Showing results for "The Watcher" in Judaism

The offspring of the Watchers (and their human mates) were what the bible calls "giants" or "Nephilim." These half-humans/half-fallen-angel hybrids were extremely wicked, and began eating everything and everybody! This is the reason, some scholars say, for God's sending the flood of Noah. Additionally, The Book of the Watchers outlines how these fallen angels corrupted mankind by teaching them forbidden knowledge of weapon-making, sorcery, witchcraft, astrology, and other forbidden technologies.

Among the first seven scrolls discovered in the caves of Qumran at the Dead Sea is a scroll given the name "The Book of Giants". It is thought to have been based on the Book of Enoch, a pseudepigraphical Jewish work from the third century BCE. The Book of Giants, like the Book of Enoch, concerns itself with the Nephilim, which are the offspring of fallen angels, who are called the Watchers. Two main versions of the text exist. The Dead Sea version is written in Aramaic.

Many magickal texts have been written around the Watchers, and I am hoping to add my two cents to the discussion. Several decades ago, I worked with the Watchers. Aside from the rituals of course, we will be covering the basics of the Watchers' story as it is understood in Genesis since it is there that the first inkling of the story emerges in the scriptural tradition. Also, some texts exist that predate Genesis that contain a proto-Watchers narrative. Some of these early stories have some connection to Ancient Mesopotamia.

Few Biblical figures are as intriguing and mysterious as Enoch. He is mentioned only a few times in the canonical Hebrew Bible, but the impact of his story went on to affect the theology of many books written during the Second Temple Era. It also set the foundation for the development of many of the ideas found in the early Christian movement. Enoch’s importance continued beyond the destruction of the Temple and survived in a new form in later rabbinic tradition. Discover the mystery of Enoch, and the fascinating impact it had on the development of Judaism and Christianity.