] and while it notes that Nephilim had children, it does not assign a name to them. [4] Another canonical Bible passage concerning a giant at Gath and his children, likely the Anakim, is sometimes alleged to refer to the Elioud (who in that account have six fingers on each hand and each foot), although in context, these references to giants appear to refer instead to the Philistines. [5]

Early fathers of the Christian church [6] of the first and second centuries, as well as the bodies that formed the modern Rabbinical Jewish canon [7] [8] were aware of 1 Enoch and the Book of Jubilees in which these accounts were contained, and accepted the former as scripture, but by the 4th Century AD, due to a view of angels that held they could not engage in sexual intercourse, chose to omit these texts from the canon of Western Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism respectively.

Relevance to Christian theology

Less literal readings of Genesis 6:4 see the reference in that passage to the intermarriage of "sons of God", meaning the godly descendants of Seth or to people faithful to God generally, with "daughters of men", meaning the godless descendants of Cain, or to people who are not faithful to God generally. [9] This less literal reading is the one adopted, in contrast to 1 Enoch and the Book of Jubilees, by the pseudepigraphic second part of the Book of Adam and Eve. [10]

The language of 1 Enoch that references the race of Elioud precludes less literal readings of the term "sons of God", for example, by enumerating the names of particular angels who choose to have children with human women. [11]

Discrepancies in the tradition

In some readings of the non-canonical texts, the Nephilim are children whose father is an angel and whose mother is a human and they are the "giants" (also known as Gibborim) referred to in the canonical Book of Numbers. [12] In others, angels and human women produce children who are Gibborim, and the Nephilim have fathers who are Gibborim and human mothers. This ambiguity is also found in the non-canonical Book of Giants, fragments of which were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. [13]

For example, according to one account, there is a discrepancy between Aramaic, Ge'ez (i.e. Ethiopian) and Greek translations of 1 Enoch 7:2 and 7:10–11. [14]

2 And when the angels,* the sons of heaven, beheld them, they became enamoured of them, saying to each other, Come, let us select for ourselves wives from the progeny of men, and let us beget children.
  • An Aramaic text reads "Watchers" here (J.T. Milik, Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4 [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976], p. 167). . . .
10 Then they took wives, each choosing for himself; whom they began to approach, and with whom they cohabited; teaching them sorcery, incantations, and the dividing of roots and trees.
11 And the women conceiving brought forth giants,
  • The Greek texts vary considerably from the Ethiopic text here. One Greek manuscript adds to this section, "And they [the women] bore to them [the Watchers] three races–first, the great giants. The giants brought forth [some say "slew"] the Naphelim, and the Naphelim brought forth [or "slew"] the Elioud. And they existed, increasing in power according to their greatness."

The 1913 translation of R.H. Charles of the Book of Jubilees 7:21–25 [15] reads as follows (note that "Naphil" is an alternative transliteration form of "Nephilim"):

21 For owing to these three things came the flood upon the earth, namely, owing to the fornication wherein the Watchers against the law of their ordinances went a whoring after the daughters of men, and took themselves wives of all which they chose: and they made the beginning of uncleanness.
22 And they begat sons the Naphidim, and they were all unlike, and they devoured one another: and the Giants slew the Naphil, and the Naphil slew the Eljo, and the Eljo mankind, and one man another.
23 And every one sold himself to work iniquity and to shed much blood, and the earth was filled with iniquity.
24 And after this they sinned against the beasts and birds, and all that moves and walks on the earth: and much blood was shed on the earth, and every imagination and desire of men imagined vanity and evil continually.
25 And the Lord destroyed everything from off the face of the earth; because of the wickedness of their deeds, and because of the blood which they had shed in the midst of the earth He destroyed everything.

There are possible references to the Elioud in the non-canonical Book of Giants, fragments of which were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, but a definitive reading is difficult because no complete version of this text is available to modern researchers and the available fragments are in six different archaic languages. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cain</span> Biblical figure

Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. However, God was not pleased and favored Abel's offering over Cain's. Out of jealousy, Cain killed his brother, for which he was punished by God with the curse and mark of Cain. He had several children, starting with Enoch and including Lamech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enoch</span> Biblical figure prior to Noahs flood

Enoch is a biblical figure and patriarch prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book of Jubilees</span> Ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters

The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish apocryphal text of 50 chapters, considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as well as Beta Israel, where it is known as the Book of Division. Jubilees is considered one of the pseudepigrapha by the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant churches. It is also not considered canonical within Judaism outside of the Beta Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azazel</span> Biblical figure identified with fallen angel

