Reading the Book of Giants in Literary and Historical Context

This article offers some new suggestions regarding the background and purpose of the Book of Giants in the light of recent scholarship emphasizing (1) the shared features and interrelatedness of the Aramaic works discovered at Qumran and (2) the need to ground our understanding of early Jewish apocalyptic literature within the socio-political context of Hellenistic imperial domination. While this intriguing composition has been located correctly within the orbit of early Enochic tradition, the present study broadens the lens in order to consider the significance of its striking parallels with Danielic tradition,beyond the well-known shared tradition of the throne theophany (4Q530 2 ii 16–20and Dan 7:9–10). Due attention is given both to the Danielic parallels and the transformations in Giants vis-à-vis the Enochic tradition upon which it depends (the Book of Watchers), which are interpreted in relation to recent research emphasizing that the early Enochic and Danielic writings constituted expressions of resistance to imperial rule. In line with this literary and historical contextualization, the study argues for a paradigmatic interpretation of Giants, according to which the monstrous sons of the watchers symbolize the violent, arrogant Hellenistic rulers of the author’s day.