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Duidain (also spelled Dêndâin[1]) is a mythical wilderness named in the apocryphal Book of Enoch (specifically in the *Book of Parables*). It is described as being situated to the east of the Garden of Eden and serves as the dwelling place of the primordial land beast Behemoth.[2][3]

Etymology

Linguistic reconstructions of the Aramaic fragments of Enoch found among the Dead Sea Scrolls suggest that the name “Dêndâin” is derived from the Aramaic deddayin, which translates to “twin breasts,” likely describing the shape of the mountain peaks framing the wilderness.[4][5]

In the Book of Enoch

The geography of Duidain is described in the Book of Parables (1 Enoch 60:8), where Enoch recounts a vision detailing the separation of the two primordial monsters, Leviathan and Behemoth, at creation:[6]

But the masculine is named Behemoth, who occupies, with his breast, a void desert called Dêndâin, in the east of the garden where the chosen and holy will dwell, where my grandfather was taken up, the seventh from Adam, the first of men whom the Lord of the spirits made.

Cosmological significance

In Enochic cosmology, the wilderness of Duidain functions as a liminal space of exile. While the Garden of Eden represents divine order, purity, and life, Duidain is depicted as a desolate wasteland that contains chaos. The monster Behemoth is confined within this barren region until the eschatological banquet at the end of time, when the righteous will feast upon its flesh.[7]

See also

  • Land of Nod – another Biblical wilderness located east of Eden where Cain was exiled.
  • Leviathan – the female primordial sea monster associated with Behemoth.

References

  1. ^ Archive, Internet Sacred Text. “Doctrine of Last Things: Chapter VI. Some Further Eschato…” Internet Sacred Text Archive. Retrieved 2026-02-18.
  2. ^ “Book of Enoch: Book 2: Parables”. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  3. ^ Nickelsburg, George W. E.; James C. VanderKam (2012). 1 Enoch 2: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Chapters 37–82. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p. 240–245. ISBN 978-0-8006-9837-9.
  4. ^ Milik, Józef Tadeusz (1976). The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-19-826161-2.
  5. ^ Knibb, Michael A. (1978). The Ethiopic Book of Enoch: A New Edition in the Light of the Aramaic Dead Sea Fragments. Vol. 2. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 143–144. ISBN 978-0-19-826163-6.
  6. ^ “Book of Enoch, 1882”. Book of Enoch. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  7. ^ Caquot, André (1975). “Léviathan et Béhemoth dans la troisième parabole d’Hénoch”. Semitica (in French). 25: 111–122.