THE MANICHEAN VERSION OF THE BOOK OF GIANTS
ALSO CALLED OGIAS THE GIANT OR BOOK OF OG
The Book of the Giants was published in not less than six or seven languages. From the original Syriac the Greek and Middle Persian versions were made. The Sogdian edition was probably derived from the Middle Persian, the Uygur from the Sogdian. There is no trace of a Parthian text. The book may have existed in Coptic. The presence of names such as Sām and Narīmān in the Arabic version proves that it had been translated from the Middle Persian. To the few surviving fragments (texts A-G) I have added two excerpts, the more important of which (H) probably derives from a Syriac epitome of the book. Naturally, Manichæan authors quoted the book frequently, but there is only one direct citation by a non-Manichæan writer (text O). With the exception of text O, all the passages referring to the Book of the Giants (texts J-T) go back to Syriac writings (apparently). They are, therefore, to be treated as quotations from the Syriac edition. E.g. the Parthian text N is not the product of a Parthian writer who might have employed a Parthian version of the book, but was translated from a Syriac treatise whose author cited the Syriac text.
FRAGMENTS OF THE KAWĀN
A. Middle-Persian
M 101, a to n, and M 911, fifteen fragments of a book, throughout small pieces from the center of the pages. It has proved impossible, so far, to re-establish the original order of the pages. On purely technical grounds (size of the fragments, appearance of the margins, relative position of tears, stains, etc.), I at first assumed the following sequence: l-j-k-g-i-c-e-b-h-f-a-d-m-M 911-n. Being unable to estimate the cogency of these technical reasons now, because of the absence of any photographic material, I have decided to change the order of the first six fragments in the following way: c-j-l-k-g-i, in view of their contents. Unfortunately we do not know in what order Mani had told the story of the giants. The task of finding the original order is made still more difficult by the fact that besides the Kawān the book contained one or two more treatises, namely: (1) Parables referring to the Hearers, and possibly (2) a discourse on the Five Elements. The only fragments that undoubtedly belonged to the Kawān are c-j-l-k-g-i, while the position of the fragments e-b-h is particularly doubtful. It must be borne in mind that whole folios may be missing between apparently successive pages. In order to enable the reader to judge for himself, all the fragments (including the parables) are published here.
(Frg. c) . . . hard . . . arrow . . . bow, he that . . . Sām said: "Blessed be . . . had he seen this, he would not have died." Then Shahmīzād said to Sām, his son: "All that Māhawai . . ., is spoilt." Thereupon he said to . . . "We are . . . until . . . and . . . . . . that are in the fiery hell . . . As my father, Virōgdād, was . . ." Shahmīzād said: "It is true what he says. He says one of thousands.1 For one of thousands . . . .". Sām thereupon began . . . Māhawai, too, in many places . . . until to that place he might escape and . . .
(Frg. j) . . . Virōgdād . . . Hōbābīš robbed Ahr . . . of -naxtag, his wife. Thereupon the giants began to kill each other and to abduct their wives. The creatures, too, began to kill each other. Sām . . . before the sun, one hand in the air, the other . . . whatever he obtained, to his brother . . . . imprisoned . . . . . . over Taxtag. To the angels . . . from heaven. Taxtag to . . . Taxtag was thrown into the water. Finally . . . in his sleep Taxtag saw three signs, one portending . . ., one woe and flight, and one . . . annihilation. Narīmān saw a garden full of trees in rows. Two hundred . . . came out, the trees. . . .
(Frg. l) . . . Enoch, the apostle, . . . gave a message to the demons and their children: To you . . . not peace. The judgment on you is that you shall be bound for the sins you have committed. You shall see the destruction of your children. ruling for a hundred and twenty years . . . . . . . wild ass, ibex . . . ram, goat, gazelle, . . . oryx, of each two hundred, a pair . . . the other wild beasts, birds, and animals and their wine shall be six thousand jugs . . . irritation of water . . . and their oil shall be . . .
