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Book of Enoch
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The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic work ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah and son of Jared .
While this book today is non-canonical in most Christian Churches, it was explicitly quoted in the New Testament (Letter of Jude 1:14-15) and by many of the early Church Fathers. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church to this day regards it to be canonical.
It is wholly extant only in the Ge'ez language, with Aramaic fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls and a few Greek and Latin fragments.
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The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch) is a pseudepigraphic work ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah and son of Jared .
While this book today is non-canonical in most Christian Churches, it was explicitly quoted in the New Testament (Letter of Jude 1:14-15) and by many of the early Church Fathers. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church to this day regards it to be canonical.
It is wholly extant only in the Ge'ez language, with Aramaic fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls and a few Greek and Latin fragments. There is no consensus among Western scholars about the original language: some propose Aramaic, others Hebrew, while the probable thesis according to E. Isaac is that 1 Enoch, as Daniel, was composed partially in Aramaic and partially in Hebrew. Ethiopian scholars hold that Ge'ez is the language of the original from which the Greek and Aramaic copies were made, pointing out that it is the only language in which the complete text has been found.
According to Western scholars its older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) date from about 300 BC and the latest part (Book of Parables) probably was composed at the end of 1st century BC; It is argued that all the writers of the New Testament were familiar with it and were influenced by it in thought and diction.
Content
The Book of Enoch describes the fall of the Watchers, the angels who fathered the Nephilim. The fallen angels went to Enoch to intercede on their behalf with God after he declared to them their doom. The remainder of the book describes Enoch's visit to Heaven in the form of a vision, and his revelations.
The book consists of five quite distinct major sections (see each section for details):
- The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1 – 36)
- The Book of Parables of Enoch (1 Enoch 37 – 71) (Also called the Similitudes of Enoch)
- The Astronomical Book (1 Enoch 72 – 82) (Also called the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries or Book of Luminaries. )
- The Book of Dream Visions (1 Enoch 83 – 90) (Also called the Book of Dreams)
- The Epistle of Enoch (1 Enoch 91 – 108)
The shared view is that these five sections were originally independent works (with different dates of composition), themselves a product of much editorial arrangement, and were only later redacted into what we now call 1 Enoch. This view is now opposed only by a few authors who maintain the literary integrity of the Book of Enoch, one of the most recent (1990) being the Ethiopian Wossenie Yifru.
Józef Milik has suggested that the Book of Giants found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls should be part of the collection, appearing after the Book of Watchers in place of the Book of Parables, but for various reasons Milik's theory has not been widely accepted.
Canonicity
The book is referred to, and quoted, in :
- "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these [men], saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
Compare this with Enoch 1:9, translated from the Ethiopic:
- "And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones To execute judgement upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh Of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
An other probable Biblical reference can be found in I Peter 3:19,20 to En. 21:6. 1 Enoch is considered as Scripture in the Epistle of Barnabas (16:4) and by many of the early Church Fathers as Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus and Tertullian who wrote c. 200 that the Book of Enoch had been rejected by the Jews because it contained prophecies pertaining to Christ.
However, some later Fathers denied the canonicity of the book and some even considered the letter of Jude uncanonical because it refers to an "apocryphal" work. By the fourth century it was mostly excluded from Christian lists of the Biblical canon, and it was omitted from the canon by most of the Christian church (the Ethiopian Orthodox Church being an exception).
The traditional view of the Ethiopic Orthodox Church, which reckons 1 Enoch as an inspired document, is that the Ethiopic text is the original one, written by Enoch himself. In their view the following opening sentence of Enoch is the first and oldest sentence written in any human language, since Enoch was the first to write letters:
- ""
- ""
- ""
- "Word of blessing of Henok, wherewith he blessed the chosen and righteous who would be alive in the day of tribulation for the removal of all wrongdoers and backsliders."
