1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12 – 13 – 14 – 15
Once thought to be nothing more than a 3rd century Manichaean corruption of biblical and Jewish legends, a primordial Aramaic form was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. This much older Book of Giants was composed hundreds of years before Christ’s first advent—at the latest—and shares Enochian similarities. In this LSV reconstruction of the DSS Book of Giants, instead of presenting each fragmentary section, the narrative is pieced together in a plausible chronological order by chapter, so some fragments are grouped together. The fragment identifiers are listed before each set of verses belonging to that fragment.
[The rebellious Watchers (messengers) descend to earth, bringing secret knowledge and wickedness. Their hybrid offspring are giants.]
[1Q23] . . . they knew the secrets of . . . . . . sin was great in the earth . . . . . . and they killed many . . . . . . [they begot] giants . . .
[The messengers observe all the creatures on earth, including human beings.]
[4Q531] . . . [everything that the] earth produced . . . . . . the great fish . . . . . . the sky with all that grew . . . . . . [fruit of] the earth and all kinds of grain and all the trees . . . . . . beasts and reptiles . . . all creeping things of the earth, and they observed all . . . . . . every harsh deed and . . . utterance . . . . . . male and female, and among humans . . .
[The messengers choose two hundred specimens from each of a variety of creatures on which to perform ungodly acts.]
[1Q23] . . . [two hundred] donkeys, two hundred mules, two hundred . . . . . . rams of the flock, two hundred goats, two hundred . . . . . . [beasts of the] field from every animal, from every [bird] . . . . . . for interbreeding . . .
[Giants, monsters, and corruption fill the earth as a result of angelic interbreeding.]
[4Q531] . . . they defiled . . . . . . [they begot] giants and monsters . . . . . . they begot, and behold, all [the earth was corrupted] . . . . . . with its blood and by the hand of . . . . . . which did not suffice for them and . . . . . . and they were seeking to devour many . . . . . . the monsters attacked it.
[4Q532] . . . flesh . . . . . . all . . . monsters . . . will be . . . . . . they would arise . . . lacking in true knowledge . . . because . . . . . . the earth [grew corrupt] . . . mighty . . . . . . they were considering . . . . . . from the messengers on . . . . . . in the end it will perish and die . . . . . . they caused great corruption in the [earth] . . . . . . [this did not] suffice to . . . “They will be . . .”
[The giants are troubled by dreams and visions which hint at a coming judgment on them. In one dream, a stone tablet is drenched in water and emerges with only three names still inscribed (presumably the names of Noah’s sons).]
[2Q26] . . . they drenched the tablet in the water . . . . . . the waters went up over the [tablet] . . . . . . they lifted the tablet out from the water of . . .
[4Q530] . . . [the vision] is for cursing and sorrow. I am the one who confessed . . . . . . the whole group of the castaways that I will go to . . . . . . the spirits of the slain, complaining about their killers and crying out . . . . . . that we will die together and be made an end of . . . . . . much and I will be sleeping, and bread . . . . . . for my dwelling; the vision and also . . . entered into the gathering of the giants . . . [6Q8] . . . Ohya, and he said to Mahway . . . “. . . without trembling. Who showed you all this vision, brother?” . . . “Barakel, my father, was with me.” . . . Before Mahway had finished telling what [he had seen] . . . . . . [said] to him, “Now I have heard wonders! If a barren woman gives birth . . .” [4Q530] Thereon Ohya said to Ha[hya], “. . . [will be destroyed] from on the earth and . . . . . . [the] earth.” When . . . . . . they wept before [the giants] . . . “. . . your strength . . .” . . . Thereon Ohya [said] to Hahya, . . . Then he answered, “It is not for us, but for Azaiel, for he did . . . [the offspring of the] messengers are the giants, [and they would not let all their loved ones] be neglected . . . . . . [we have] not been cast down; you have strength . . .
[A giant boasts about his strength, but realizes he is not stronger than the faithful messengers of Heaven. One of the speakers is apparently the giant hybrid Gilgamesh from Sumerian myth.]
