The Oath of the Fallen Angels in 1 Enoch: The Oath, the Hidden Name, and the Power of Binding
The account of the Watchers in 1 Enoch 6 presents one of the most remarkable stories concerning an oath in ancient Jewish literature. The two hundred angels who descend upon Mount Hermon do not merely decide collectively to rebel against the divine order. They deliberately bind themselves to their decision through an oath, invoking mutual imprecations upon themselves should any of them abandon the plan. The oath therefore functions as the mechanism that transforms a collective intention into a binding agreement.
This becomes especially significant when the oath is considered alongside the later description in 1 Enoch 69, where an angel named Kasbeel is described as the “chief of the oath.” There the oath is associated with a hidden or secret divine name and is presented as possessing an extraordinary cosmic power. The oath is no longer simply an agreement between rebellious angels: it is associated with the ordering and stability of creation itself.
The connection between these passages raises an important question. Is the oath taken by the Watchers in chapter 6 connected with the mysterious cosmic oath associated with Kasbeel in chapter 69? The text does not give a simple answer, and the relationship has been debated by scholars. Nevertheless, the repeated emphasis upon oath, binding, secrecy, divine names, judgement and cosmic order makes the two passages particularly important when read together.
1. The oath of the Watchers
The story begins with the multiplication of humanity and the appearance of beautiful women:
“And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters.”
The angels see these women and desire them:
“And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’”
The leader of the Watchers, Semjaza, recognises that the proposed action carries a serious consequence. He fears that the others may not follow through and that he alone might bear the penalty:
“And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’”
His concern produces the decisive moment in the narrative. Rather than merely agreeing verbally, the angels propose an oath:
“Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.”
The wording is crucial. There are two connected actions: they swear an oath, and they bind themselves by mutual imprecations. The oath therefore serves as a binding mechanism. They are attempting to make it impossible—or at least extremely dangerous—for any member of the group to withdraw.
The text immediately confirms that this was not an informal promise:
“Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.”
The oath consequently precedes their descent:
“And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.”
Mount Hermon thus becomes associated with the oath itself. The mountain is not simply the geographical location at which the Watchers descended. In the narrative, its name is connected with the act of swearing and binding.
2. The Hebrew concept of an oath
The Hebrew word commonly associated with “oath” is שְׁבוּעָה — shevuʿah, while the related verbal root שׁבע — shabaʿ means to swear or take an oath. The relationship between shevuʿah and shevaʿ, “seven,” has attracted considerable attention because of the linguistic connection between oath-taking and the number seven.
The idea is particularly interesting because an oath in biblical and ancient Near Eastern thought was not merely a statement that one intended to keep one's word. It could involve placing oneself under a curse or imprecation if the oath were violated. This provides a useful conceptual background for 1 Enoch 6. The Watchers do not merely say, “We will do this.” They deliberately bind themselves through mutual imprecation.
Your note correctly draws attention to the importance of this distinction:
“oath" (shevuʿah)”
and:
“In scriptures, we were warned to use it carefully:”
followed by the warning in James:
“But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath,” James 5:12
The New Testament warning is significant because it demonstrates that oath-taking could be regarded as something requiring considerable care. James immediately places emphasis upon straightforward speech rather than reliance upon elaborate oath formulas. The broader biblical concern is that a person's word should be trustworthy without continually invoking heaven, earth or other objects as guarantees.
The connection between shevuʿah and seven is also noteworthy:
“The word oath, ‘she•vu•ah,’ is closely related to the number seven, ‘she•va.’ Much has been written about the hidden powers pertaining to this number.”
The linguistic relationship itself is real, although claims concerning “hidden powers” associated with seven should be distinguished from what can be established philologically. The connection between the words does not by itself prove that the number seven possesses a supernatural power. Nevertheless, the association is historically interesting because seven has an important symbolic role throughout biblical literature.
3. The Hebrew words behind the oath in 1 Enoch 6
Your notes identify two Hebrew terms:
“Let us all swear (0422 אלה ‘alah aw-law’) an oath (07650 שׁבע shaba’ shaw-bah’ ), and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations”
The distinction is important. ʾālāh (אלה) is associated with an imprecation, curse or oath involving a curse, while šābaʿ (שבע) is the verb “to swear.” Thus, the language represented in the notes reflects two related dimensions of oath-taking: the act of swearing and the self-imposed consequence attached to violating the oath.
Your notes continue:
“this ‘oath’ they ‘swore’ (נמא) by which they bound themselves by imprecations (ואחרמו)”
The exact underlying-language forms require caution because 1 Enoch survives in a complicated textual history, including Ethiopic manuscripts and earlier Greek and Aramaic witnesses. Consequently, one should not automatically assume that a particular Hebrew reconstruction represents the precise original wording. Nevertheless, the conceptual distinction remains clear: the Watchers are bound by an oath accompanied by imprecation.
This is precisely why Semjaza insists upon the oath. His fear is not merely that the others will change their minds. He is concerned about the consequences of undertaking an act that will incur punishment. The oath provides collective commitment: if they all swear together, responsibility is distributed among all of them.
4. The oath and the secret name in 1 Enoch 69
The later passage in 1 Enoch 69 introduces a much more mysterious dimension. It says:
“And this is the task of Kasbeel, the chief of the oath which he showed to the holy ones when he dwelt high above in glory, and its name is Biqa.”
Kasbeel is therefore explicitly connected with an oath. The passage then states:
“This (angel) requested Michael to show him the hidden name, that he might enunciate it in the oath, so that those might quake before that name and oath who revealed all that was in secret to the children of men.”
This is extraordinary because the oath is now connected with a hidden name. The name is not presented as ordinary information. It is secret, and its utterance within the oath gives the oath extraordinary authority.
The passage continues:
“And this is the power of this oath, for it is powerful and strong, and he placed this oath Akae in the hand of Michael.”
The text therefore distinguishes between the oath's name, given as Biqa, and another designation, Akae, associated with the oath's power. The textual tradition is complicated, and different manuscripts and translations preserve different readings. Modern scholarship has noted substantial textual difficulties in these verses, including uncertainty over the precise relationship between the names and whether the material represents one oath or more than one oath.
Nevertheless, the basic idea is unmistakable: the oath is connected with a secret divine name, and the knowledge or utterance of that name is presented as giving the oath exceptional power.
5. Kasbeel and the identity of Semjaza
Your notes propose:
“Kasb’el should be identified with Samlazaz, the leader of the watchers”
This is an important interpretive proposal, but it should not be stated as though 1 Enoch explicitly makes the identification. In chapter 6 the leader is called Semjaza (with spelling variations such as Samlazaz), whereas chapter 69 names Kasbeel as the chief of the oath.
