These podcasts explore the Second Temple Jewish understanding of Genesis 6:1-4, focusing on the sin of the Watchers, who are divine beings or angels that transgressed by cohabiting with human women and revealing forbidden knowledge, resulting in giant offspring called the Nephilim. This interpretation is found extensively in 1 Enoch and other Jewish texts, which expand upon the brief biblical account. This tradition is deeply connected to older Mesopotamian myths about the apkallu, semi-divine beings who bestowed wisdom upon humanity before the Flood and whose post-Flood counterparts were sometimes seen as hybrids associated with evil. Second Temple Jewish writers adapted this narrative, often polemically, portraying the Watchers and their offspring as the source of significant evil and depravity, contrasting with the traditional view that traces sin solely to Adam's fall. The Watchers are depicted as being imprisoned in a subterranean realm like the Abyss or Tartarus, awaiting final judgment, a concept that contrasts with Babylonian views of the apkallu. This Enochic tradition significantly influenced New Testament writers like Peter and Jude, who explicitly reference the imprisonment of these sinning angels, and also implicitly influenced Paul in his discussions of the Law's purpose and order in worship. Early church figures like Irenaeus and Tertullian likewise incorporated the Watchers' transgression into their understanding of the origin of sin and interpreted biblical passages in light of this tradition.
A Timeline And Cast Of Characters For “Reversing Hermon”
The Sons Of God And The Nephilim
The Sin Of The Watchers In First Enoch
The Mesopotamian Apkallu, The Watchers, And The Nephilim
The Sin Of The Watchers And The Birth Of Jesus
The Sin Of The Watchers And The Genealogy Of Jesus
The Sin Of The Watchers And The Ministry Of Jesus
The Sin of the Watchers and Human Depravity
The Sin of the Watchers and the Head Covering of 1 Corinthians 11
The Sin of the Watchers and Baptism