(Frg. k) . . . father . . . nuptials . . . until the completion of his . . . in fighting . . . . . . and in the nest Ohya and Ahya . . . he said to his brother: "get up and . . . we will take what our father has ordered us to. The pledge we have given . . . battle." And the giants . . . together . . . "Not the . . . of the lion, but the . . . on his . . . Not the . . . of the rainbow, but the bow . . . firm. Not the sharpness of the blade, but the strength of the ox. Not the . . . eagle, but his wings. Not the . . . gold, but the brass that hammers it. Not the proud ruler, but the diadem on his head. Not the splendid cypress, but the . . . of the mountain . . .
(Frg. g) . . . Not he that engages in quarrels, but he that is true in his speech. Not the evil fruit, but the poison in it. Not they that are placed in the skies but the God of all worlds. Not the servant is proud, but the lord that is above him. Not one that is sent . . ., but the man that sent him". Thereupon Narīmān . . . said . . . . . . And another place I saw those that were weeping for the ruin that had befallen them, and whose cries and laments rose up to heaven. And also I saw another place where there were tyrants and rulers . . . in great number, who had lived in sin and evil deeds, when . . .
(Frg. i) . . . many . . . were killed, four hundred thousand Righteous . . . with fire, naphtha, and brimstone . . . And the angels veiled Enoch. Electae et auditrices . . . and ravished them. They chose beautiful women, and demanded . . . them in marriage. Sordid . . . . . . all . . . carried off . . . severally they were subjected to tasks and services. And they . . . from each city . . . and were, ordered to serve the . . . The Mesenians were directed to prepare, the Khūzians to sweep and water, the Persians to . . .
On the Five Elements
(Frg. e) . . . slaying . . . righteous . . . good deeds . . . . elements. The crown, the diadem, the garland, and the garment of Light. The seven demons. Like a blacksmith who binds and looses . . . . who from the seeds of . . . . and serves the king . . . . . . . offends . . . when weeping . . . with mercy . . . hand . . . . . . the Pious gave . . . . . . presents. Some buried the idols. The Jews did good and evil. Some make their god half demon, half god . . . killing . . . the seven demons . . . eye . . .
(Frg. b) . . . various colors that by . . . and bile. If. . . . from the five elements. As if it were a means not to die, they fill themselves with food and drink. Their garment is . . . this corpse . . . and not firm . . . Its ground is not firm . . . Like . . . . . . imprisoned in this corpse, in bones, nerves, flesh, veins, and skin, and entered herself into it. Then he cries out, over sun and moon, the Just God's two flames . . . . . ., over the elements, the trees and the animals. But God, in each epoch, sends apostles: Šītīl, Zarathushtra, Buddha, Christ, . . .
(Frg. h) . . . evil-intentioned . . . from where . . . he came. The Misguided recognize the five elements, the five kinds of trees, the five kinds of animals.
. . . On the Hearers
. . . we receive . . . from Mani, the Lord, . . . the Five Commandments to . . . the Three Seals . . . . . . living . . . profession . . . and wisdom . . . moon. Rest from the power . . . own. And keep measured the mixture . . . trees and wells, in two . . . water, and fruit, milk, . . . he should not offend his brother. The wise Hearer who like unto juniper leaves . . .
(Frg. f) . . . much profit. Like a farmer . . . who sows seed . . in many . . . The Hearer who . . . knowledge, is like unto a man that threw the dish called frōšag into milk. It became hard, not . . . The part that ruin . . . at first heavy. Like . . . first . . . is honored . . . might shine . . . six days. The Hearer who gives alms to the Elect, is like unto a poor man that presents his daughter to the king; he reaches a position of great honor. In the body of the Elect the food given to to him as alms is purified in the same manner as a . . . that by fire and wind . . . beautiful clothes on a clean body . . . turn . . .