A scholarly discussion of 1 Enoch 69 has nevertheless suggested that the Kasbeel tradition may have an earlier relationship to the Watchers' oath in 1 Enoch 6. One study specifically observes that, if the material in 69:13–14 originated in an earlier context, its meaning could have been related to the primordial oath of the Watchers in 6:3–6, and in that reconstruction Kasbeel could be identified with Shemihaza, the leader of the Watchers. The same study stresses, however, that the textual and compositional evidence is complicated.
Thus, the strongest formulation is that Kasbeel's identification with Semjaza is an interpretive hypothesis arising from the relationship between the two oath traditions, rather than an explicit statement made by the surviving text.
6. Biqa, Beka and the hidden name
Your notes further state:
“Beka consists of two letters, and it means ‘in you (sg.).’ This is a common Hebrew word, used dozens of times in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 26:13, however, it appears in a very odd construction. The verse is usually translated along these lines:
Oh LORD our God, masters other than you have ruled over us;
But in you alone do we make remembrance of your name.”
This observation points toward an intriguing possibility: the word represented as Biqa/Biqā/Beqa/Beka might be connected with the Hebrew expression bekha, “in you.” However, this interpretation must be handled cautiously. The textual tradition of 1 Enoch 69:13 is uncertain, and scholars have proposed several explanations for the form. One modern study specifically discusses the possibility of interpreting biqa as “in you,” while also noting significant textual difficulties and alternative explanations.
Therefore, the linguistic possibility is worth investigating, but it should not be presented as established fact.
The most important theological feature remains the relationship between oath and name. The oath becomes powerful because the hidden name is uttered within it.
7. The oath as a cosmic principle
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of 1 Enoch 69 is that the oath's power is not restricted to human or angelic agreements. The text describes it in cosmic terms:
“And these are the secrets of this oath . . . And they are strong through his oath:
And the heaven was suspended before the world was created,
And for ever.”
It continues:
“And through it the earth was founded upon the water,
And from the secret recesses of the mountains come beautiful waters,
From the creation of the world and unto eternity.”
Then:
“And through that oath the sea was created,
And as its foundation He set for it the sand against the time of (its) anger,
And it dare not pass beyond it from the creation of the world unto eternity.”
The imagery is powerful. Heaven, earth, sea and the boundaries of the waters are all described in relation to the oath. The oath therefore appears as a cosmic guarantee of order.
The passage continues:
“And through that oath are the depths made fast,
And abide and stir not from their place from eternity to eternity.”
And:
“And through that oath the sun and moon complete their course,
And deviate not from their ordinance from eternity to eternity.”
The implication is that the oath represents something far more profound than a human promise. It is associated with stability, boundaries, ordinances and permanence.
Chapter 59 provides a useful parallel because it describes heavenly phenomena and divine judgements:
“In those days mine eyes saw the secrets of the lightnings, and of the lights, and the judgements they execute (lit. ‘their judgement’): and they lighten for a blessing or a curse as the Lord of Spirits willeth.”
It then says:
“And there I saw the secrets of the thunder, and how when it resounds above in the heaven, the sound thereof is heard, and he caused me to see the judgements executed on the earth, whether they be for well-being and blessing, or for a curse according to the word of the Lord of Spirits.”
And finally:
“And after that all the secrets of the lights and lightnings were shown to me, and they lighten for blessing and for satisfying.”
This language of blessing, curse, judgement, heavenly phenomena and divine ordinance fits remarkably well with the larger conceptual world of 1 Enoch. The heavens are not portrayed as random. They operate according to divinely established principles.
8. Oath, rebellion and judgement
The deepest irony in the Watchers' story is therefore that the fallen angels use an oath to guarantee their rebellion, while the later Enochic tradition presents an oath as guaranteeing cosmic order.
In chapter 6 the oath is directed toward transgression:
“Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.”
The oath makes rebellion collective and deliberate.
In chapter 69, however, the oath is associated with the stability of creation:
“And this is the power of this oath, for it is powerful and strong”
and:
“And through that oath are the depths made fast”
and:
“And through that oath the sun and moon complete their course,
And deviate not from their ordinance from eternity to eternity.”
This produces an important theological contrast. The Watchers attempt to use oath-binding to establish their own unlawful purpose, but the cosmic oath represents a higher order that they cannot ultimately overthrow.
The Watchers' oath consequently becomes almost an inversion of the divine ordering principle. They create a binding covenant for rebellion; the heavenly order operates according to a binding principle established by God.
Conclusion
The oath of the Watchers in 1 Enoch 6 is therefore much more than a passing detail in the story of the fallen angels. The two hundred Watchers deliberately bind themselves through an oath accompanied by mutual imprecations:
“Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.”
They then:
“sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.”
The oath is what transforms their plan into a binding collective commitment.
The later appearance of Kasbeel, “the chief of the oath,” introduces a mysterious second dimension. Kasbeel is associated with Biqa, the hidden name, Michael, and the extraordinary power of the oath. The text states:
“This (angel) requested Michael to show him the hidden name, that he might enunciate it in the oath”
and:
“And this is the power of this oath, for it is powerful and strong.”
The oath is then connected with the structure of creation itself: heaven, earth, sea, depths, sun and moon. Modern scholarship recognises that the textual history of these verses is complex, and the precise relationship between Kasbeel, the oath's names and the Watchers' original oath cannot be established with absolute certainty.
Nevertheless, the thematic connection is striking. In 1 Enoch 6, an oath binds fallen angels together in rebellion. In 1 Enoch 69, an oath is associated with the binding and ordering of the cosmos. The same basic concept—binding through an oath—therefore appears on two very different levels.
The Watchers swear so that they cannot turn back from their unlawful purpose. The cosmic oath, by contrast, represents a divinely established order from which creation does not deviate. The sea remains within its boundary; the depths remain fixed; the sun and moon follow their appointed courses.
The Oath of the Fallen Angels in 1 Enoch 69: Kasbeel, the Hidden Name, and the Power of the Oath
The account of the fallen angels in 1 Enoch 69 contains one of the most mysterious passages in the entire Enochic literature: the revelation of a powerful cosmic oath, associated with the angel Kasbeel, a hidden name, and the archangel Michael. The passage goes far beyond the idea of an oath as merely a solemn promise. The oath is presented as something through which heaven, earth, the sea, the depths, the sun, moon and stars are established and preserved in their appointed courses.
This makes the oath of 1 Enoch 69 fundamentally different from an ordinary human oath. It is presented as a mysterious principle of cosmic stability. The text says:
“And this is the power of this oath, for it is powerful and strong”
and subsequently describes the entire created order as operating through it.
The chapter is particularly interesting when read alongside 1 Enoch 6, where the two hundred Watchers swear an oath on Mount Hermon before carrying out their rebellion. There the oath binds the fallen angels to their unlawful purpose. In chapter 69, however, the oath is associated with the divine ordering of creation itself. The contrast is striking: the fallen angels bind themselves together in rebellion, while the cosmic oath binds creation to its divinely appointed order.
