The Apkallu

The ancient Mesopotamians, like many others, made images or representations of their gods. Some of these man-made idols have been discovered in recent times, and one of the more profound discoveries was that of the mats-tsarey or “watchers.” The ancient Mesopotamians would craft various figurines of the pre-Flood gods, the Apkallu, along with various hybrid monsters, all of which find place in the Babylonian creation myths. These idols were then buried in the foundations and aligned along the inside walls of homes and other buildings, with each one positioned and oriented in such a way as to allegedly provide guardianship against various evils such as diseases or disasters. Thus, the Apkallu figurines were referred to as “watchers.”
These idols represented the ancient spirits that were believed to have brought protection, knowledge and culture to ancient people. These Apkallu were believed to be initially benevolent towards humanity, before becoming corrupt and being associated with evil. However, once defeated by a superior deity, they were believed to be subdued, becoming once more a force for good – from the Babylonian point of view. They were then entrusted with the safekeeping of the family dwelling, the royal house or even the city gates, as the case may be. Basically, the ancients figured they could “tame the gods.”
The Biblical parallel to the Apkallu before the Flood would be the fallen sons of God from Genesis 6. Their children (the Biblical Nephilim) were also called Apkallu but were considered only partly divine, as they were also part human. Thus, the Nephilim were thought of as lesser Apkallu. The strange hybrid monsters depicted in the Babylonian material may be a reference to the corruption of the animals at the hands of the fallen sons of God.
The Mesopotamian material also indicates that there were at least one (and possibly four) of the Apkallu demigods present on the earth in the time after the Flood, as we saw already in our study of Enmerkar, the man the Bible calls Nimrod. So, there is evidence to suggest that the Mesopotamians believed that these spirit beings remained active on the earth after the Deluge.
But what is absent from the ancient Apkallu traditions, is the notion that other beings of the same status as the original Apkallu were both widespread and active on the earth after the Flood. The Biblical record, however, paints a different picture with the Apkallu equivalent, the fallen sons of God, given dominion over the nations and active in the affairs of men. The Babylonian silence on these other Apkallu can be attributed to an unwillingness to concede similar status for the gods of the surrounding nations. The pride of Babylon revolved around the premise that they alone had access to the primeval wisdom.
These sons of God may be identified as the selfsame ones that participated in the Genesis 6 rebellion, given the connections between Genesis 6 and 11. While the New Testament authors (and that of 1 Enoch) described their status as “chained under darkness,” it would be a mistake to take this figurative language as literal. The Abyss is no more a physical place than the earth is flat – it is a cosmological understanding, not a scientific one. The sons of God were restrained in terms of a loss of freedom or power, but there is no evidence of banishment to some other place. They still operate within the geography that they were assigned to. The fact that the conceptual language of “sons of God” appears in Genesis 6 and Deuteronomy 32 is not coincidental. These powers still roam the earth even today (see Job 1 and 2), and their power is limited but still very real. While they do not reside in heaven, they can appear before God at His command.
Like the Mesopotamian characters, these sons of God in the Biblical record continued to influence the destinies of humankind, in particular through human rulers such as those found in the Sumerian King List including Enmerkar (Nimrod). Consider also Nebuchadnezzar II, who features prominently in the book of Daniel. And Nebuchadnezzar refers to these entities in Daniel as “Watchers,” the same terminology of function as we find applied to the spirits behind the idols.
We can narrow the apparent gap between the Mesopotamian Apkallu and the Watchers by considering that both groups fall within a common class of beings known in Mesopotamian mythology – that of the Anunnaki/Igigu. Although the Apkallu appear to be differentiated from the Anunnaki/Igigu, it would seem that the difference is in the roles the groups play. While the Anunnaki and the Igigu serve as ministers to the gods, the Apkallu direct their ministry toward mankind as benefactors of wisdom and power. However, they all are considered to be siblings as sons of the high god (the name of the god varies depending on which of the pantheon was considered to be the greatest at the time).
The Anunnaki and Igigu are territorial beings, serving the gods within their respective allotted domains. While the Igigu and Anunnaki are considered to be of equivalent status, only the Anunnaki are associated with dominion in the underworld, whereas the Igigu are not. Both groups, however, are mentioned in heavenly contexts, which would indicate that the Anunnaki have greater “access.”
The picture painted in ancient cosmology then, is one of a hierarchy of function. The Biblical sons of God are correlated to the Anunnaki or Igigu. What separates the Anunnaki from the Igigu appears to be their range of access within the three tiers of the cosmos (heaven, earth, and underworld). Likewise, Biblically, we find the fallen sons of God present and active in every plane (see Job 1, Jude 6), whereas the ones that are loyal to Yahweh maintain their proper place and are not attested in the underworld. All are alike in that they do not seek their own glory, but the angels in heaven glorify God alone, in contrast to the rebel angels who distract from His glorification. There is no evidence whatsoever that there existed any cult or system of worship devoted to the Anunnaki/Igigu (in Mesopotamia at least – the story changes once the Greeks get their hands on these ideas); they were always recognized as subservient to greater gods.
The sons of God are given particular status as overseers of regions, typically by means of influence through an appointed human ruler, being the political king and/or priestly representative. These are the entities that the Mesopotamians regarded as the Apkallu sages. Incidentally, the connection to the giants is even seen in the name – “Apkallu” comes from Sumerian “ab” (which means “water”), “gal” (literally, “big”), and “lu” (man). Thus “apkallu” means, “big man from before (or out of) the water.”
- Extract from T.J. Steadman, “Answers to Giant Questions: How Understanding the Biblical Nephilim Will Enlarge Your Faith.”