The Names of the Fallen Angels in the Book of Enoch

The fallen angels in the Book of Enoch are the Watchers, led by Semjaza, with named figures including Azazel, Kokabiel, Armaros, Baraqijal and Sariel. Two hundred descend on Mount Hermon, take human wives and transmit forbidden knowledge. Their children are giants associated with the Nephilim. The names differ across the manuscript tradition, and the list of leaders is not identical to the catalogue of teachers. Genesis, Second Peter and Jude do not give this roster.

This guide first identifies the text and its names, then separates the Watcher leaders from their teaching assignments. It follows Azazel's punishment and the fate of the giants before turning to biblical references and other fallen-angel traditions. Related guides and figure pages close the account.

The short answer: which text names the fallen angels?

1 Enoch is a collection of ancient Jewish writings attributed to the biblical patriarch Enoch, rather than a work written by him. Its Book of the Watchers, usually dated to the third century BCE, forms chapters 1–36. The principal rebellion narrative appears in 1 Enoch 6–16. This is the account behind the names commonly sought as a list of fallen angels.

The complete text survives in Ethiopic, also called Geʿez; Aramaic fragments were discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and portions survive in Greek. Transmission through these languages produced different spellings, readings and transliterations of the names. The collection is scriptural in Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox tradition, but stands outside the Jewish canon and most Christian biblical canons.

The Watchers' leaders and what they taught

In 1 Enoch 6, the descending beings agree to take human wives. Semjaza initially fears that he alone will bear responsibility for the transgression; their shared oath binds the group together. The named leaders are described as chiefs over groups of ten. Their names and the later teaching catalogue belong to separate parts of the account, not to a single uniform list.

A commonly reproduced Ethiopic-derived leader list names Semjaza, Arakiba, Rameel, Kokabiel, Tamiel, Ramiel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaqiel, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael and Sariel. Chapter 8 does not assign an individual forbidden art to every leader in chapter 6. Its names and assignments also vary across textual witnesses. In a commonly transmitted form, the associations are:

• Semjaza teaches enchantments and the cutting of roots; his name also appears as Shemihazah and Semyaza.
• Azazel teaches weapons manufacture, metalworking, ornaments, precious stones and eye cosmetics; his name also appears as Asael and Azael.
• Armaros is associated with the undoing or resolving of enchantments, rather than a separate craft assigned to every chief.
• Baraqijal, also written Baraqiel, is associated with astrology; Kokabiel is associated with knowledge of the constellations.
• Ezeqeel is associated with knowledge of clouds, while Araqiel is associated with signs of the earth.
• Shamsiel is associated with signs of the sun, and Sariel with the course of the moon.

Azazel and the punishment of the Watchers

Azazel is a principal corrupting angel, but his prominence does not make him the commander of the descent. The narrative gives that role to Semjaza. Azazel's teaching connects the spread of destructive knowledge with weapons and metalworking, alongside practices of adornment. His role therefore concerns the corruption of humanity through transmitted arts, while Semjaza's leadership concerns the Watchers' collective undertaking.

In 1 Enoch 10, Raphael receives the command to bind Azazel and confine him in darkness until judgment. Michael is commanded to bind Semjaza and his companions after they witness their offspring's destruction. Enoch conveys the Watchers' petition for forgiveness, but the request is rejected. Their punishment follows both their actions on earth and the consequences of those actions for humanity.

The Nephilim: the Watchers' children

The unions between the Watchers and human women produce gigantic offspring. These giants consume human resources and spread violence and bloodshed across the earth. They are associated with the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis 6:4. Within the Watchers narrative, the offspring are therefore part of the account of how wrongdoing spreads, rather than another name for the angels themselves.

The giants' deaths do not end their harmful presence in this account. In 1 Enoch 15, evil spirits arise from the dead giants and continue to trouble humanity. Scholars study this narrative as evidence for ancient Jewish explanations of evil and illicit knowledge, as well as for the background of early Christian accounts of sinful angels.

Other fallen-angel traditions and the Bible's references

Satan is not the leader in 1 Enoch 6, despite later traditions placing fallen angels under Satan. Belial is also absent from its leader list, although other ancient Jewish writings use that name for a chief power of evil. Lucifer is not a Watcher leader either: the name derives from the Latin rendering of the morning-star image in Isaiah 14:12.

Genesis 6:1–4 describes sons of God taking human women without explicitly calling them fallen angels. Second Peter 2:4–5 describes sinful angels confined for judgment before mentioning Noah and the Flood. Jude 6 describes angels who abandoned their proper dwelling and remain bound until judgment. Neither passage names them. Separately, Jude 14–15 cites a prophecy attributed to Enoch corresponding to 1 Enoch 1:9.

Where to go next

The guide to the Book of Enoch covers the collection, while the figure pages for Semjaza, Azazel and the Watchers focus on its central heavenly beings.

The page on the Nephilim addresses the giants' identity; the guide to the Book of Giants concerns a related narrative in which giants seek Enoch's help with troubling dreams of destruction. The edition on this site is titled 1 Enoch.

Keep exploring

• Who is Azazel?
• Who are the Watchers?
• Who were the Nephilim?
• The Book of Giants, explained
• The Book of Enoch