The Relationship between
Jubilees and the Early Enochic Books
(Astronomical Book and Book of the Watchers)
John S. Bergsma
The task of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the earlier
Enochic books — the Astronomical Book (hereafter AB; i.e., 1 En 72-82) and
the Book of the Watchers (hereafter BW; 1 En 1-36) — and the book of Jubi
lees. It is generally assumed that there is a literary relationship between these
works, and — largely on the basis of their estimated dates of composition —
that the direction of influence flows from the Enochic texts to Jubilees. First,
the evidence and arguments for the dating of the three documents will be re
viewed. Second, AB and BW will each be compared with Jubilees to observe
similarities and differences in narrative and theology. Finally, generaliza
tions will be made about the nature of Jubilees' relationship to the early
Enochic literature.
I. The Dating of the Astronomical Book,
the Book of the Watchers, and Jubilees
A. The Date of the Astronomical Book
The Astronomical Book, considered the earliest of the Enochic texts, is fre
quently assigned a third century B.C.E. date on the basis of the following data:^1
- For a thorough discussion see J. C. VanderKam, Enoch and the Growth of an Apoca
lyptic Tradition, CBQMS 16 (Washington, D.C.: CBA, 1984), 79-88.