[4Q531] “. . . I am a giant, and by the mighty strength of my arm and my own great strength . . . . . . anyone mortal, and I have made war against them; but I am not . . . able to stand against them, for my opponents . . . . . . reside in Heaven, and they dwell in the holy places. And not . . . [they] are stronger than me. . . . of the wild beast has come, and they call [me] the wild man.” . . . Then Ohya said to him, “I have been forced to have a dream . . . the sleep of my eyes [vanished], to let me see a vision. Now I know that on . . .” . . . Gilgamesh . . .
[Ohya has a dream in which a tree is uprooted, but three roots remain. This is presumably the same message as the dream of the stone tablet.]
[6Q8] . . . three of its roots . . . . . . [while] I was [watching], there came . . . . . . [the roots were moved into] this garden, all of them, and not . . .
[Bothered by the dreams and visions, Ohya suggests the message is actually judgment on another group.]
[4Q530] . . . concerns the death of our souls . . . . . . and all his comrades, [and] Ohya told them what Gilgamesh said to him . . . . . . and it was said . . . “. . . concerning . . . the leader has cursed the potentates.” And the giants were glad at his words. Then he turned and left . . .
[Dreamers recount yet more dreams, first to the assembly of monsters, and second to the assembly of giants.]
[4Q530] Thereon two of them had dreams and the sleep of their eye fled from them, and they arose and came to . . . . . . [and recounted] their dreams, and said in the assembly of [the giants and] the monsters, “[In] my dream I was watching this very night, [and within a garden there were] gardeners and they were watering . . . . . . [two hundred trees and] large shoots came out of their root . . . . . . all the water, and the fire burned all [the trees] . . .” . . . They found the giants to tell them [of the dream] . . .
[Mahway is petitioned to seek Enoch for an interpretation of the dream, and then flies to him with the request.]
[4Q530] “[Go to Enoch,] the noted scribe, and he will interpret the dream for us.” Thereon his companion Ohya declared [this], and said to the giants, “I too had a dream this night, O giants, and behold, the Ruler of Heaven came down to earth . . . . . . and such is the end of the dream.” [Then] all the giants [and monsters] grew afraid and called Mahway. He came to them and the giants pleaded with him and sent him to Enoch . . . They said to him, “Go . . . to you that . . . you have heard his voice.” And he said to him, “He will . . . interpret the dreams . . . . . . how long the giants have to live.”
[4Q530] . . . [he moved through the air] 1ike strong winds, and flew with his hands like eagles . . . [he left] the inhabited world and passed over Desolation, the great desert . . . . . . and Enoch saw him and hailed him, and Mahway said to him . . . . . . here and there a second time to Mahway . . . “The giants await your words, and all the monsters of the earth. If . . . has been carried . . . from the days of . . . their . . . and they will be added . . . . . . we would know from you their meaning . . . . . . [two hundred] trees that [came down] from Heaven . . .”
[Enoch grants the request and sends Mahway with a stone tablet containing the interpretation.]
[4Q530] The scribe [Enoch] . . . . . . a copy of the second tablet that [Enoch] sent . . . . . . in the very handwriting of Enoch the noted scribe . . . “[In the Name of God the great] and Holy One, to Shemihaza and all [his companions] . . . . . . let it be known to you that not . . . and the things you have done, and that your wives . . . . . . they and their sons and the wives of [their sons] . . . . . . by your licentiousness on the earth, and there has been on you . . . . . . [and the earth is crying out] and complaining about you and the deeds of your children, [and] the harm that you have done to it. . . . until Raphael arrives, behold, destruction [is coming, a great flood, and it will destroy all living things] and whatever is in the deserts and the seas. And the meaning of the matter . . . . . . on you for evil. But now, loosen the bonds binding [you to evil] . . . and pray.”
[4Q531] 1 . . . [great fear] seized me and I fell on my face; I heard his voice . . . 2 . . . he dwelt among human beings but he did not learn from them . . .