In the Hebrew Bible, the name Azazel represents a desolate place where a scapegoat bearing the sins of the Jews was sent during Yom Kippur. During the late Second Temple period, Azazel came to be viewed as a fallen angel responsible for introducing humans to forbidden knowledge, as described in the Book of Enoch. His role as a fallen angel partly remains in Christian and Islamic traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antediluvian</span> Dealing about the time period before the flood

The antediluvian period is the time period chronicled in the Bible between the fall of man and the Genesis flood narrative in biblical cosmology. The term was coined by Thomas Browne. The narrative takes up chapters 1–6 of the Book of Genesis. The term found its way into early geology and science until the late Victorian era. Colloquially, the term is used to refer to any ancient and murky period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fallen angel</span> Angel expelled from heaven in Abrahamic religions

Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from Heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven or angels who sinned. Such angels often tempt humans to sin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Book of Enoch</span> Hebrew religious text ascribed to Enoch

The Book of Enoch is an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to the patriarch Enoch who was the father of Methuselah and the great-grandfather of Noah. The Book of Enoch contains unique material on the origins of demons and Nephilim, why some angels fell from heaven, an explanation of why the Genesis flood was morally necessary, and a prophetic exposition of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah. Three books are traditionally attributed to Enoch, including the distinct works 2 Enoch and 3 Enoch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nephilim</span> Beings from the Hebrew Bible

The Nephilim are mysterious beings or people in the Hebrew Bible who are described as being large and strong. The Hebrew word Nephilim is sometimes translated as "giants", and sometimes as its literal meaning "the fallen ones". Their origins are disputed. Some, including the author of the Book of Enoch, view them as offspring of fallen angels and humans. Others view them as offspring of the descendants of Seth and Cain.

The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan is a 6th-century Christian extracanonical work found in Ge'ez, translated from an Arabic original.

The Life of Adam and Eve, also known in its Greek version as the Apocalypse of Moses, is a Jewish apocryphal group of writings. It recounts the lives of Adam and Eve from after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden to their deaths. It provides more detail about the Fall of Man, including Eve's version of the story. Satan explains that he rebelled when God commanded him to bow down to Adam. After Adam dies, he and all his descendants are promised a resurrection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samyaza</span> Fallen angel in various traditions

Samyaza, also Shemhazai, Azza, Uzza, or Ouza, is a fallen angel of apocryphal Abrahamic traditions and Manichaeism who ranked in the heavenly hierarchy as the leader of the Watchers.

The Book of Moses, dictated by Joseph Smith, is part of the scriptural canon for some denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement. The book begins with the "Visions of Moses", a prologue to the story of the creation and the fall of man, and continues with material corresponding to the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible's (JST) first six chapters of the Book of Genesis, interrupted by two chapters of "extracts from the prophecy of Enoch".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watcher (angel)</span> Class of angelic beings in biblical texts

A Watcher is a type of biblical angel. The word occurs in both plural and singular forms in the Book of Daniel, where reference is made to the holiness of the beings. The apocryphal Books of Enoch refer to both good and bad Watchers, with a primary focus on the rebellious ones.

<i>The Book of Giants</i> 3rd-century BCE Hebrew text

The Book of Giants is an apocryphal book which expands upon the Genesis narrative of the Hebrew Bible, in a similar manner to the Book of Enoch. Together with this latter work, the Book of Giants "stands as an attempt to explain how it was that wickedness had become so widespread and muscular before the flood; in so doing, it also supplies the reason why God was more than justified in sending that flood." The text's composition has been dated to before the 2nd century BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs</span> Apocryphal scripture connected with the Bible

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is a constituent of the apocryphal scriptures connected with the Bible. It is believed to be a pseudepigraphical work of the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is part of the Oskan Armenian Orthodox Bible of 1666. Fragments of similar writings were found at Qumran, but opinions are divided as to whether these are the same texts. It is generally considered apocalyptic literature.

The Second Book of Enoch is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten heavens of an Earth-centered cosmos. The Slavonic edition and translation of 2 Enoch is of Christian origin in the 8th century but is based on an earlier work. 2 Enoch is distinct from the Book of Enoch, known as 1 Enoch, and there is also an unrelated 3 Enoch, although none of the three books are considered canonical scripture by the majority of Jewish or Christian bodies. The numbering of these texts has been applied by scholars to distinguish each from the others.