(Frg. a) . . . witness . . . fruit . . . . . . tree . . . like firewood . . . like a grain . . . radiance. The Hearer in the world, and the alms within the Church, are like unto a ship on the sea: the towing-line is in the hand of the tower on shore, the sailor is on board the ship. The sea is the world, the ship is the . . ., the . . . is the alms, the tower is the . . . , the towing-line is the Wisdom. . . . . . . . . . The Hearer . . . is like unto the branch of a fruitless tree . . . fruitless . . . and the Hearers . . . fruit that . . . pious deeds. The Elect, the Hearer, and Vahman, are like unto three brothers to whom some possessions were left by their father: a piece of land, . . ., seed. They became partners . . . they reap and . . . The Hearer . . . like . . .
(Frg. d) . . . an image of the king, cast of gold . . . . . . the king gave presents. The Hearer that copies a book, is like unto a sick man that gave his . . . to a . . . man. The Hearer that gives his daughter to the church, is like . . . pledge, who gave his son to . . . learn . . . to . . . father, pledge . . . . . . Hearer. Again, the Hearer . . . is like . . . . stumble . . . is purified. To . . . the soul from the Church, is like unto the wife of the soldier who . . . infantrist, one shoe . . . who, however, with a denarius . . . was. The wind tore out one . . . he was abashed . . . from the ground . . . ground . . .
(Frg. m) . . . . . . sent . . . The Hearer that makes one . . ., is like unto a compassionate mother who had seven sons . . . the enemy killed all . . . The Hearer that . . . piety . . . . . . a well. One on the shore of the sea, one in the boat. He that is on shore, tows him that is in the boat. He that is in the boat. . . . sea. Upwards to . . . like . . . . like a pearl . . . diadem . . .
(Frg. M 911) . . . Church. Like unto a man that . . . fruit and flowers . . . then they praise . . . fruitful tree . . . . . . Like unto a man that bought a piece of land. On that piece of land there was a well, and in that well a bag full of drachmas . . . the king was filled with wonder . . . share . . . pledge . . .
(Frg. n) . . . numerous . . . Hearer. At . . . like unto a garment . . . like . . . to the master . . . like . . . and a blacksmith. The goldsmith . . . to honor, the blacksmith to . . . one to . . .
B. Uygur
LeCoq, Türk. Man., iii, 23. Bang, Muséon, xliv, 13-17. Order of pages according to LeCoq (the phot. publ. by Bang seems to support LeCoq's opinion)
(First page) . . . fire was going to come out. And I saw that the sun was at the point of rising, and that his center without increasing above was going to start rolling. Then came a voice from the air above. Calling me, it spoke thus: "Oh son of Virōgdād, your affairs are lamentable. More than this you shall not see. Do not die now prematurely, but turn quickly back from here." And again, besides this voice, I heard the voice of Enoch, the apostle, from the south, without, however, seeing him at all. Speaking my name very lovingly, he called. And downwards from . . . then
(Second page) . . . " . . for the closed door of the sun will open, the sun's light and heat will descend and set your wings alight. You will burn and die," said he. Having heard these words, I beat my wings and quickly flew down from the air. I looked back: Dawn had . . . ., with the light of the sun it had come to rise over the Kögmän mountains. And again a voice came from above. Bringing the command of Enoch, the apostle, it said: "I call you, Virōgdād, . . . I know . . . his direction . . . you . . . you . . . Now quickly . . . people . . . also . . .
C. Sogdian
M 648. Small scrap from the center of a page. Order of pages uncertain
(First page) . . . I shall see. Thereupon now Sāhm, the giant was very angry, and laid hands on Māhawai, the giant, with the intention: I shall . . . and kill you. Then . . . the other giants . . .
(Second page) . . . do not be afraid, for . . . Sāhm, the giant, will want to kill you, but I shall not let him . . . I myself shall damage . . . Thereupon Māhawai, the giant, . . . was satisfied . . .
