Enoch and the Dead Sea Scrolls
One work, one witness, one passage at a time.
How to read this room.
The three books commonly called Enoch are different works. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a manuscript collection, not a single book waiting for one complete translation. Catalogue numbers, fragments and editions make a research question precise. Begin with an identifiable witness and keep missing or uncertain material visible.
Short definitions open a topic; the linked studies develop the passages and Babylon’s authored interpretation.
1 Enoch
The Ethiopic Enoch collection, containing several literary sections; not the same work as 2 or 3 Enoch.
Also found as: First Enoch · Ethiopic Enoch
2 Enoch
The work commonly called Slavonic Enoch or the Book of the Secrets of Enoch.
Also found as: Second Enoch · Slavonic Enoch
3 Enoch
A Hebrew Hekhalot work associated with Enoch and Metatron; distinct from the Ethiopic and Slavonic works.
Also found as: Third Enoch · Hebrew Enoch
Book of the Watchers
The opening section of 1 Enoch, chapters 1–36 in common numbering, containing the Watchers narratives.
Watchers
Heavenly figures in particular ancient narratives; the term does not identify or diagnose living people.
Nephilim
Figures named in Genesis 6 and discussed in later traditions; their interpretation depends on the source.
Shemihazah
A Watcher leader in Enochic tradition; spellings vary across translations.
Also found as: Semjaza · Semyaza
Azazel
A name appearing in different ancient textual settings; distinguish Leviticus’s ritual context from Enochic narratives.
Book of Giants
An ancient work represented among the Dead Sea Scrolls and in later Manichaean material; witnesses differ.
Book of Luminaries
The astronomical section of 1 Enoch, chapters 72–82 in common editions; its literary model is not a current ephemeris.
Also found as: Astronomical Book
Uriel
An angelic guide in Enochic material, including teaching about heavenly courses in the Book of Luminaries.
364-day calendar
A schematic year discussed in Enochic and some Scrolls material; distinguish textual calendars from measured seasonal time.
Animal Apocalypse
The animal-symbol vision in 1 Enoch 85–90; historical identifications require interpretation.
Parables of Enoch
The section also called the Similitudes, commonly numbered 1 Enoch 37–71.
Also found as: Similitudes of Enoch
Epistle of Enoch
Instructional and visionary materials in the latter part of 1 Enoch; note edition and chapter arrangement.
Metatron
A heavenly figure prominent in 3 Enoch and later Jewish mystical traditions; not a character interchangeable with every Enoch text.
Dead Sea Scrolls
Ancient manuscripts and fragments from the Judean Desert, including biblical texts and other writings.
Also found as: DSS
Qumran
The site near caves containing many famous Dead Sea Scroll discoveries; provenance questions require precise records.
Great Isaiah Scroll
The substantial Isaiah manuscript designated 1QIsaᵃ; a particular witness rather than a modern translation.
Also found as: 1QIsaa
Community Rule
A Scrolls work concerning communal ordering and instruction, preserved in multiple manuscript witnesses.
Also found as: Serekh ha-Yahad · 1QS
War Scroll
A Scrolls work describing an eschatological conflict; its literary imagery should not label contemporary populations.
Also found as: 1QM
Thanksgiving Hymns
A Scrolls collection of devotional hymns; manuscript identity and reconstruction affect its presentation.
Also found as: Hodayot · 1QHa
Pesher
An interpretive form connecting a scriptural passage with its explained significance; read the quoted text and commentary separately.
Copper Scroll
The metal document designated 3Q15, listing deposits in a distinctive form; an object-specific study topic.
Also found as: 3Q15
Manuscript siglum
A catalogue abbreviation identifying a manuscript witness; it helps distinguish physical evidence from a work’s general title.
Compare the label 1 Enoch with a specific Qumran manuscript siglum. What does each identify?
Continue with named sources.
These selected references orient this room. Consult the named work and edition for a close reading. Babylon’s symbolic connections remain its own teaching.
Read the full source register