Sons of God is a phrase used in the Tanakh or Old Testament and in Christian Apocrypha. The phrase is also used in Kabbalah where bene elohim are part of different Jewish angelic hierarchies.

"Generations of Adam" is a genealogical concept recorded in Genesis 5:1 in the Hebrew Bible. It is typically taken as the name of Adam's line of descent going through Seth. Another view equates the generations of Adam with material about a second line of descent starting with Cain in Genesis 4, while Genesis 5 is taken as the "generations of Noah".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genesis Apocryphon</span> One of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls

The Genesis Apocryphon (1Q20), also called the Tales of the Patriarchs or the Apocalypse of Lamech and labeled 1QapGen, is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1946 by Bedouin shepherds in Cave 1 near Qumran, a small settlement in the northwest corner of the Dead Sea. Composed in Aramaic, it consists of four sheets of leather. Furthermore, it is the least well-preserved document of the original seven. The document records a pseudepigraphal conversation between the biblical figure Lamech, son of Methuselah, and his son, Noah, as well as first and third person narratives associated with Abraham. It is one of the nonbiblical texts found at Qumran. A range of compositional dates for the work have been suggested from the 3rd century BC to 1st century AD. Palaeography and Carbon-14 dating were used to identify the age of the documents. It is 13 inches in length and 2.75 inches in width at its widest point in the middle.

The Book of Enoch, is an ancient Jewish religious work, ascribed by tradition and internal attestation to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. 1 Enoch holds material unique to it, such as the origins of supernatural demons and giants, why some angels fell from heaven, details explaining why the Great Flood was morally necessary, and an introduction of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah. The unique material makes it possible to identify which ancient literary works adopt 1 Enoch as a source. Well known in antiquity, the book was received by various authors with respect, and sometimes considered as divinely inspired.

References

  1. ↑ Multiple theories exist regarding the etymology of these terms. See Eibert J.C. Tigchelaar, "Prophets of old and the Day of the End: Zechariah, the Book of watchers, and apocalyptic" (Brill 1996) at pgs. 212–213.
  2. ↑ 1 Enoch 7:1–15. Book of Jubilees 7:21–25
  3. ↑ Genesis 5:18–24
  4. ↑ Genesis 6:1–6.
  5. ↑ 1 Chronicles 20:6–8. See, e.g., CK Quarterman, "The Elioud Race" (November 3, 2011) http://www.fallenangels-ckquarterman.com/the-elioud-race/
  6. ↑ The Ante-Nicene Fathers (ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson; vol 4.16: On the Apparel of Women (De cultu foeminarum) I.3: "Concerning the Genuineness of 'The Prophecy of Enoch'")
  7. ↑ Emanuel Tov and Craig Evans, Exploring the Origins of the Bible: Canon Formation in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective, Acadia 2008
  8. ↑ Philip R. Davies, Scribes and Schools: The Canonization of the Hebrew Scriptures London: SPCK, 1998
  9. ↑ See, e.g., The New Scofield Study Bible, New American Standard Edition (1988) at page 13, footnote 2 (commentary on Genesis 6:4).
  10. ↑ See Second Book of Adam and Eve 11:1–4 http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/fbe/fbe095.htm translated by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr., "The Forgotten Books of Eden" (1926): "1 AFTER the death of Adam and of Eve, Seth severed his children, and his children's children, from Cain's children. Cain and his seed went down and dwelt westward, below the place where he had killed his brother Abel. 2 But Seth and his children, dwelt northwards upon the mountain of the Cave of Treasures, in order to be near to their father Adam. 3 And Seth the elder, tall and good, with a fine soul, and of a strong mind, stood at the head of his people; and tended them in innocence, penitence, and meekness, and did not allow one of them to go down to Cain's children. 4 But because of their own purity, they were named "Children of God," and they were with God, instead of the hosts of angels who fell; for they continued in praises to God, and in singing psalms unto Him, in their cave—the Cave of Treasures."
  11. ↑ 1 Enoch 7:3–9
  12. ↑ Numbers 13:32–33
  13. ↑ James R. Davila, "Summary of Book of Giants" (2002) at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/divinity/rt/otp/abstracts/bgiants/ Archived 2013-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ "The Reluctant Messenger" http://www.reluctant-messenger.com/1enoch01-60.htm
  15. ↑ Reproduced at http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/jubilees/index.htm and currently in the public domain.
  16. ↑ W. B. Henning, "The Book of Giants", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. XI, Part 1, 1943, pp. 52–74 at page 69, note 5 http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/giants/giants.htm#page_69_fr_5
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.