Manuscript tradition
Ethiopic
The most extensive witnesses to the Book of Enoch exist in the Ge'ez language. R. H. Charles’ critical edition of 1906 subdivides the Ethiopic manuscripts into two families:
Family a: thought to be more ancient and more similar to the Greek versions:
- A - ms. orient. 485 of the British Museum, 16th century, with Jubilees
- B - ms. orient. 491 of the British Museum, 18th century, with other biblical writings
- C - ms. of Berlin orient. Petermann II Nachtrag 29, 16th century;
- D - ms. abbadiano 35, 17th century
- E - ms. abbadiano 55, 16th century
- F - ms. 9 of the Lago Lair, 15th century
Family ß: more recent, apparently edited texts
- G - ms. 23 of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, 18th century
- H - ms. orient. 531 of the Bodleian Library of Oxford, 18th century;
- I - ms. Brace 74 of the Bodleian Library of Oxford, 16th century
- J - ms. orient. 8822 of the British Museum, 18th century
- K - ms. property of E. Ullendorff of London, 18th century;
- L - ms. abbadiano 99, 19th century;
- M - ms. orient. 492 of the British Museum, 18th century
- N - ms. Ethiopian 30 of Monaco of Baviera, 18th century;
- O - ms. orient. 484 of the British Museum, 18th century;
- P - ms. Ethiopian 71 of the Vatican, 18th century;
- Q - ms. orient. 486 of the British Museum, 18th century, lacking chapters 1-60
Aramaic
Eleven Aramaic-language fragments of the Book of Enoch were found in cave 4 of Qumran in 1948, and are in the care of the Israel Antiquities Authority. They were translated for and discussed by Józef Milik and Matthew Black in The Books of Enoch. Another translation has been released by Vermes and Garcia-Martinez . Milik described the documents as being white or cream in color, blackened in areas, made of leather which was smooth, thick and stiff. It was also partly damaged with the ink blurred and faint.
- = 4QEnoch a ar, Enoch 2,1-5,6; 6,4-8,1; 8,3-9,3.6-8
- 4Q202 = 4QEnoch b ar, Enoch 5,9-6,4; 6,7-8,1; 8,2-9,4; 10,8-12; 14,4-6;
- 4Q204 = 4QEnoch c ar, Enoch 1,9-5,1; 6,7; 10,13-19; 12,3; 13,6-14,16; 30,1-32,1; 35,; 36,1-4; 106,13-107,2;
- 4Q205 = 4QEnoch d ar; Enoch 89,29-31; 89,43-44
- 4Q206 = 4QEnoch e ar; Enoch 22,3-7; 28,3-29,2; 31,2-32,3; 88,3; 89,1-6; 89,26-30; 89,31-37
- 4Q207 = 4QEnoch f ar
- 4Q208 = 4QEnastr a ar
- 4Q209 = 4QEnastr b ar; Enoch 79,3-5; 78,17; 79,2 and large fragments that do not correspond to any part of the Ethiopian text
- 4Q210 = 4QEnastr c ar; Enoch 76,3-10; 76,13-77,4; 78,6-8
- 4Q211 = 4QEnastr d ar; large fragments that do not correspond to any part of the Ethiopian text
- 4Q212 = 4QEn g ar; 91,10; 91,18-19; 92,1-2; 93,2-4; 93,9-10; 91,11-17; 93,11-93,1.
Also at Qumran (cave 1) have been discovered 3 tiny fragments in Hebrew (8,4-9,4; 106).
XII, Greek manuscript of the Book of Enoch, 4th century]]
Greek and Latin
The 8th century work Chronographia Universalis by the Byzantine historian George Syncellus preserved some passages of the Book of Enoch in Greek (6,1-9,4; 15,8-16,1). Other Greek fragments known are:
- Codex Panopolitanus (Cairo Papyrus 10759), named also Codex Gizeh or Akhmim fragements, consists of fragments of two 6th century papyri containing portions of chapters 1-32, recovered by a French archeological team at Akhmim in Egypt, and published five years later in 1892.
- Vatican Library code Gr. 1809, f. 216v (11th century): including 89,42-49
- Chester Beatty Papyri XII : including 97,6-107,3 (less chapter 105)
- Oxyrhynchus Papyri 2069: including only a few letters, that made the identification uncertain, from 77,7-78,1; 78,1-3; 78,8; 85,10-86,2; 87:1-3
It has been claimed that several small additional fragments in Greek have been found at Qumran (7QEnoch: 7Q4, 7Q8, 7Q10-13), dating about 100 BCE, ranging from 98:11? to 103:15 and written on papyrus with gridlines, but this identification is highly contested.
Of the Latin translation only 1,9 and 106,1-18 are known. The first passage occurs in Pseudo-Cyprian and Pseudo-Vigilius ; the second was discovered in 1893 by M. R. James in a 8th century manuscript in the British Museum and published in the same year.
