Credible Theories
Hebrew Bible · Daniel 4:13, 17

The Watchers in Daniel

ReferenceDaniel 4:13, 17
Writtenc. 165 BCE
SetNebuchadnezzar, c. 570 BCE
A watcher and an holy one came down from heaven… This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones.

Translation: KJV

Read it literally

The Watchers are named inside the Bible as a group that makes decisions about human kings. The only canonical window into the Enoch world.

What scholars say

The Aramaic word 'ir, 'watcher', is the same term 1 Enoch uses for the fallen angels.

Council of gods From the sky

Quick answers about Daniel 4:13, 17

Where is Daniel 4:13, 17 found?

Daniel 4:13, 17 (Hebrew Bible). Translation quoted: King James Version (1611; standard 1769 text), with Apocrypha.

When was Daniel 4:13, 17 written?

c. 165 BCE.

What do scholars say about Daniel 4:13, 17?

The Aramaic word 'ir, 'watcher', is the same term 1 Enoch uses for the fallen angels.

Rabbit holes in this passage

Text1 EnochThe ancient Jewish book of the Watchers, giants and heavenly journeys, quoted in the New Testament and preserved whole only in Ethiopia.PersonEnochThe man who 'walked with God: and he was not; for God took him,' and who became the hero of an entire library of visions.BeingThe Watchers (Grigori)Heavenly beings who never sleep, sent to watch humanity, who in the Enoch books came down, took wives, and taught forbidden arts.

Sources

  1. King James Version (1611; standard 1769 text), with ApocryphaPrimary text
  2. The Book of Enoch, trans. R. H. Charles, The Book of Enoch (1917)Primary text
  3. Genesis 5:18–24, King James VersionPrimary text
  4. 1 Enoch 6–8, trans. R. H. Charles, The Book of Enoch (1917)Primary text

Scholarly dates are rounded. The wording follows the named public-domain translation.

Updated