DCHindley

I'm taking my morning break and saw this article featured in the recent volume of The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures.

VERONIKA BACHMANN,THE BOOK OF THE WATCHERS (1 ENOCH 1–36): AN ANTI-*‐MOSAIC, NON-*‐MOSAIC, OR EVEN PRO-*‐MOSAIC WRITING?

INTRODUCTION
Among the different sections of the First or Ethiopic Book of
Enoch, the so-called Book of the Watchers (BW) (1 Enoch 1–36) is
probably the catchiest one. It tells the story of angels who decided
to transgress the boundaries of the cosmic order established by
God. The consequences of their transgression are described as
disastrous: The heavenly angels intrude into the worldly and human
sphere causing chaos and suffering. The BW, however, is not just a
story about these angels, their “fall,” and the world thrown out of
order. On a narrative level, the story is told by Enoch, one of the
human forefathers mentioned in Genesis 5:18–24. The entire BW
is presented as his “words of blessing” addressing a distant generation
(1 Enoch 1:1–2). Furthermore, Enoch tells us of his own role
within the resolution of the story: He is told to act as a messenger
between God and the angels, and to announce and underline God’s
condemnation of the angels and their sin. Having in mind the BW’s
pseudepigraphic character and the fact that Enoch plays an important
role within the plot, it seems appropriate to adopt the common
labelling of the writing and to call the BW an “Enochic writing.”
From such a perspective, the qualifier “Enochic” basically highlights
the narrative weight given to the fictive figure of Enoch by a
set of writings.

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