The Professional Skills of Asael (1 En. 8:1) and Their Relation to Ancient Mesopotamia

Henryk Drawnel

Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II. Wydział Teologii. Instytut Nauk Biblijnych. , Poland



Abstract

In 1 En. 8:1 one of the fallen Watchers, Asael, teaches humanity about the elaboration of metals, precious stones, and the use of minerals and dyes. In order to understand the reasons for the presentation of his professional skills, it seems necessary to analyze the cultural background of that Enochic tradition in the context of the Late Babylonian temple, with its large and skilled workforce used for the upkeep of cultic, economic and military activities. The Aramaic terminology in 1 En. 6:8 and 8:1 recovered from 4Q201 properly corresponds to what we now know about the functioning of the Babylonian artisans working for, and in cooperation with, the Late Babylonian temple.

Keywords:

1 Enoch, Book of Watchers, Myth of the Fallen Watchers, professional skills of Asael, Mesopotamian background, Babylonian temple


Published
2015-11-07


Drawnel, H. (2015). Zawodowa wiedza Asaela (1 Hen. 8,1) i jej relacja do starożytnej Mezopotamii. The Biblical Annals, 3(1), 47–66. Retrieved from https://czasopisma.kul.pl/index.php/ba/article/view/550

Henryk Drawnel  krzysztof.mielcarek@kul.pl
Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II. Wydział Teologii. Instytut Nauk Biblijnych.

Dzieło Łukaszowe,

Historyczność Jezusa i Ewangelii.

Septuaginta




License

  1. Pursuant to the Act on Copyright and Related Rights of February 4, 1994, the Author of the publication grants to the Publisher of the journal „The Biblical Annals” e a non-exclusive and royalty-free license to use the Work submitted for publication, without time and territorial restrictions in the following fields of use:
    a) record the Work and copy it by means of any technique (including printing and electronic recording) on all known data carriers (including IT, electronic and polygraphic), and in all IT systems (in particular those available online);
    b) enter the Work into computer memory, disseminate the Work and its copies, as well as market the Work and its copies;
    c) publicly perform, replay, display and screen the Work, as well as lend, rent and lease the Work and its copies;
    d) make available, market and disseminate the Work and its copies via IT networks, and in particular via the Internet, including the promotion or advertising of the Work, the journal or the Publisher.
  2. The Author shall further grant his/her consent for the Publisher to use and dispose of derivative works.
  3. The Publisher may sublicense the work.
  4. Third parties may use the articles and other materials containing the Works, or developed on the basis of the Works in line with the model Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (also referred to as CC BY 4.0).