History
Second Temple period
The 1976 publication by Milik of the results of the paleographical dating of the Enochic fragments found in Qumran made a breakthrough. According to this scholar, who studied for many years the originals scrolls, the oldest fragments of the Book of Watchers are dated 200-150 BC. Since the Book of Watchers shows evidence of multiple stages of composition, it is probable that this work was extant already in the third century BC. The same can be said about the Astronomical Book.
It was no longer possible to claim that the core of Book of Enoch was composed in the wake of the Maccabean Revolt as a reaction to Hellenization". Scholars thus had to look for the origins of the Qumranic sections of 1 Enoch in the previous historical period, and the comparison with traditional material of such a time showed that these sections do not draw exclusively on categories and ideas prominent in the Hebrew Bible. Some scholars speak even of an "Enochic Judaism" from which the writers of Qumran scrolls were descended. The more extreme view is the one of M. Barker who says: "Enoch is the writing of a very conservative group whose roots go right back to the time of the First Temple". The main peculiar aspects of the Enochic Judaism are the following:
- the idea of the origin of the evil caused by the
fallen angels, who came on the earth to unite with human women. These fallen angels are considered ultimately responsible for the spread of evil and impurity on the earth; the absence in 1 Enoch of formal parallels to the specific laws and commandment found in the Mosaic Torah and of references to issues like Shabbat observance or the rite of circumcision. The Sinaitic covenant and Torah are not of central importance in the Book of Enoch; the concept of "End of Days" as the time of final judgment that takes the place of promised earthly rewards; the rejection of the Second Temple's sacrifices considered impure: according to Enoch 89:73, the Jews, when returned from the exile, "reared up that tower (the temple) and they began again to place a table before the tower, but all the bread on it was polluted and not pure"; a solar calendar in opposition to the moon-based calendar used in the Second Temple (a very important aspect for the determination of the dates of religious feasts); an interest in the angelic world that involves lives after deaths.
Most Qumran fragments are relatively early, with none written from the last period of the Qumranic experience. Thus it is probable that Qumran community gradually lost interest in the Book of Enoch.
The relation between 1 Enoch and the Essenes was noted even before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. While there is consensus to consider the sections of the Book of Enoch found in Qumran as texts used by the Essenes, the same is not so clear for the Enochic texts not found in Qumran (mainly the Book of Parables): it was proposed to consider these parts as expression of the mainstream, but not-Qumranic, essenic movement. The main peculiar aspects of the not-Qumranic units of 1 Enoch are the following:
- a Messiah called "Son of Man", with divine attributes, generated before the creation, who will act directly in the final judgment and sit on a throne of glory;
- the sinners usually seen as the wealthy ones and the justs as the oppressed (a theme we find also in the Psalms of Solomon).
Early Influence
Classical Rabbinic literature is characterized by near silence concerning Enoch. It seems plausible that Rabbinic polemics against Enochic texts and traditions might have led to the loss of these books to Rabbinic Judaism.
The Book of Enoch plays an important role in the history of the Jewish mysticism: the great scholar Gershom Scholem wrote: "the main subjects of the later Merkabah mysticism already occupy a central position in the older esoteric literature, best represented by the Book of Enoch". Particular attention is paid to the detailed description of the throne of God included in chapter 14 of 1 Enoch.
For the quotation of the Book of Watchers in the Christian Letter of Jude see section: Canonicity.
There is little doubt that 1 Enoch was influential in molding New Testament doctrines about the Messiah, demonology, the resurrection, and eschatology. The Book of Enoch influenced also many Biblical apocrypha, as Jubilees, 2 Baruch, 2 Esdras, Apocalypse of Abraham and obviously 2 Enoch.
The Greek text was known to, and quoted by nearly all the Church Fathers: references can be found in Justin Martyr, Minucius Felix, Irenaeus, Origen, Cyprian, Hippolytus, Commodianus, Lactantius and Cassian, although these references come exclusively from the first five chapters of 1 Enoch. After Cassian (died 435 CE), and before the modern "rediscovery", some excerpts are given in the Byzantine Empire by the 8th century monk George Syncellus in his chronography and in the 9th century it is listed as an apocryphon of the New Testament by Patriarch Nicephorus.
Rediscovery
Outside of Ethiopia, the text of the Book of Enoch was considered lost until the beginning of the 17th century, when it was confidently asserted that the book was found in an Ethiopic (Ge'ez) language translation there, and Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc bought a book that was claimed to be identical to the one quoted by the Epistle of Jude and the Church Fathers. Hiob Ludolf, the great Ethiopic scholar of the 17th and 18th centuries, soon claimed it to be a forgery produced by Abba Bahaila Michael.
