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Baraqiel —also written Baraqijal, Baraqel, Barakiel, or Baraquiel in various translations—is named among the Watchers in the ancient tradition preserved in 1 Enoch . He belongs to the group of heavenly beings described as revealing forbidden knowledge to humanity before the Flood. According to 1 Enoch 8:3 , Baraqiel is associated specifically with teaching astrology . This is important because he is sometimes described as the Watcher of lightning due to the probable meaning of his name, but the teaching assigned to him in 1 Enoch is astrology, not lightning . His name and lightning Baraqiel's name is generally connected with a Semitic root associated with lightning . This explains why later descriptions sometimes call him an angel or Watcher of lightning. But we should distinguish between: the probable meaning of his name → lightning and the knowledge attributed to him in 1 Enoch → astrology. The two are not necessarily the same thing. What did Baraqiel teach? In the Enochic accou...