The fallen angels and their corrupting knowledge
Chapter 69 begins by returning to the judgement of the rebellious angels:
“And after this judgement they shall terrify and make them to tremble because they have shown this to those who dwell on the earth.”
The chapter then lists the angels responsible for corrupting humanity. The names include:
“the first of them is Samjaza, the second Artaqifa, and the third Armen, the fourth Kokabel, the fifth Turael, the sixth Rumjal, the seventh Danjal, the eighth Neqael, the ninth Baraqel, the tenth Azazel, the eleventh Armaros, the twelfth Batarjal, the thirteenth Busasejal, the fourteenth Hananel, the fifteenth Turel, the sixteenth Simapesiel, the seventeenth Jetrel, the eighteenth Tumael, the nineteenth Turel, the twentieth Rumael, the twenty-first Azazel.”
The chapter then identifies particular angels with particular forms of forbidden knowledge.
The first is Jeqon:
“The name of the first Jeqon: that is, the one who led astray [all] the sons of God, and brought them down to the earth, and led them astray through the daughters of men.”
The second is Asbeel:
“And the second was named Asbeel: he imparted to the holy sons of God evil counsel, and led them astray so that they defiled their bodies with the daughters of men.”
Gadreel is associated with warfare and death:
“And the third was named Gadreel: he it is who showed the children of men all the blows of death”
and:
“he led astray Eve, and showed [the weapons of death to the sons of men] the shield and the coat of mail, and the sword for battle, and all the weapons of death to the children of men.”
The text then states:
“And from his hand they have proceeded against those who dwell on the earth from that day and for evermore.”
Penemue is associated with knowledge and writing:
“And the fourth was named Penemue: he taught the children of men the bitter and the sweet, and he taught them all the secrets of their wisdom.”
More specifically:
“And he instructed mankind in writing with ink and paper, and thereby many sinned from eternity to eternity and until this day.”
This is an unusual Enochic criticism of writing. The text continues:
“For men were not created for such a purpose, to give confirmation to their good faith with pen and ink.”
It then explains the original condition of humanity:
“For men were created exactly like the angels, to the intent that they should continue pure and righteous, and death, which destroys everything, could not have taken hold of them”
but concludes:
“but through this their knowledge they are perishing, and through this power it is consuming me.”
The fifth angel, Kasdeja, is associated with destructive spiritual knowledge:
“And the fifth was named Kasdeja: this is he who showed the children of men all the wicked smitings of spirits and demons”
including:
“the smitings of the embryo in the womb, that it may pass away”
and:
“the bites of the serpent, and the smitings which befall through the noontide heat, the son of the serpent named Taba'et.”
It is immediately after this that the text introduces Kasbeel and the oath.
Kasbeel, the chief of the oath
The crucial statement is:
“And this is the task of Kasbeel, the chief of the oath which he showed to the holy ones when he dwelt high above in glory, and its name is Biqa.”
This makes Kasbeel different from the angels who merely teach particular forms of forbidden knowledge. Kasbeel is explicitly connected with the oath itself.
The passage then says:
“This (angel) requested Michael to show him the hidden name, that he might enunciate it in the oath, so that those might quake before that name and oath who revealed all that was in secret to the children of men.”
This is perhaps the most mysterious sentence in the passage.
Kasbeel wants Michael to reveal a hidden name. The purpose of obtaining that name is that it can be enunciated in the oath. The name and the oath are therefore intimately connected.
The text does not simply say that the name is interesting or sacred. It says that those who have revealed secret knowledge to humanity should quake before the name and oath.
The oath possesses authority because it is connected with the hidden name.
The next verse makes this explicit:
“And this is the power of this oath, for it is powerful and strong, and he placed this oath Akae in the hand of Michael.”
Thus we encounter two mysterious names associated with the oath: Biqa and Akae.
Beka, Biqa and the textual problem
The alternative numbering and translation you supplied from another edition renders the passage:
“Enoch 68:19 This is the number of the Kasbel; the principal part of the oath which the Most High, dwelling in glory, revealed to the holy ones.”
It then adds a textual note:
“This is {the number of} Kasbʼel] The word translated as ‘number’ is the result of faulty scribal transmission; see in detail below, p. 37. One Eth II MS (Ullendorf) gives a double reading: ‘This is the number the name of Kāsb’el’.”
The following verse reads:
“Enoch 68:20 Its name is Beka. He spoke to holy Michael to discover to them the sacred name, that they might understand that secret name, and thus remember the oath; and that those who pointed out every secret thing to the children of men might tremble at that name and oath.”
This demonstrates why the passage is difficult. Different textual traditions preserve slightly different readings, including Biqa, Beka, and related forms.
Your note proposes:
“Beka consists of two letters, and it means ‘in you (sg.).’ This is a common Hebrew word, used dozens of times in the Old Testament.”
You further connect it with Isaiah 26:13:
“Oh LORD our God, masters other than you have ruled over us;
But in you alone do we make remembrance of your name.”
This is an interesting linguistic observation, but it should be treated as a proposed interpretation rather than as an established derivation. The surviving Enochic text has a complicated textual history, and the precise etymology of the name associated with the oath remains uncertain. The textual evidence itself shows that the reading “number” is problematic and that manuscript traditions differ.
What is certain is that the passage deliberately associates the oath with a secret name.
The hidden name and the power of the oath
The central concept can be stated simply:
The hidden name is placed within the oath, and the oath derives extraordinary power from that connection.
The text says:
“He spoke to holy Michael to discover to them the sacred name, that they might understand that secret name, and thus remember the oath”
and:
“that those who pointed out every secret thing to the children of men might tremble at that name and oath.”
The oath therefore has three related dimensions:
A hidden name
An oath in which the name is enunciated
Power resulting from the name and oath
The text then explicitly declares:
“This is the power of that oath; for powerful it is, and strong.”
The older translation similarly gives:
“‘the power/might of the Oath”
and:
“the power of the Oath that was placed in the hands of Michael.”
The image of the oath being placed in Michael's hand is particularly significant. Michael becomes the custodian or bearer of this mysterious cosmic authority.
The oath and creation
The extraordinary nature of the oath becomes fully apparent when the text begins describing creation.
It says:
“Enoch 68:23 These are the secrets of this oath, and by it were they confirmed.”
Then:
“Enoch 68:24 Heaven was suspended by it before the world was made, for ever.”
The alternative translation says:
“And these are the secrets of this oath . . . And they are strong through his oath: And the heaven was suspended before the world was created, And for ever.”
The oath therefore precedes the completed world.
The earth is then described:
“By it has the earth been founded upon the flood; while from the concealed parts of the hills the agitated waters proceed forth from the creation to the end of the world.”