D. Middle-Persian
Published Sb.P.A.W., 1934
. . . outside . . . and . . . left . . . . read the dream we have seen. Thereupon Enoch thus . . . . and the trees that came out, those are the Egrēgoroi, and the giants that came out of the women. And . . . . . over . . . pulled out . . . over . . .
E. Sogdian
T iii 282. Order of pages uncertain
(First page) . . . when they saw the apostle, . . . before the apostle . . . those demons that were timid, were very, very glad at seeing the apostle. All of them assembled before him. Also, of those that were tyrants and criminals, they were worried and much afraid. Then . . .
(Second page) . . . not to . . . Thereupon those powerful demons spoke thus to the pious apostle: If . . . . by us any further sin will not be committed, my lord, why? . . . . you have . . . and weighty injunction . . .
F. Middle-Persian
T ii D ii 164. Six fragmentary columns, from the middle of a page. Order of columns uncertain. Instead of A///B///CDEF, it might have been: BCDEFA, or even CDEF///A///B
(Col. A) . . . poverty . . . those who harassed the happiness of the Righteous, on that account they shall fall into eternal ruin and distress, into that Fire, the mother of all conflagrations and the foundation of all ruined tyrants. And when these sinful misbegotten sons of ruin in those crevices and . . . .
(Col. B) . . . you have not been better. In error you thought you would this false power eternally. You . . . all this iniquity . . .
(Col. C) . . . you that call to us with the voice of falsehood. Neither did we reveal ourselves on your account, so that you could see us, nor thus . . . . ourselves through the praise and greatness that to us . . . -given to you . . ., but . . .
(Col. D) . . . sinners . . . . . is visible, where out of this fire your soul will be prepared for the transfer to eternal ruin. And as for you, sinful misbegotten sons of the Wrathful Self, confounders of the true words of that Holy One, disturbers of the actions of Good Deed, aggressors upon Piety, . . . -ers of the Living. . . ., who their . . .
(Col. E) . . . and on brilliant wings they shall fly and soar further outside and above that Fire, and shall gaze into its depth and height. And those Righteous that will stand around it, outside and above, they themselves shall have power over that Great Fire, and over everything in it. . . . . . blaze . . . . souls that . . .
(Col. F) . . . they are purer and stronger than the Great Fire of Ruin that sets the worlds ablaze. They shall stand around it, outside and above, and splendor shall shine over them. Further outside and above it they shall fly after those souls that may try to escape from the Fire. And that . . . .
G. Sogdian
T ii. Two folios (one only publ. here; the other contains a wyδβ’γ cn pš’qṯ δywtyy "Discourse on the Nephīlīm-demons"). Head-lines: R: pš’n prβ’r". . . pronouncement", V: iv fryštyt δn CC "The four angels with the two hundred [demons . . . ".
. . . they took and imprisoned all the helpers that were in the heavens. And the angels themselves descended from the heaven to the earth. And when the two hundred demons saw those angels, they were much afraid and worried. They assumed the shape of men and hid themselves. Thereupon the angels forcibly removed the men from the demons, laid them aside, and put watchers over them . . . . the giants . . . . were sons . . . with each other in bodily union . . . . with each other self- . . . . and the . . . . that had been born to them, they forcibly removed them from the demons. And they led one half of them eastwards, and the other half westwards, on the skirts of four huge mountains, towards the foot of the Sumeru mountain, into thirty-two towns which the Living Spirit had prepared for them in the beginning. And one calls that place Aryān-waižan. And those men are . . . . in the first arts and crafts. . . . . they made . . . the angels . . . and to the demons . . . they went to fight. And those two hundred demons fought a hard battle with the four angels, until the angels used fire, naphtha, and brimstone . . . .
