The Origin of Satan and His Demons in the Book of Enoch

As we discussed last time, Zoroastrianism had some surprising influences on Jewish thought in Jesus’ day, including ideas that did not exist before in Judaism:

* A personalized adversary to God—Satan
* A hierarchy of angels that followed either God or Satan
* A time of judgment after death
* A place of punishment after death

But it is extremely unlikely that Jews in Jerusalem sat around reading the Zoroastrian Gathas. Instead, they were more directly influenced by intermediate writings  such as the The Book of Enoch (also called 1 Enoch), which was part of an explosion of new Jewish literature written during the post-exilic period between 200 BC and AD 200. Jews were exposed to Egyptian, Greek, and Zoroastrian ideas through these writings.

The Nature of the Book of Enoch

Enoch is part of a Jewish genre called apocalyptic. A simple definition of apocalyptic is that it focuses on the end of history. In addition, apocalyptic is also associated with phenomenal signs, wonders, and symbols. Enoch was certainly not written by the Enoch of Genesis 5, who was the father of Methuselah—no matter what the author of the book of Jude thought. In fact, it was written over a period of many years, by various people, beginning around 200 BC.

Enoch was known among many Jews of Jesus’ time, including the Essenes at Qumran, and was also used by a number of Christian writers through the first centuries after Jesus, though it fell from favor after that. So, for a while, Enoch was quite an influential book among both Jews and Christians, but it was never included in the Old Testament, the Jewish Apocrypha, or the New Testament canon.

The Sons of God and the Daughters of Men

One of the most apparent contributions of Zoroastrianism to Jewish thought is the idea of a powerful, evil adversary to God. The Zoroastrian God was Ahura Mazda—his adversary was called Angra Mainyu. Both Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu were followed by a host of spirits. Today we will see how Enoch turned to an obscure passage in Genesis to bring that idea of a powerful foe with a host of spirit followers into Jewish thought—where it had never existed before.

Genesis chapter 6 says:

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

That is all; the Bible says nothing more.

Who were these sons of God originally meant to represent? Possibly they were thought to be the descendants of the pure line of Seth, with the daughters of men being descendants of Cain. Or the Sons of God were God-worshipers, while the daughters of men were not. A third possibility is that they were extraterrestrials. We just don’t know what was intended by this short, vague passage.

Enoch gave names to the sons of God and elaborated on the story. Enoch understood them to be fallen angels who had sexual intercourse with human women. God punished them, and their acts led directly to the flood of Noah. Therefore, the fall of the angels related to sexual sins rather than pride as some suppose.

Enoch Identifies the Sons of God who Went to the Daughters of Men

Enoch tells the story in chapters 6 and 7:

In those days, when the children of man had multiplied, it happened that there were born unto them handsome and beautiful daughters. And the angels, the children of heaven, saw them and desired them; and they said to one another, “Come, let us choose wives for ourselves from among the daughters of man and beget us children.”

And Semyaz, being their leader, said unto them, “I feel that perhaps you will not consent that this deed should be done, and I alone will become (responsible) for this great sin.” But they all responded to him, “Let us all swear an oath and bind everyone among us by a curse not to abandon this suggestion but to do the deed.”

Then they all swore together and bound one another by (the curse). And they were altogether two hundred; and they descended into Ardos, which is the summit of Hermon. And they called the mount Armon, for they swore and bound one another by a curse.

And their names are as follows; Semyaz, the leader of Arakeb, Rame’el. Tam’el. Ram’el, Dan’el, Ezequel, Baraqyal, As’es, Armaros, Batar’el, Anan’el, Zaqu’el, Sasomaspe’el, Kestar’el, Tur’el, Yamayol, and Arazyal. These are their chiefs of tens and all the others with them.

And they took wives unto themselves, and everyone (respectively) chose one woman for himself. And they began to go unto them. And they taught them magical medicine, incantations, the cutting of roots, and taught them about plants. And the women became pregnant and gave birth to great giants.

Notice that, in Enoch, the leader is not called Satan but Semyaz. Enoch also lists the good archangels of God in chapter 20:

And these are the names of the holy angels who watch: Suru’el [Uriel]… Raphael… Raguel… Michael… Saraqa’el… [and] Gabriel. [Some lists add Remiel or Ramiel]

Four Concepts Contributed to Jewish thought of Jesus’ Time From Zoroastrianism

We mentioned four Zoroastrian concepts that were never part of Jewish thinking before the exile:

* A personalized adversary to God—Satan
* A hierarchy of angels that followed either God or Satan
* A time of judgment after death
* A place of punishment after death

Today, we discussed the adversary to God and the hierarchies of angels and demons. Next time we will discover what Enoch has to say about a time of judgment and a place of punishment after death.

In this series: Zorastrianism, the Book of Enoch, and Eternal Fire:

Sheep, Goats, and the Bosom of Abraham
What Did Jesus Mean by the ‘Eternal Fire Prepared for the Devil and His Angels’?
The Influence of Zoroastrianism on Jewish Thought in Jesus’ Time
The Origin of Satan and His Demons in the Book of Enoch
Judgment and Punishment in the Book of Enoch

***

• Be sure to follow this blog in the right-hand column of this page.
• Like Jesus without Baggage Page on Facebook.
• Follow @JesusWOB on Twitter
• If you know someone who might find Jesus without Baggage helpful, feel free to send them the introductory page: About Jesus without Baggage.