The other translation gives:
“And through it the earth was founded upon the water, And from the secret recesses of the mountains come beautiful waters, From the creation of the world and unto eternity.”
The sea is likewise subject to the oath:
“By this oath the sea has been formed, and the foundation of it.”
And:
“During the period of its fury he established the sand against it, which continues unchanged for ever”
so that:
“it dare not pass beyond it from the creation of the world unto eternity.”
This is an extraordinary image. The sea has power, but its power has a boundary. The oath establishes that boundary.
The text continues:
“and by this oath the abyss has been made strong; nor is it removable from its station for ever and ever.”
Thus heaven, earth, sea and abyss are all connected with the oath.
The sun, moon and stars
The oath also governs the heavenly bodies:
“By this oath the sun and moon complete their progress, never swerving from the command given to them for ever and ever.”
The alternative translation is:
“And through that oath the sun and moon complete their course, And deviate not from their ordinance from eternity to eternity.”
The stars likewise obey:
“By this oath the stars complete their progress”
and:
“And when their names are called, they return an answer, for ever and ever.”
This is important because the oath is now associated with cosmic obedience.
The stars have courses. The sun and moon have ordinances. The sea has boundaries. The abyss remains fixed. Creation is therefore depicted as ordered rather than chaotic.
The winds, thunder, lightning, hail and rain
The scope of the oath expands even further:
“Thus in the heavens take place the blowings of the winds: all of them have breathings, and effect a complete combination of breathings.”
The text then describes the heavenly storehouses:
“There the treasures of thunder are kept, and the splendour of the lightning.”
And:
“There are kept the treasures of hail and of frost, the treasures of snow, the treasures of rain and of dew.”
The shorter version similarly says:
“[And in like manner the spirits of the water, and of the winds, and of all zephyrs, and (their) paths from all the quarters of the winds. And there are preserved the voices of the thunder and the light of the lightnings: and there are preserved the chambers of the hail and the chambers of the hoarfrost, and the chambers of the mist, and the chambers of the rain and the dew.]”
All these elements ultimately acknowledge the Lord:
“All these confess and laud before the Lord of spirits.”
And:
“They glorify with all their power of praise”
while:
“he sustains them in all that act of thanksgiving; while they laud, glorify, and exalt the name of the Lord of spirits for ever and ever.”
The oath therefore does not replace God. Rather, the oath is an instrument through which the created order remains subject to the divine order.
The oath as preservation
The text then summarises its function:
“And with them he establishes this oath, by which they and their paths are preserved; nor does their progress perish.”
The alternative translation says:
“And this oath is mighty over them And through it [they are preserved and] their paths are preserved, And their course is not destroyed.”
The repeated concepts are preservation, paths, courses and permanence.
The oath guarantees that creation does not simply collapse into chaos.
This gives the oath a remarkably broad meaning. It is not merely a verbal formula. It is portrayed almost as a divine decree establishing the rules by which creation operates.
The connection with the oath of the Watchers
This becomes even more significant when chapter 69 is read alongside chapter 6.
In chapter 6, Semjaza says:
“I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.”
The angels respond:
“Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.”
Then:
“Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.”
The Watchers therefore use an oath to bind themselves to rebellion.
Chapter 69 presents another oath, but this time it is associated with cosmic order.
This creates a powerful literary contrast:
The fallen angels use an oath to bind themselves to transgression; the cosmic oath binds creation to divine order.
This is why the oath is central to understanding the Watchers. Their problem is not simply that they committed individual sins. They collectively committed themselves to a course of action and strengthened that commitment through an oath.
The meaning of Kasbeel
Your notes propose:
“KASBEL (ibid. 19), from 0:3 (Kas). which in Chaldee signifies a reproof or castigation, with the termination 'N (El), the reproof from God.”
You also propose:
“Kasb’el should be identified with Samlazaz, the leader of the watchers”
and:
“Kasb’el made known the secret name in order to enhance the power of Oath”
The final statement captures the narrative function very well: Kasbeel is directly connected with the oath and the hidden name.
The proposed identification of Kasbeel with Samlazaz/Semjaza, however, should be distinguished from what the text explicitly says. Chapter 69 gives Kasbeel a distinct name, while Semjaza is separately named as the leader of the Watchers. Some interpretive reconstructions have proposed a connection between them, but the identification is not stated directly by the Ethiopic text. The surviving textual tradition of this section is also difficult, particularly around 69:13–15.
Nevertheless, the possibility is worth considering because Semjaza is the leader who introduces the oath in chapter 6, while Kasbeel is called the chief of the oath in chapter 69.
That parallel is striking enough to warrant serious attention.
The oath and the Son of Man
The passage eventually moves from cosmic order to final judgement.
The text says:
“There was great joy amongst them, And they blessed and glorified and extolled Because the name of that Son of Man had been revealed unto them.”
Then:
“And he sat on the throne of his glory, And the sum of judgement was given unto the Son of Man”
who:
“caused the sinners to pass away and be destroyed from off the face of the earth, And those who have led the world astray.”
The fallen angels who corrupted humanity face imprisonment:
“With chains shall they be bound, And in their assemblage-place of destruction shall they be imprisoned, And all their works vanish from the face of the earth.”
The conclusion is the restoration of creation:
“And from henceforth there shall be nothing corruptible”
because:
“that Son of Man has appeared, And has seated himself on the throne of his glory”
and:
“all evil shall pass away before his face.”
Finally:
“And the word of that Son of Man shall go forth And be strong before the Lord of Spirits.”
Thus the chapter moves from forbidden revelation, to the secret oath, to cosmic preservation, and finally to eschatological judgement.
Oath, secrecy and divine authority
The idea of an oath in this passage is therefore inseparable from secrecy.
The fallen angels reveal secrets to humanity. The text repeatedly condemns this transmission of forbidden knowledge. Kasbeel's oath, however, is itself a secret. Its hidden name is not casually disclosed. Michael is asked to reveal it, and the knowledge of the name produces fear in those who have exposed forbidden secrets.
There is consequently an important distinction between legitimate heavenly revelation and illegitimate revelation.
The Watchers reveal knowledge that humanity was not supposed to possess. Kasbeel's oath belongs to a higher heavenly order.
This helps explain why the oath can be described as powerful enough to establish the courses of the heavenly bodies. Its power is not merely magical in the simplistic sense. It represents the authority of the divine ordering word.
Oaths in Scripture
This also provides an important connection with the biblical warning concerning oath-taking:
“But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath,” James 5:12
The biblical warning demonstrates that oath-taking was regarded as something serious rather than casual.
The Hebrew concept of an oath, shevuʿah, is closely related linguistically to shevaʿ, the number seven. The root sh-b-ʿ is associated with swearing an oath, while shevaʿ means seven. The linguistic relationship is ancient and interesting, although interpretations concerning hidden numerical powers should be separated from what the Hebrew language itself establishes.
