A New Suggestion Concerning the Enigmatic Elioud of the Book of the Watchers

The form of 1 En. 7:2 preserved in Syncellus describes the antediluvian giants as a sequence of three generations-the giants, the Nephilim, and Elioud. The term Elioud is a well-known crux. This article suggests that the three generational sequence in the Animal Apocalypse can help elucidate the meaning of Elioud. The third animal in the list in this text, which thus corresponds to the Elioud, is “wild ass” ( ערד ). A study of this term suggests that the Elioud can be reasonably understood as “descendants” ( יליד ) of the watchers and also the forefathers of early inhabitants of Canaan, such as the Anaqim, whom the Hebrew Bible describes as a type of giant.