EXCERPTS
H. Sogdian
T ii S 20. Sogdian script. Two folios. Contents similar to the "Kephalaia". Only about a quarter (I R i-17) publ. here. The following chapter has as headline: ’’γšt š’nš’y cnn ’β[c’n]pδ[yh w]prs = Here begins: Šanšai's question the world. Init. rty tym ZK š’nš’[y] [cnn] m’rm’ny rwγšny pr’yš[t’kw w’nkw ’]prs’ ’yn’k ’βc’npδ ZY kw ZKh mrtγmyt (’skw’nt) oo ckn’c pyδ’r ’’zy mrch ’zγyr’nt = And again Šanšai asked the Light Apostle: this world where mankind lives, why does one call it birth-death (saṃsāra, Chin. shêng-szŭ)
. . . and what they had seen in the heavens among the gods, and also what they had seen in hell, their native land, and furthermore what they had seen on earth,—all that they began to teach to the men. To Šahmīzād two sons were borne by . . . . One of them he named "Ohya"; in Sogdian he is called "Sāhm, the giant". And again a second son was born to him. He named him "Ahya"; its equivalent is "Pāt-Sāhm". As for the remaining giants, they were born to the other demons and Yakṣas. Colophon Completed: the chapter on "The Coming of the two hundred Demons".
I. Sogdian
M 500 n. Small fragment
. . . . manliness, in powerful tyranny, he shall not die". The giant Sāhm and his brother will live eternally. For in the whole world in power and strength, and in . . . . they have no equal.
QUOTATIONS AND ALLUSIONS
J. Middle-Persian
T ii D ii 120, V ii 1-5: and in the coming of the two hundred demons there are two paths: the hurting speech, and the hard labor; these belong to hell.
K. Sogdian
M 363
(First page) . . . before . . . they were. And all the . . . fulfilled their tasks lawfully. Now, they became excited and irritated for the following reason: namely, the two hundred demons came down to the sphere from the high heaven, and the . . . .
(Second page) . . . in the world they became excited and irritated. For their life-lines and the connections of their Pneumatic Veins are joined to sphere. Colophon Completed: the exposition of the three worlds. Head-line Here begins: the coming of Jesus and his bringing the religion to Adam and Šitil. . . . you should care and . . .
L. Coptic
Kephalaia, 17116-19: Earthquake and malice happened in the watch-post of the Great King of Honor, namely the Egrēgoroi who arose at the time when they were . . . . and there descended those who were sent to confound them.
M. Coptic
Kephalaia, 9224-31: Now attend and behold how the Great King of Honor who is ἔννοια, is in the third heaven. He is . . . with the wrath . . . and a rebellion . . ., when malice and wrath arose in his camp, namely the Egrēgoroi of Heaven who in his watch-district rebelled and descended to the earth. They did all deeds of malice. They revealed the arts in the world, and the mysteries of heaven to the men. Rebellion and ruin came about on the earth . . .
N. Parthian
M 35, lines 21-36. Fragment of a treatise entitled ’rdhng wyfr’s = Commentary on Mani's opus Ārdahang
And the story about the Great Fire: like unto the way in which the Fire, with powerful wrath, swallows this world and enjoys it; like unto the way in which this fire that is in the body, swallows the exterior fire that is in fruit and food, and enjoys it. Again, like unto the story in which two brothers who found a treasure, and a pursuer lacerated each other, and they died; like unto the fight in which Ohya, Leviathan, and Raphael lacerated each other, and they vanished; like unto the story in which a lion cub, a calf in a wood, and a fox lacerated each other, and they vanished. Thus the Great Fire swallows, etc. both of the fires. . . .
M 740. Another copy of this text
O. Arabic, from Middle-Persian
Al-Ghaḍanfar (Abū Isḥāq Ibr. b. Muḥ. al-Tibrīzī, middle of thirteenth century), in Sachau's edition of Beruni's Āthār al-bāqiyah, Intr., p. xiv: The Book of the Giants, by Mani of Babylon, is filled with stories about these antediluvian giants, amongst whom Sām and Narīmān.
P. Coptic
Keph. 9323-28: On account of the malice and rebellion that had arisen in the watch-post of the Great King of Honor, namely the Egrēgoroi who from the heavens had descended to the earth,—on their account the four angels received their orders: they bound the Egrēgoroi with eternal fetters in the prison of the Dark, their sons were destroyed upon the earth.