In 1 Enoch, however, the oath takes on an extraordinary cosmic significance.
Conclusion
The oath of 1 Enoch 69 is one of the most mysterious concepts in the Book of Enoch. It begins within the context of angels who have corrupted humanity, but it ultimately reaches beyond the fallen angels themselves.
Kasbeel is introduced as:
“the chief of the oath”
and the oath has the mysterious name:
“Biqa”
or, in another textual form:
“Beka.”
Kasbeel requests that Michael reveal:
“the hidden name”
so that it may be:
“enunciate[d] in the oath”
and those who revealed forbidden secrets might:
“quake before that name and oath.”
The text then declares:
“And this is the power of this oath, for it is powerful and strong”
and says that Michael receives:
“this oath Akae”
in his hand.
What follows is remarkable. Heaven is suspended through the oath. The earth is founded through it. The sea is restrained by it. The abyss is made firm. The sun and moon follow their appointed courses. The stars complete their progress. The winds blow according to their paths. Thunder, lightning, hail, frost, snow, rain and dew are preserved within their heavenly chambers.
The oath therefore represents cosmic stability and divine ordinance.
When this is compared with 1 Enoch 6, another dimension emerges. The Watchers themselves once swore:
“Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.”
Their oath bound them to rebellion. The cosmic oath, by contrast, binds creation to order.
This may be the deepest significance of the Enochic tradition. The fallen angels attempt to establish their own binding agreement against the divine order, but the greater oath represents a power that governs heaven and earth themselves. The Watchers can corrupt humanity, reveal forbidden knowledge and introduce violence, but they cannot permanently overturn the cosmic order.
The final answer to their rebellion is therefore not another act of angelic rebellion. It is judgement.
The Son of Man takes his throne:
“And he sat on the throne of his glory, And the sum of judgement was given unto the Son of Man”
and the corrupting powers are removed:
“With chains shall they be bound”
while:
“all their works vanish from the face of the earth.”
Finally:
“Everything wicked shall disappear, and depart from before his face”
and:
“the word of the Son of man shall become powerful in the presence of the Lord of spirits.”
The oath, the hidden name, Michael, the heavenly bodies and the final judgement are consequently brought together into one immense Enochic picture: creation is ordered, secrets possess power, unlawful revelation brings judgement, and the final authority belongs not to the fallen angels but to the divine order represented in the enthroned Son of Man.
The mystery of Kasbeel therefore lies precisely in his position between these worlds. He is called the chief of the oath, he is connected with the hidden name, and the oath is placed into Michael's hand. Whether Kasbeel should ultimately be identified with Semjaza remains an interpretive question, but the literary connection between the Watchers' oath in chapter 6 and the cosmic oath in chapter 69 is undeniably significant.
The fallen angels swore an oath to carry out their rebellion.
The cosmic oath, however, represents the greater binding power—the order through which heaven and earth remain established.
And the chapter ends by affirming that this divine order will ultimately overcome everything corruptible.
The Oath of the Fallen Angels in 1 Enoch 69 and Its Relationship to Sethian Gnosticism
The relationship between 1 Enoch 69 and Sethian Gnosticism is especially interesting because both traditions contain a remarkably similar mythological pattern: heavenly beings descend or become separated from the higher divine realm; they possess or transmit forbidden knowledge; humanity becomes trapped within a lower cosmic order; and a powerful ruler or group of rulers exercises authority over the lower world while remaining ignorant of the higher divine reality.
The connection becomes particularly striking when the Enochic Watchers, especially Semjaza, are compared with the Sethian figure known as Yaldabaoth, who is also called Saklas and Samael.
Your proposed identification can therefore be expressed as:
Yaldabaoth = Semjaza
and:
Yaltabaoth/Saklas/Samael = Semjaza
However, an important distinction must be made at the outset. The surviving ancient texts do not explicitly say that Yaldabaoth, Saklas or Samael is Semjaza. That equation is a comparative theological interpretation, rather than an identity stated by either 1 Enoch or the Nag Hammadi texts. What makes the comparison compelling is not the names themselves but the functions performed by these figures: both are associated with rebellious heavenly beings, cosmic disorder, forbidden knowledge, humanity, and a divinely imposed judgement.
There is also a particularly important textual bridge in 1 Enoch 69. Modern scholarship has argued that the passage concerning Kasbeel and the Oath may preserve a tradition connected with the primordial oath of the Watchers in chapter 6. Ben-Dov and Ratzon note that, if this material originally belonged to the earlier Watcher tradition, “Kasb’el should be identified with Shemihaza,” the leader of the Watchers.
This makes the comparison with Sethian mythology considerably more interesting.
1. The Watchers and the beginning of the corruption
The basic Enochic story begins in 1 Enoch 6. The angels see human women and desire them:
“And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’”
Semjaza, their leader, understands that this is a serious transgression:
“I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.”
The angels then deliberately bind themselves:
“Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.”
And:
“Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.”
This is extremely important for comparison with Sethian mythology. The Watchers are not merely individual sinners. They constitute a collective heavenly power that deliberately descends into the human realm and establishes a relationship with humanity that violates the proper cosmic order.
They descend to Mount Hermon:
“And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon”
and:
“they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.”
The oath therefore establishes a permanent bond between the rebellious angels and their earthly mission.
2. The Watchers reveal forbidden knowledge
The connection becomes stronger in 1 Enoch 69 because the chapter associates particular angels with particular forms of forbidden knowledge.
Gadreel introduces warfare:
“he showed the children of men all the blows of death”
and:
“the shield and the coat of mail, and the sword for battle, and all the weapons of death to the children of men.”
Penemue introduces wisdom and writing:
“he taught the children of men the bitter and the sweet, and he taught them all the secrets of their wisdom.”
He also:
“instructed mankind in writing with ink and paper”
and the text complains that:
“thereby many sinned from eternity to eternity and until this day.”
The fifth angel, Kasdeja, reveals destructive spiritual knowledge:
“he showed the children of men all the wicked smitings of spirits and demons”
including knowledge connected with the embryo, spirits and serpents.
Thus the Watchers' rebellion is simultaneously a rebellion against heavenly boundaries and a transfer of hidden knowledge to humanity.
That theme is highly relevant to Sethian Gnosticism because the Sethian texts likewise portray the lower cosmic powers as attempting to control humanity while higher spiritual powers intervene to awaken humanity to knowledge.
3. Yaldabaoth, Saklas and Samael
The Apocryphon of John presents an extraordinarily important parallel.
It describes the lower ruler as having three names:
“The first name is Yaltabaoth, the second is Saklas, and the third is Samael.”
The text then explains his fundamental problem:
“And he is impious in his arrogance which is in him.”
