1
Enoch 6-11; 15.8 [aka
The Book of the Watchers], c.
300BC.
“And when the sons of men had
multiplied, in those days, beautiful and comely daughters were born to them.
And the watchers, the sons of heaven, saw them and
desired them. And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us choose for ourselves wives from the daughters of men, and
let us beget for ourselves children.’ The giants [nephilim]
who are produced from the cohabitation of spirits [‘in
prison,’ 1Pet 3.19] and
flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon
the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling; because they are born from
men, and from the holy watchers [angels, Dan 4.13, 17, 23LXX]
is their beginning and primal origin.”
Josephus, Complete Works, ch. 3:
"For many angels of God coupled with women, and begat sons that proved
unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they
had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Greeks
call giants. But Noah was very uneasy at what they did; and being
displeased at their conduct, persuaded them to change their dispositions and
their acts for the better: but seeing they did not yield to him, but were
slaves to their wicked pleasures, he was afraid they would kill him, together
with his wife and children, and those they had married; so he departed out of
that land.”
Justin Martyr 2nd Apology, 5
“Transgressed
the divine ordering, and by sinful intercourse with women produced offspring
who are demons [‘evil
spirits,’ Enoch, Peter].”
Readings
·
Kelly, Commentary
on Peter and Jude.
·
Schreiner, The
New American Commentary, vol. 37.
·
Tyndale NT
Commentaries 2 Peter, Jude by Green.
·
Word
Biblical Commentary, 2 Peter, Jude, by Bauckham, vol. 50.