Better success was achieved by the famous Scottish traveller James Bruce, who in 1773 returned to Europe from six years in Abyssinia with three copies of a Ge'ez version. One is preserved in the Bodleian Library, another was presented to the royal library of France, while the third was kept by Bruce. The copies remained unused until the 1800s, Silvestre de Sacy, in "Notices sur le livre d'Enoch" included extracts of the books with Latin translations (Enoch chapters 1,2,5-16,22,32). From this a German translation was made by Rink in 1801.
The first English translation of the Bodleian/Ethiopic manuscript was published in 1821 by Richard Laurence, titled The Book of Enoch, the prophet: an apocryphal production, supposed to have been lost for ages; but discovered at the close of the last century in Abyssinia; now first translated from an Ethiopic manuscript in the Bodleian Library. Oxford, 1821. Revised editions appeared in 1833, 1838, and 1842.
Laurence in 1838 also released the first Ethiopic text of 1 Enoch to be published in the West, under the title: Libri Enoch Prophetae Versio Aethiopica. The text, divided into 105 chapters, was soon considered unreliable as it was the transcription of a single Ethipic manuscript.
In 1833 Professor Andreas Gottlieb Hoffmann of the University of Jena released a German translation, based on Laurence's work, called Das Buch Henoch in vollständiger Uebersetzung, mit fortlauzendem Kommentar, ausführlicher Einleitung und erläuternden Excursen. Two other translations came out around the same time one in 1836 called Enoch Retitutus, or an Attempt (Rev Edward Murray) and in 1840 Prophetae veteres Pseudepigraphi, partim ex Abyssinico vel Hebraico sermonibus Latine bersi (A. F. Gfrörer). However both are considered to be poor - the 1836 translation most of all and is discussed in Hoffmann.
The first critical edition, based on five manuscripts, appeared in 1851 as Liber Henoch, Aethiopice, ad quinque codicum fidem editus, cum variis lectionibus, by August Dillmann. It was followed in 1853 by a German translation of the book by the same author with commentary titled Das Buch Henoch, übersetzt und erklärt. It was considered the standard edition of 1 Enoch until the work of Charles.
The generation of Enoch scholarship from 1890 to the WW1 was dominated by Robert Henry Charles. His 1893 translation and commentary of the Ethiopic text already represented an important advancement as it was based on ten additional manuscripts. In 1906 R.H. Charles published a new critical edition of the Ethiopic text, using 23 Ethiopic manuscripts and all available sources at his time. The English translation of the reconstructed text appeared in 1912 and the same year in his collection of The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament.
The publication, in the early 1950s, of the first Aramaic fragments of 1 Enoch among the Dead Sea Scrolls profoundly changed the study of the document, as it provided evidence of its antiquity and original text. The official edition of all Enoch fragments appeared in 1976, by Jozef Milik.
In 1978 a new edition of the Ethiopic text was edited by Michael Knibb, with an English translation, while a new commentary appeared in 1985 by Matthew Black. The renewed interest in 1 Enoch spawned a number of other translations: in Hebrew (A. Kahana, 1956), Danish (Hammershaimb, 1956), Italian (Fusella, 1981), Spanish (1982), French (Caquot, 1984) and other modern languages.
In 2001 George W.E. Nickelsburg published the first volume of a comprehensive commentary on 1 Enoch in the Hermeneia series. Since the year 2000, the Enoch seminar has devoted several meetings to the Enoch literature and has become the center of a lively debate concerning the hypothesis that the Enoch literature attests the presence of an autonomous non-Mosaic tradition of dissent in Second Temple Judaism.
The Book of the Watchers
This first section of the Book of Enoch describes the fall of the Watchers, the angels who fathered the Nephilim (cf. the bene Elohim, ).
Dated: the works were composed in the fourth/third 3rd century BC according to Western scholars.
Content of the Book of the Watchers
I-V. Parable of Enoch on the Future Lot of the Wicked and the Righteous.
VI-XI. The Fall of the Angels: the Demoralization of Mankind: the Intercession of the Angels on behalf of Mankind. The Dooms pronounced by God on the Angels of the Messianic Kingdom.
XII-XVI. Dream-Vision of Enoch: his Intercession for Azazel and the fallen angels: and his Announcement of their first and final Doom.