He declares:
“I am God and there is no other God beside me”
because:
“he is ignorant of his strength, the place from which he had come.”
This is the central characteristic of Yaldabaoth: ignorance combined with enormous power and arrogance.
The Hypostasis of the Archons gives essentially the same theological picture. Its ruler is described as blind:
“Their chief is blind”
and his blindness is connected with:
“his power and his ignorance and his arrogance”
He declares:
“It is I who am God; there is none apart from me.”
A voice from above corrects him:
“You are mistaken, Samael”
and explains the meaning of the name as:
“god of the blind.”
This gives us an important conceptual equation:
Samael = the blind god.
Yaldabaoth is powerful but does not understand the source of his own power.
That is remarkably compatible with one interpretation of the Enochic Watchers: they possess enormous heavenly power, but rebel against the higher divine order because they do not remain within the boundaries assigned to them.
4. Yaldabaoth as a leader of rebellious heavenly powers
The Apocryphon of John describes Yaldabaoth as the chief ruler:
“Yaldabaoth is the first ruler”
and says that he:
“took great power from his mother.”
He then:
“created for himself other realms with luminous fire”
and produced subordinate authorities.
The text describes a hierarchy:
“He made the first seven rulers to reign in the seven spheres of heaven.”
The long version similarly describes Yaldabaoth as possessing enormous authority over subordinate powers and says:
“The Rulers created seven powers for themselves.”
Those powers then produce angels, ultimately reaching:
“365 angels.”
This provides a structural parallel with the Watchers.
In 1 Enoch 6, Semjaza is explicitly:
“their leader”
and the two hundred Watchers are organised under chiefs.
Thus both traditions present a chief heavenly ruler surrounded by subordinate supernatural beings.
The structures are not identical, but the similarity is significant.
5. Semjaza as the Sethian Yaldabaoth
Your proposed equation—
Yaldabaoth = Semjaza
—is therefore best understood functionally.
Semjaza is the leader of the Watchers who initiates and organises their rebellion. Yaldabaoth is the chief ruler of the archontic powers who establishes the lower cosmic order.
Semjaza says:
“I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed”
and then proposes the oath.
Yaldabaoth says:
“I am God and there is no other God beside me”
and proceeds to establish his own hierarchy.
Both therefore occupy the position of a chief rebel power.
There is, however, a major difference. In 1 Enoch, Semjaza does not create the cosmos. In Sethian mythology, Yaldabaoth is the demiurgic ruler responsible for the lower cosmic order. Consequently, saying “Yaldabaoth is Semjaza” should not mean that the two characters are literally identical in every feature.
Rather, the equation proposes that Sethian mythology has transformed the Watcher archetype into a demiurgic ruler.
6. Yaldabaoth, Saklas and Samael as one figure
The Apocryphon of John makes something explicit that is only implicit in many other traditions: the ruler has multiple names.
It says:
“The first name is Yaltabaoth, the second is Saklas, and the third is Samael.”
The Meyer translation similarly says:
“This gloomy ruler has three names: the first name is Yaldabaoth, the second is Sakla, the third is Samael.”
This means that within this Sethian framework:
Yaldabaoth = Sakla/Saklas = Samael.
The names emphasise different characteristics.
Yaldabaoth is the principal name of the demiurgic ruler.
Saklas is associated with foolishness or stupidity.
Samael is associated with blindness.
The ruler therefore possesses power without genuine knowledge.
This is precisely why the statement:
“I am God and there is no other God beside me”
is so important. His claim to ultimate divinity is itself evidence of his ignorance.
7. The Hypostasis of the Archons and the creation of humanity
The Hypostasis of the Archons gives an especially important account of humanity.
The rulers decide:
“Come, let us create a man that will be soil from the earth.”
They model the human being, but they do not possess the complete divine power necessary to make him truly alive.
The text says:
“they could not make him arise because of their powerlessness.”
Then something higher intervenes. The spirit descends, and:
“that man became a living soul.”
This is one of the strongest parallels with the Enochic worldview because humanity exists within a conflict between lower supernatural powers and a higher divine reality.
The rulers believe that they control humanity, but they do not understand the true spiritual power within humanity.
The Hypostasis says that the rulers:
“did not know the identity of its power.”
This ignorance is fundamental.
8. The serpent, Eve and forbidden knowledge
The Hypostasis of the Archons also radically reinterprets Genesis.
The rulers place Adam in the garden and command:
“From every tree in the garden shall you eat; yet from the tree of recognizing good and evil do not eat”
and:
“for the day you eat from it, with death you are going to die.”
But the text says:
“They do not understand what they have said to him”
and presents their command as operating, by the Father's will, in such a way that Adam will ultimately acquire knowledge.
The serpent then becomes involved.
The woman says:
“It was the snake that led me astray and I ate.”
The rulers respond by cursing the serpent.
The result is that the archons attempt to prevent humanity from attaining higher knowledge, while the narrative itself portrays knowledge as part of the path toward liberation.
This is very close to the broader Gnostic reversal of Genesis.
9. Enochic forbidden knowledge and Sethian gnosis
Here the relationship between 1 Enoch and Sethian Gnosticism becomes especially interesting.
In 1 Enoch, the Watchers give humanity forbidden knowledge.
Penemue:
“taught the children of men the bitter and the sweet”
and:
“all the secrets of their wisdom.”
Gadreel teaches weapons.
Kasdeja teaches destructive spiritual knowledge.
The Watchers therefore function as supernatural transmitters of knowledge.
In Sethian mythology, however, knowledge becomes the means by which the human being escapes ignorance.
The crucial distinction is therefore what kind of knowledge is being transmitted and by whom.
In 1 Enoch, knowledge transmitted by rebellious angels can be destructive because it violates the divine order.
In Sethianism, salvific knowledge comes from the higher divine realm and exposes the ignorance of the archons.
The same basic narrative structure can therefore be reversed:
Enoch: rebellious heavenly beings reveal forbidden knowledge to humanity.
Sethianism: higher divine beings reveal liberating knowledge to humanity against the ignorance of the archons.
This is one of the strongest conceptual relationships between the two traditions.
10. The Oath of 1 Enoch 69
The mysterious oath of 1 Enoch 69 adds another dimension.
The text says:
“And this is the task of Kasbeel, the chief of the oath which he showed to the holy ones when he dwelt high above in glory, and its name is Biqa.”
Then:
“This (angel) requested Michael to show him the hidden name, that he might enunciate it in the oath”
and:
“so that those might quake before that name and oath who revealed all that was in secret to the children of men.”
The oath possesses cosmic power:
“And this is the power of this oath, for it is powerful and strong”
and:
“he placed this oath Akae in the hand of Michael.”
The text then says:
“And these are the secrets of this oath”
before describing heaven, earth, sea, abyss, sun, moon and stars as established and preserved through it.