Q. Coptic
Manich. Psalm-book, ed. Allberry, 1427-9: The Righteous who were burnt in the fire, they endured. This multitude that were wiped out, four thousand . . . . Enoch also, the Sage, the transgressors being . . .
R. Coptic
Man. Homil., ed. Polotsky, 6818-19: . . . evil. 400,000 Righteous . . . . the years of Enoch . . .
S. Coptic
Keph., 1171-9: Before the Egrēgoroi rebelled and descended from heaven, a prison had been built for them in the depth of the earth beneath the mountains. Before the sons of the giants were born who knew not Righteousness and Piety among themselves, thirty-six towns had been prepared and erected, so that the sons of the giants should live in them, they that come to beget . . . . who live a thousand years.
T. Parthian
291a. Order of pages unknown
(First page) . . . mirror . . . image. . . . distributed. The men . . . and Enoch was veiled. They took . . . Afterwards, with donkey-goads . . . . slaves, and waterless trees. Then . . . and imprisoned the demons. And of them . . . . seven and twelve.
(Second page) . . . three thousand two hundred and eighty- . . . the beginning of King Vištāsp. . . . . in the palace he flamed forth. And at night . . ., then to the broken gate . . . men . . . physicians, merchants, farmers, . . . at sea. . . . armored he came out . . .
APPENDIX
U. Parthian
T ii D 58. From the end of a hymn
. . . gifts. A peaceful sovereign was King Vištāsp, in Aryā]n-Waižan; Wahman and Zarēl . . . . The sovereign's queen, Khudōs, received the Faith, the prince . . . They have secured a place in the heavenly hall, and quietude for ever and ever . . .
V. Sogdian
M 692. Small fragment. Order of pages uncertain
(First page) . . . because . . . the House of the Gods, eternal joy, and good . . . . For so it is said: at that time . . . Yima was . . . in the world. And at the time of the new moon . . . . the blessed denizens of the world . . . all assembled . . . all . . .
(Second page) . . . they offered five garlands in homage. And Yima accepted those garlands . . . And those . . . that . . . . and great kingship . . . was his. And on . . . them . . . . And acclamations . . . And from that pious . . . he placed the garlands on his head . . . the denizens of the world . . .
THE DEAD SEA BOOK OF GIANTS
THE ENOCH BOOK OF GIANTS
4Q203, 1Q23, 2Q26, 4Q530-532, 6Q8
The Book of Giants retells part of this story and elaborates on the exploits of the giants, especially the two children of Shemihaza, Ohya and Hahya. Since no complete manuscript exists of Giants, its exact contents and their order remain a matter of guesswork. Most of the content of the present fragments concerns the giants' ominous dreams and Enoch's efforts to interpret them and to intercede with God on the giants' behalf. Unfortunately, little remains of the independent adventures of the giants, but it is likely that these tales were at least partially derived from ancient Near Eastern mythology. Thus the name of one of the giants is Gilgamesh, the Babylonian hero and subject of a great epic written in the third millennium B.C.E.
. . . they knew the secrets of . . . . . . sin was great in the earth . . . . . . and they killed many . . . . . they begat giants . . .
The angels exploit the fruitfulness of the earth
. . . everything that the earth produced . . . . . . the great fish . . . . . . the sky with all that grew . . . . . . fruit of the earth and all kinds of grain and al1 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 two hundred angels choose animals on which to perform unnatural acts, including, presumably, humans
. . . two hundred donkeys, two hundred asses, two hundred . . . rams of the flock, two hundred goats, two hundred . . . beast of the field from every animal, from every bird . . . . . . for miscegenation . . .
The outcome of the demonic corruption was violence, perversion, and a brood of monstrous beings
. . . they defiled . . . . . . they begot giants and monsters . . . . . . they begot, and, behold, all the earth was corrupted . . . . . . with its blood and by the hand of . . . giant's which did not suffice for them and . . . . . . and they were seeking to devour many . . . . . . . . . the monsters attacked it.