XVII-XXXVI. Enoch's Journeys through the Earth and Sheol:
- XVII-XIX. The First Journey.
- XX. Names and Functions of the Seven Archangels.
- XXI. Preliminary and final Place of Punishment of the fallen Angels (stars).
- XXII. Sheol or the Underworld.
- XXIII. The fire that deals with the Luminaries of Heaven.
- XXIV-XXV. The Seven Mountains in the North-West and the Tree of Life.
- XXVI. Jerusalem and the Mountains, Ravines, and Streams.
- XXVII. The Purpose of the Accursed Valley.
- XXVIII-XXXIII. Further Journey to the East.
- XXXIV-XXXV. Enoch's Journey to the North.
- XXXVI. The Journey to the South.
Description of the Book of the Watchers
The introduction to the Book of Enoch tells us that Enoch is "a just man, whose eyes were opened by God so that he saw a vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the Sons of God showed to me, and from them I heard everything, and I knew what I saw, but [these things that I saw will] not [come to pass] for this generation, but for a generation that has yet to come."
It discusses God coming to Earth on Mount Sinai with His hosts to pass judgement on mankind. It also tells us about the luminaries rising and setting in the order and in their own time and never change.
- "
Observe and see how (in the winter) all the trees seem as though they had withered and shed all their leaves, except fourteen trees, which do not lose their foliage but retain the old foliage from two to three years till the new comes."
How all things are ordained by God and take place in his own time. The sinners shall perish and the great and the good shall live on in light, joy and peace.
- "
And all His works go on thus from year to year for ever, and all the tasks which they accomplish for Him, and their tasks change not, but according as God hath ordained so is it done."
The first section of the book depicts the interaction of the fallen angels with mankind; Sęmîazâz compels the other 199 fallen angels to take human wives to "beget us children".
- "
And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.'. Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it."
The names of the leaders are given as "Samyaza (Shemyazaz), their leader, Araqiel, Râmęęl, Kokabiel, Tamiel, Ramiel, Dânęl, Chazaqiel, Baraqiel, Asael, Armaros, Batariel, Ananiel, Zaqiel, Shamsiel, Satariel, Turiel, Yomiel, Sariel."
This results in the creation of the Nephilim (Genesis) or Anakim/Anak (Giants) as they are described in the book:
- "
And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood."
It also discusses the teaching of humans by the fallen angels chiefly Azâzęl:
- "
And Azâzęl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl, taught astrology, Kôkabęl the constellations, Ezęqęęl the knowledge of the clouds, Araqięl the signs of the earth, Shamsięl the signs of the sun, and Sarięl the course of the moon."
Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel appeal to God to judge the inhabitants of the world and the fallen angels. Uriel is then sent by God to tell Noah of the coming apocalypse and what he needs to do.
- "
Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spoke, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him: Go to Noah and tell him in my name "Hide thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. And now instruct him that he may escape and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world."
God commands Raphael to imprison Azâzęl:
- "
the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azâzęl hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dűdâęl (Gods Kettle/Crucible/Cauldron), and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azâzęl: to him ascribe all sin."
God gave Gabriel instructions concerning the Nephilim and the imprisonment of the fallen angels:
- "
And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the biters and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle"
Some suggest that 'biters' should read ' s' but the name is so unusual that some believe that the implication that's made by the reading of 'biters' is more or less correct.
The Lord commands Michael to bind the fallen angels.
- "
And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjâzâ and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. 12. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated. 13. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: (and) to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations."
Book of Parables
Dated: presumed by western scholars to be written during 1st century BC or very beginning of 1st century AD.
No fragments of chapters 37-71 (Book of Parables) were found at Qumran. This led J.T. Milik in 1976, in line with many scholars of the 19th century as Lucke (1832), Hofman (1852), Wiesse (1856) and Phillippe (1868), to believe that those chapters where written in later Christian times by a Jewish Christian to enhance Christian beliefs with Enoch's authoritative name.
However, J.H. Charlesworth summarized the current scholarly consensus, saying: "It became obvious that Milik had not proved his position, as Fitzmyer pointed out as soon as The Book of Enoch had been published. Repeatedly the specialists on I Enoch have come out in favor of the Jewish nature and its first century AD origin, and probable pre-70 date. The list of specialists on I Enoch arguing for this position has become overwhelmingly impressive: Isaac, Nickelsburg, Stone, Knibb, Anderson, Black, VanderKam, Greenfield and Sutter. The consensus communis is unparalleled in almost any other area of research; no specialists now argues that I Enoch 37-71 is a Christian and postdates the first century." .