Modern scholarship has argued that 1 Enoch 69:13–14 and 69:15–25 may represent originally distinct traditions: one concerning Kasbeel and the divine Name, and another concerning Michael and the cosmic Oath. Importantly for your interpretation, Ben-Dov and Ratzon explicitly discuss the possibility that the Kasbeel material may have originally related to the primordial Watchers' oath in 1 Enoch 6, in which case Kasbeel could be identified with Shemihaza/Semjaza.
That is significant because it provides an actual scholarly basis for connecting the chief of the oath with the leader of the Watchers, although it does not establish a connection with Yaldabaoth historically.
11. The cosmic oath and the Sethian demiurge
The cosmic oath is especially interesting when compared with Yaldabaoth because both traditions present a supernatural power responsible for maintaining a structured lower reality.
1 Enoch says:
“By this oath the sun and moon complete their progress, never swerving from the command given to them for ever and ever.”
It says:
“By this oath the stars complete their progress”
and:
“by this oath the abyss has been made strong.”
Sethian mythology similarly describes Yaldabaoth establishing rulers over cosmic realms:
“He made the first seven rulers to reign in the seven spheres of heaven.”
The resemblance is not that Yaldabaoth literally possesses the Enochic Oath. Rather, both traditions imagine the universe as an ordered hierarchy of supernatural powers.
The important difference is theological.
In 1 Enoch, cosmic order ultimately belongs to the divine realm.
In Sethian mythology, the archontic ruler mistakes his subordinate position for absolute divinity.
That is why Yaldabaoth's declaration:
“I am God and there is no other God beside me”
is immediately exposed as ignorance.
12. Samael and the blindness of Semjaza
Your equation:
Samael = Semjaza
can therefore be interpreted through the concept of blindness.
Samael is explicitly called:
“god of the blind.”
Yaldabaoth is ignorant of:
“the place from which his strength had come.”
This means that his fundamental sin is not simply evil. It is ignorance of his own origin.
Semjaza likewise acts as though the Watchers can establish their own course independently of the higher divine order. His oath is an attempt to make their decision irrevocable:
“not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.”
This can be read symbolically as another form of blindness: the rebellious beings are unable or unwilling to recognise the consequences of their actions.
Thus, if one adopts your identification, Semjaza becomes an Enochic prototype of the ignorant cosmic ruler later represented by Yaldabaoth/Saklas/Samael.
That is a theological reconstruction rather than a demonstrated historical genealogy, but it creates a coherent comparative interpretation.
13. Seth, humanity and liberation
The Sethian tradition also gives special importance to Seth.
In the Hypostasis of the Archons, Eve bears Seth:
“And Eve became pregnant, and bore Seth to Adam.”
This is significant because Seth becomes part of the alternative spiritual lineage that survives the domination of the archons.
The text also describes Norea:
“He has begotten on me a virgin as an assistance for many generations of mankind.”
This gives humanity a spiritual counter-history to the history controlled by the rulers.
The archons believe they possess humanity, but humanity contains a higher spiritual element that originates beyond their authority.
This fits the broader Sethian pattern: the archons govern the visible realm, but they do not possess ultimate ownership of the spiritual human being.
14. The ultimate difference between Enoch and Sethianism
The relationship should not be exaggerated into a claim that Sethian Gnosticism simply copied 1 Enoch.
The two systems remain fundamentally different.
In 1 Enoch, the Creator and the divine order are good, while the Watchers rebel against them. The cosmic oath represents divine stability, and the fallen angels ultimately receive judgement.
In Sethian mythology, the creator-ruler himself becomes problematic. Yaldabaoth is ignorant, arrogant and blind. He believes:
“I am God and there is no other God beside me”
but the higher divine realm knows that he is mistaken.
The Sethian myth therefore takes the rebel heavenly ruler motif much further. The rebellious supernatural powers are no longer merely corrupt angels within God's creation; the chief archon becomes the ignorant demiurge who rules the lower cosmos.
Conclusion
The relationship between 1 Enoch 69 and Sethian Gnosticism can therefore be understood as a profound mythological parallel rather than a simple one-to-one identification.
The Enochic Watchers are heavenly beings who descend to humanity, violate the divine order, swear an oath, and reveal forbidden knowledge.
Their leader, Semjaza, is explicitly the one who organises the oath:
“Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations”
and:
“Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.”
In 1 Enoch 69, Kasbeel appears as:
“the chief of the oath”
and the oath is connected with a hidden divine name and extraordinary cosmic power.
Sethianism transforms many of these broad mythological themes into the story of the archons and their chief ruler. In the Apocryphon of John, Yaldabaoth has three names:
“The first name is Yaltabaoth, the second is Saklas, and the third is Samael.”
He is arrogant and ignorant, declaring:
“I am God and there is no other God beside me”
while the Hypostasis of the Archons calls him:
“Samael”
and explains the name as:
“god of the blind.”
This gives a powerful interpretive framework for your proposed equation:
Yaldabaoth = Semjaza
Yaldabaoth/Saklas/Samael = Semjaza
Historically, this cannot be presented as an established identification. No surviving text says that Semjaza became Yaldabaoth or that Yaldabaoth is another name for Semjaza. But theologically and comparatively, the identification can be developed as a model in which the Enochic leader of the rebellious Watchers becomes a prototype for the later Gnostic conception of the ignorant cosmic ruler.
The most interesting connection is therefore not merely the names. It is the function.
Semjaza leads the heavenly rebellion.
Yaldabaoth leads the archontic powers.
The Watchers reveal forbidden knowledge.
The archons attempt to control human beings through ignorance.
The Enochic oath binds the Watchers to their rebellion.
The Sethian archons establish a lower cosmic order.
And in both systems, a higher divine reality ultimately stands above the rebellious or ignorant powers.
The deepest transformation occurs in the concept of knowledge. In 1 Enoch, the Watchers' revelation of secret knowledge is part of humanity's corruption. In Sethianism, revelation from the higher divine realm becomes the means by which humanity discovers the truth about the archons and escapes their ignorance.
Consequently, one can formulate the relationship in this way:
1 Enoch provides an early myth of heavenly rebellion, forbidden revelation, supernatural rulers and judgement; Sethian Gnosticism radically reinterprets those motifs into a myth of the ignorant demiurge, the archons and salvific gnosis.
Within that comparative framework, Semjaza can be interpreted as an Enochic prototype of the Yaldabaoth/Saklas/Samael figure, while the oath of 1 Enoch 69 becomes a particularly important symbol of supernatural authority, hidden names, cosmic order and the boundary between the higher divine realm and rebellious heavenly powers.
That is a much stronger argument than simply claiming that the names are identical. The real connection is the mythological transformation of the rebellious heavenly ruler.
