Wikipedia's first sentence called it “described as creatures with the head of a crocodile and the feet and tail like that of a lion”. Today it says “mythical creatures mentioned in the apocryphal second book of enoch”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2025
Chalkydri ( Ancient Greek : χαλκύδραι khalkýdrai , compound of χαλκός khalkós "brass, copper" + ὕδρα hýdra " hydra ", "water-serpent" — lit. "brazen hydras", "copper serpents") are mythical creatures mentioned in the apocryphal Second Book of Enoch from the 1st century CE, often seen as an angelic species. In the narrative, chalkydri dwell near the Sun and ran its course around the Earth with it bringing heat and dew to the Earth. The chalkydri and phoenixes are described as creatures 900 measures in size with the head of a crocodile and the feet and tail like that of a lion, each having twelve wings, and are empurpled like the color of the rainbow. Both the chalkydri and phoenixes are referred to as "flying elements of the Sun" in the Second Book of Enoch. At sunrise, all the chalkydri break into song with their counterparts, alerting the birds of the world for a new day to rejoice. The name has been interpreted as a translation of Nehushtan , the bronze serpent constructed by Moses to protect the Israelites from attacks by fiery flying serpents , and destroyed by King Hezekiah as idolatrous, from Hebrew into Greek. Similarities to the story of the chalkydri and phoenixes mentioned in the Second Book of Enoch can be found in the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch , which mentions a story of Baruch seeing a large bird flying around the Sun said to guard the Earth who an angel identifies as a phoenix. (1983) 2 (Old Bulgarian Apocalypse of) Enoch, a new Translation and Introduction in ed. Entry: The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, chapter XII . Legends of the Jews . The Creation of the World: The Sixth Day . Enoch and Metatron Collection .
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1283935901.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Legendary creatures from the Jewish apocrypha Chalkydri ( khalkýdrai , compound of χαλκός khalkós "brass, copper" + ὕδρα hýdra " hydra ", "water-serpent" — lit. "brazen hydras", "copper serpents") are mythical creatures mentioned in the apocryphal Second Book of Enoch from the 1st century CE, often seen as an angelic species. In the allegory, chalkydri dwell near the Sun alongside other flying elements referred to as phoenixes . Their appearance is mesmerizing, as they arise as creatures with the colors of the rainbow bearing the head of a crocodile and the feet and tail like that of a lion, each having twelve wings. At the rising of the Sun, all the chalkydri break into song with their counterparts, alerting the birds of the world for a new day to rejoice. (1967) A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels . (1983) 2 (Old Bulgarian Apocalypse of) Enoch, a new Translation and Introduction in ed. (1926) The Forgotten Books of Eden . Entry: The Book of the Secrets of Enoch chapter XII. (1909) Legends of the Jews .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 943249079.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Legendary creatures from the Jewish apocrypha Chalkydri ( khalkýdrai , compound of χαλκός khalkós "brass, copper" + ὕδρα hýdra " hydra ", "water-serpent" — lit. "brazen hydras", "copper serpents") are mythical creatures mentioned in the apocryphal Second Book of Enoch from the 1st century CE, often seen as an angelic species. In the narrative, chalkydri dwell near the Sun and ran its course around the Earth with it bringing heat and dew to the Earth.The chalkydri and phoenixes are described as creatures with the head of a crocodile and the feet and tail like that of a lion, each having twelve wings, and are the color purple like the rainbow.The phoenixes in Greek myth are not the same mentioned here. At sunrise, all the chalkydri break into song with their counterparts, alerting the birds of the world for a new day to rejoice. The name has been interpreted as a translation of Nehushtan , the bronze serpent constructed by Moses to protect the Israelites from attacks by fiery flying serpents , and destroyed by King Hezekiah as idolatrous, from Hebrew into Greek. (1967) A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels . (1983) 2 (Old Bulgarian Apocalypse of) Enoch, a new Translation and Introduction in ed. (1926) The Forgotten Books of Eden . Entry: The Book of the Secrets of Enoch chapter XII. (1909) Legends of the Jews . Enoch and Metatron Collection .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1176584935.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “described as creatures with the head of a crocodile and the feet and tail like that of a lion”. Today it says “mythical creatures mentioned in the apocryphal second book of enoch”. Read the current article and compare.
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since October 7, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
described as creatures with the head of a crocodile and the feet and tail like that of a lion
Now
mythical creatures mentioned in the apocryphal second book of enoch
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