The Book of Parables appears to be based on the Book of Watchers, but presents a later development of the idea of final judgement and eschatology, concerned not only with the destiny of the fallen angels but also of the evil kings of the earth. The Book of Parables uses the expression "Son of Man" for the eschatological protagonist, who is also called “Righteous One,” “Chosen One,” and “Messiah”, and narrates his pre-existence and his sitting on the throne of glory in the final judgment. See also Article Son of Man.
Content of the Book of Parables
XXXVIII-XLIV. The First Parable.
- VIII. The Coming Judgement of the Wicked.
- IX. The Abode of the Righteous and the Elect One: the Praises of the Blessed.
- XL-XLI. 2. The Four Archangels.
- XLI. 3-9. Astronomical Secrets.
- XLII. The Dwelling-places of Wisdom and of Unrighteousness.
- XLIII-XLIV. Astronomical Secrets.
XLV-LVII. The Second Parable.
- XLV. The Lot of the Apostates: the New Heaven and the New Earth.
- XLVI. The Head of Days and the Son of Man.
- XLVII. The Prayer of the Righteous for Vengeance and their Joy at its coming.
- XLVIII. The Fount of Righteousness: the Son of Man -the Stay of the Righteous: Judgement of the Kings and the Mighty.
- XLIX. The Power and Wisdom of the Elect One.
- L. The Glorification and Victory of the Righteous: the Repentance of the Gentiles.
- LI. The Resurrection of the Dead, and the Separation by the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.
- LII. The Six Metal Mountains and the Elect One.
- LIII-LIV. The Valley of Judgement: the Angels of Punishment: the Communities of the Elect One.
- LIV.7.-LV.2. Noachic Fragment on the first World Judgement.
- LV.3.-LVI.4. Final Judgement of Azazel, the Watchers and their children.
- LVI.5-8. Last Struggle of the Heathen Powers against Israel.
- LVII. The Return from the Dispersion.
LVIII-LXXI. The Third Parable.
- LVIII. The Blessedness of the Saints.
- LIX. The Lights and the Thunder.
- [
Book Of Noah fragments] LX. Quaking of the Heaven: Behemoth and Leviathan: the Elements. LXI. Angels go off to measure Paradise: the Judgement of the Righteous by the Elect One: the Praise of the Elect One and of God. LXII. Judgement of the Kings and the Mighty: Blessedness of the Righteous. LXIII. The unavailing Repentance of the Kings and the Mighty. LXIV. Vision of the Fallen Angels in the Place of Punishment. LXV. Enoch foretells to Noah the Deluge and his own Preservation. LXVI. The Angels of the Waters bidden to hold them in Check. LXVII. God's Promise to Noah: Places of Punishment of the Angels and of the Kings. LXVIII. Michael and Raphael astonished at the Severity of the Judgement. LXIX. The Names and Functions of the (fallen Angels and) Satans: the secret Oath. LXX. The Final Translation of Enoch. LXXI. Two earlier Visions of Enoch.
The Astronomical Book
Dated: written in the fourth/third century BC according to theory of western scholars.
This book contains descriptions of the movement of heavenly bodies and of the firmament (as a knowledge revealed to Enoch in his trips to Heaven), and describe a Solar calendar that was later described also in the Book of Jubilees and that was used by the Dead Sea sect. The use of this calendar made impossible to celebrate the feasts in the same days of the Temple of Jerusalem.
The year was of 364 days, divided in 4 equal seasons of 91 days each. Each season was composed of three equal months of 30 days plus an extra day at the end of the third month. The whole year was thus composed of exactly 52 weeks, and every calendar day occurred always on the same day of the week. Each year and each season started always on Wednesday (the fourth day of the creation narrated in Genesis, the day when the lights in the sky, the seasons, the days and the years were created). We don't know exactly how they used to reconcile this calendar with the astronomical year (of about 365.24 days). Probably they used to add a intercalary week every few years, in order to have the year always to start on Wednesday.
Content of the Astronomical Book
- LXXII. The Sun.
- LXXIII. The Moon and its Phases.
- LXXIV. The Lunar Year.
- LXXVI. The Twelve Winds and their Portals.
- LXXVII. The Four Quarters of the World: the Seven Mountains, the Seven Rivers, Seven Great Islands.