1 Enoch 6
6:1 And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto 2 them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men 3 and beget us children.' And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not 4 indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations 5 not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' Then sware they all together and bound themselves 6 by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn 7 and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samlazaz, their leader, Araklba, Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, 8 Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaq1el, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens.
1 Enoch 69
Enoch Chapter 68
Enoch 68:1 After this judgment they shall be astonished and irritated; for it shall be exhibited to the inhabitants of the earth.Enoch 68:2 Behold the names of those angels. These are their names. The first of them is Samyaza; the second, Arstikapha; the third, Armen; the fourth, Kakabael; the fifth, Turel; the sixth, Rumyel; the seventh, Danyal; the eighth, Kael; the ninth, Barakel; the tenth, Azazel; the eleventh, Armers; the twelfth, Bataryal; the thirteenth, Basasael; the fourteenth, Ananel; the fifteenth, Turyal; the sixteenth, Simapiseel; the seventeenth, Yetarel; the eighteenth, Tumael; the nineteenth, Tarel; the twentieth, Rumel; the twenty-first, Azazyel.
Enoch 68:3 These are the chiefs of their angels, and the names of the leaders of their hundreds, and the leaders of their fifties, and the leaders of their tens.
Enoch 68:4 The name of the first is Yekun: (Yekun may simply mean "the rebel" or YEKUN (ibid. 4), perhaps "P' (Ye-kud), the burning. ) he it was who seduced all the sons of the holy angels; and causing them to descend on earth, led astray the offspring of men.
Enoch 68:6 The name of the third is Gadrel: he discovered every stroke of death to the children of men.
Enoch 68:7 He seduced Eve; and discovered to the children of men the instruments of death, the coat of mail, the shield, and the sword for slaughter; every instrument of death to the children of men.
Enoch 68:8 From his hand were these things derived to them who dwell upon earth, from that period for ever.
Enoch 68:9 The name of the fourth is Penemue: he discovered to the children of men bitterness and sweetness;
Enoch 68:10 And pointed out to them every secret of their wisdom.
Enoch 68:11 He taught men to understand writing, and the use of ink and paper.
Enoch 68:12 Therefore numerous have been those who have gone astray from every period of the world, even to this day.
Enoch 68:13 For men were not born for this, thus with pen and with ink to confirm their faith;
Enoch 68:14 Since they were not created, except that, like the angels, they might remain righteous and pure.
Enoch 68:15 Nor would death, which destroys everything, have effected them;
Enoch 68:16 But by this their knowledge they perish, and by this also its power consumes them.
Enoch 68:17 The name of the fifth is Kasyade: he discovered to the children of men every wicked stroke of spirits and of demons:
Enoch 68:18 The stroke of the embryo in the womb, to diminish it; (69) the stroke of the spirit by the bite of the serpent, and the stroke which is given in the mid-day by the offspring of the serpent, the name of which is Tabaet. (70)
(70) Tabaet. Literally, "male" or "strong" (Knibb, p. 162).
Enoch 68:19 This is the number of the Kasbel; the principal part of the oath which the Most High, dwelling in glory, revealed to the holy ones.
This is {the number of} Kasbʼel] The word translated as ‘number’ is the result of faulty scribal transmission; see in detail below, p. 37. One Eth II MS (Ullendorf) gives a double reading: ‘This is the number the name of Kāsb’el’.
Enoch 68:20 Its name is Beka. He spoke to holy Michael to discover to them the sacred name, that they might understand that secret name, and thus remember the oath; and that those who pointed out every secret thing to the children of men might tremble at that name and oath.
Enoch 68:21 This is the power of that oath; for powerful it is, and strong.
‘the power/might of the Oath
Enoch 68:22 And he established this oath of Akae by the instrumentality of the holy Michael.
the power of the Oath that was placed in the hands of Michael.
Enoch 68:23 These are the secrets of this oath, and by it were they confirmed.
Enoch 68:24 Heaven was suspended by it before the world was made, for ever.
Enoch 68:25 By it has the earth been founded upon the flood; while from the concealed parts of the hills the agitated waters proceed forth from the creation to the end of the world.
Enoch 68:26 By this oath the sea has been formed, and the foundation of it.
Enoch 68:27 During the period of its fury he established the sand against it, which continues unchanged for ever; and by this oath the abyss has been made strong; nor is it removable from its station for ever and ever.
Enoch 68:28 By this oath the sun and moon complete their progress, never swerving from the command given to them for ever and ever.
Enoch 68:29 By this oath the stars complete their progress;
Enoch 68:30 And when their names are called, they return an answer, for ever and ever.
Enoch 68:31 Thus in the heavens take place the blowings of the winds: all of them have breathings, (71) and effect a complete combination of breathings.
Enoch 68:33 There are kept the treasures of hail and of frost, the treasures of snow, the treasures of rain and of dew.
Enoch 68:34 All these confess and laud before the Lord of spirits.
Enoch 68:35 They glorify with all their power of praise; and he sustains them in all that act of thanksgiving; while they laud, glorify, and exalt the name of the Lord of spirits for ever and ever.
Enoch 68:36 And with them he establishes this oath, by which they and their paths are preserved; nor does their progress perish.
Enoch 68:37 Great was their joy.
Enoch 68:38 They blessed, glorified, and exalted, because the name of the Son of man was revealed to them.
Enoch 68:39 He sat upon the throne of his glory; and the principal part of the judgment was assigned to him, the Son of man. Sinners shall disappear and perish from the face of the earth, while those who seduced them shall be bound with chains for ever.
Enoch 68:40 According to their ranks of corruption shall they be imprisoned, and all their works shall disappear from the face of the earth; nor thenceforward shall there be any to corrupt; for the Son of man has been seen, sitting on the throne of his glory.
Enoch 68:41 Everything wicked shall disappear, and depart from before his face; and the word of the Son of man shall become powerful in the presence of the Lord of spirits.
"oath" (shevuʿah)
In scriptures, we were warned to use it carefully:
“But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath,”James 5:12
The word oath, ‘she•vu•ah,’ is closely related to the number seven, ‘she•va.’ Much has been written about the hidden powers pertaining to this number.
this “oath” they “swore” (נמא) by which they bound themselves by imprecations (ואחרמו)
Beka consists of two letters, and it means “in you (sg.).” This is a common Hebrew word, used dozens of times in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 26:13, however, it appears in a very odd construction. The verse is usually translated along these lines:
Oh LORD our God, masters other than you have ruled over us;
But in you alone do we make remembrance of your name.
KASBEL (ibid. 19), from 0:3 (Kas). which in Chaldee signifies a reproof or castigation, with the termination 'N (El), the reproof from God.
Kasb’el should be identified with Samlazaz, the leader of the watchers
Kasb’el made known the secret name in order to enhance the power of Oath