. . . flesh . . . all . . . monsters . . . will be . . . . . . they would arise . . . lacking in true knowledge . . . because . . . . . . the earth grew corrupt . . . mighty . . . . . . they were considering . . . . . . from the angels upon . . . . . . 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 begin to be troubled by a series of dreams and visions. Mahway, the titan son of the angel Barakel, reports the first of these dreams to his fellow giants. He sees a tablet being immersed in water. When it emerges, all but three names have been washed away. The dream evidently symbolizes the destruction of all but Noah and his sons by the Flood
. . . they drenched the tablet in the water . . . . . . the waters went up over the tablet . . . . . . they lifted out the tablet from the water of . . .
The giant goes to the others and they discuss the dream
. . . this vision is for cursing and sorrow. I am the one who confessed . . . the whole group of the castaways that I shall go to . . . . . . the spirits of the slain complaining about their killers and crying out . . . that we shall 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 . . .
. . . Ohya and he said to Mahway . . . . . . without trembling. Who showed you all this vision, my 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 . . .
Thereupon Ohya said to Hahya . . . . . . to be destroyed from upon the earth and . . . . . . the earth. When . . . they wept before the giants . . .
. . . your strength . . . . . . Thereupon Ohya said to Hahya . . . Then he answered, It is not for us, but for Azaiel, for he did . . . the children of angels are the giants, and they would not let all their poved ones be neglected . . . we have not been cast down; you have strength . . .
The giants realize the futility of fighting against the forces of heaven. The first speaker may be Gilgamesh
. . . 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 I. . . . of the wild beast has come, and the wild man they call me.
. . . 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's dream vision is of a tree that is uprooted except for three of its roots; the vision's import is the same as that of the first dream
three of its roots . . . while I was watching, there came . . . they moved the roots into this garden, all of them, and not . . .
Ohya tries to avoid the implications of the visions. Above he stated that it referred only to the demon Azazel; here he suggests that the destruction is for the earthly rulers alone
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 . . .
More dreams afflict the giants. The details of this vision are obscure, but it bodes ill for the giants. The dreamers speak first to the monsters, then to the giants
Thereupon two of them had dreams 4and the sleep of their eye, fled from them, and they arose and came to . . . and told their dreams, and said in the assembly of their comrades the monsters . . . In my dream I was watching this very night and there was a garden . . . 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 garden . . . They found the giants to tell them the dream . . .
Someone suggests that Enoch be found to interpret the vision
. . . to Enoch the noted scribe, and he will interpret for us the dream. Thereupon his fellow Ohya declared 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. Thereupon 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 the noted scribe. They said to him, Go . . . to you that . . . you have heard his voice. And he said to him, He wil1 . . . and interpret the dreams . . . . . . how long the giants have to live. . . .
After a cosmic journey Mahway comes to Enoch and makes his request
. . . he mounted up in the air like strong winds, and flew with his hands like eagles . . . he left behind the inhabited world and passed over Desolation, the great desert . . . and Enoch saw him and hailed him, and Mahway said to him . . . hither and thither 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 from heaven came down . . .
Enoch sends back a tablet with its grim message of judgment, but with hope for repentance
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 upon you . . . and the land is crying out and complaining about you and the deeds of your children . . . 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 . . . upon you for evil. But now, loosen the bonds binding you to evil . . . and pray.
A fragment apparently detailing a vision that Enoch saw
. . . great fear seized me and I fell on my face; I heard his voice . . . . . . he dwelt among human beings but he did not learn from them . . .
ENOCH AND THE WATCHERS
4Q227
. . . Enoch, after we taught him . . . he was with the angels of God six full jubilees . . . the land, into the midst of the sons of man and he testified against them all . . . and also against the watchers. And he wrote all . . . heaven and the ways of their hosts and holy ones . . . so that the righteous ones shall not commit error . . .