- LXXVIII. The Sun and Moon: the Waxing and Waning of the Moon.
- LXXIX-LXXX.1. Recapitulation of several of the Laws.
- LXXX.2-8. Perversion of Nature and the heavenly Bodies due to the Sin of Men.
- LXXXI. The Heavenly Tablets and the Mission of Enoch.
- LXXXII. Charge given to Enoch: the four Intercalary days: the Stars which lead the Seasons and the Months.
The Dream Visions
The Book of Dream Visions, containing a vision of a history of Israel all the way down to what the majority have interpreted as the Maccabean Revolt, can be clearly dated during Maccabean times (about 163-142 BC). It was written before Flood according to Ethiopian Christian Church.
Content of the Dream Visions
LXXXIII-LXXXIV. First Dream-Vision on the Deluge.
LXXXV-XC. Second Dream-Vision of Enoch: the History of the World to the Founding of the Messianic Kingdom.
- LXXXVI. The Fall of the Angels and the Demoralization of Mankind.
- LXXXVII. The Advent of the Seven Archangels.
- LXXXVIII. The Punishment of the Fallen Angels by the Archangels.
- LXXXIX.1-9. The Deluge and the Deliverance of Noah.
- LXXXIX.10-27. From the Death of Noah to the Exodus.
- LXXXIX.28-40. Israel in the Desert, the Giving of the Law, the Entrance into Canaan.
- LXXXIX.41-50. From the Time of the Judges to the Building of the Temple.
- LXXXIX.51-67. The Two Kingdoms of Israel and Judah to the Destruction of Jerusalem.
- LXXXIX.68-71. First Period of the Angelic Rulers -from the Destruction of Jerusalem to the Return from Captivity.
- LXXXIX.72-77. Second Period -from the Time of Cyrus to that of Alexander the Great.
- XC.1-5. Third Period -from Alexander the Great to the Graeco-Syrian Domination.
- XC.6-12. Fourth Period Graeco-Syrian Domination to the Maccabean Revolt (debated).
- XC.13-19. The last Assault of the Gentiles on the Jews (where vv. 13-15 and 16-18 are doublets).
- XC.20-27. Judgement of the Fallen Angels, the Shepherds, and the Apostates.
- XC.28-42. The New Jerusalem, the Conversion of the surviving Gentiles, the Resurrection of the Righteous, the Messiah. Enoch awakes and weeps.
Animals in the second Dream-Vision
The second Dream-Vision in this section of the Book of Enoch is an allegorical account of the history of Israel, that uses animals to represent human beings and human beings to represent angels.
One of several hypothetical reconstructions of the meanings in the dream is as follows based on the works of R. H. Charles and G. H. Schodde:
- White color for moral purity; Black color for sin and contamination of the fallen angels; Red the color for blood reference to his martydom
- White bull is Adam; Female heifer is Eve; Red calf is Abel; * Black calf is Cain; White calf is Seth;
- White bull / man is Noah; White bull is Shem; Red bull is Japheth; Black bull is Ham; Lord of the sheep is God; Fallen star is either Samyaza or Azazel; Elephants are Giants; Camels are Nephilim; Asses are Elioud;
- Sheep are the faithful; Rams are leaders; Herds are the tribes of Israel; Wild Asses are Ishmael, and his descendants including the Midianites; Wild Boars are Esau and his descendants, Edom and Amalek; Bears (Hyenas/Wolves in Ethiopic) are the Egyptians; Dogs are Philistines; Tigers are Arimathea; Hyenas are Assyrians; Ravens (Crows) are Seleucids (Syrians); Kites are Ptolemies; Eagles are possibly Macedonians; Foxes are Ammonites and Moabites;
Description of the Dream Visions
There are a great many links between the first book and this one, including the outline of the story and the imprisonment of the leaders and destruction of the Nephilim. The dream includes sections relating to the book of Watchers:
- "
And those seventy shepherds were judged and found guilty, and they were cast into that fiery abyss. And I saw at that time how a like abyss was opened in the midst of the earth, full of fire, and they brought those blinded sheep." - The fall of the evil ones"And all the oxen feared them and were affrighted at them, and began to bite with their teeth and to devour, and to gore with their horns. And they began, moreover, to devour those oxen; and behold all the children of the earth began to tremble and quake before them and to flee from them." - The creation of the Nephilim et al.
86:4, 87:3, 88:2, and 89:6 all describe the types of Nephilim that are created during the times described in The Book of Watchers, though this doesn't mean that the authors of both books are the same. Similar references exist in Jubilees 7:21-22.
The book describes their release from the Ark along with three bulls white, red and black which are Shem, Japheth, and Ham in 90:9. It also covers the death of Noah described as the white bull and the creation of many nations:
- "
And they began to bring forth beasts of the field and birds, so that there arose different genera: lions, tigers, wolves, dogs, hyenas, wild boars, foxes, squirrels, swine, falcons, vultures, kites, eagles, and ravens" 90:10
It then describes the story of Moses and Aaron (90:13-15) including the miracle of the river splitting in two for them to pass, and the creation of the stone commandments. Eventually arriving at a "pleasant and glorious land" (90:40) where attacked by dogs (Philistines), foxes (Ammonites, Moabites) and wild boars (Esau).
- "
And that sheep whose eyes were opened saw that ram, which was amongst the sheep, till it †forsook its glory† and began to butt those sheep, and trampled upon them, and behaved itself unseemly. 45. And the Lord of the sheep sent the lamb to another lamb and raised it to being a ram and leader of the sheep instead of that ram which had †forsaken its glory†." - David replacing Saul as leader of Israel
The creation of Solomon's temple it also describes the house which may be the tabernacle "And that house became great and broad, and it was built for those sheep: (and) a tower lofty and great was built on the house for the Lord of the sheep, and that house was low, but the tower was elevated and lofty, and the Lord of the sheep stood on that tower and they offered a full table before Him". This interpretation is accepted by Dillmann p 262, Vernes p 89, and Schodde p. 107. It also describes the escape of Elijah the prophet, In 1 Kings 17:2-24 he is fed by 'ravens' so if Kings uses a similar analogy he may have been fed by the Seleucids.
- "
saw the Lord of the sheep how He wrought much slaughter amongst them in their herds until those sheep invited that slaughter and betrayed His place."
This describes the various tribes of Israel 'inviting' in other nations 'betraying his place' i.e. the land promised to their ancestors by God.
This part of the book can be taken to be the kingdom splitting into the northern and southern tribes. That is Israel and Judah eventually leading to Israel falling to the Assyrians in 721 BC and Judah falling to the Babylonians a little over a century later 587 BC.
- "
And He gave them over into the hands of the lions and tigers, and wolves and hyenas, and into the hand of the foxes, and to all the wild beasts, and those wild beasts began to tear in pieces those sheep." - God abandons Israel for they have abandoned him.
There is also mention in fifty nine of seventy shepherds with their own seasons; there seems to be some debate on the meaning of this section some suggesting that it's a reference to the 70 appointed times in 25:11, 9:2, 1:12. Another interpretation is the seventy weeks in . However the general interpretation is that these are simply Angels. This section of the book and later near the end describes the appointment by God of the 70 angels to protect the Israelites from enduring too much harm from the 'beasts and birds'. The later section (110:14) describes how the 70 angels are judged for causing more harm to Israel than he desired finding them guilty and are "cast into an abyss, full of fire and flaming, and full of pillars of fire."
- "
And the lions and tigers eat and devoured the greater part of those sheep, and the wild boars eat along with them; and they burnt that tower and demolished that house." The sacking of Solomon's temple and the tabernacle in Jerusalem by the Babylonians as they take Judah in 587 BC/586 BC exiling the remaining Jews."And forthwith I saw how the shepherds pastured for twelve hours, and behold three of those sheep turned back and came and entered and began to build up all that had fallen down of that house;""Cyrus allowed Sheshbazzar, a prince from the tribe of Judah, to bring the Jews from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Jews were allowed to return with the Temple vessels that the Babylonians had taken. Construction of the Second Temple began." - History of ancient Israel and Judah the temple is finished being built in 515 BC.
The first part of this next section of the book seem to clearly describe the Maccabean revolt of 167 BC against the Seleucids.
The following two quotes have been altered from their original form to make the meanings of the animal names clear.
- "
And I saw in the vision how the (Seleucids) flew upon those (faithful) and took one of those lambs, and dashed the sheep in pieces and devoured them. And I saw till horns grew upon those lambs, and the (Seleucids) cast down their horns; and I saw till there sprouted a great horn of one of those (faithful), and their eyes were opened. And it looked at them and their eyes opened, and it cried to the sheep, and the rams saw it and all ran to it. And notwithstanding all this those (Macedonians) and vultures and (Seleucids) and (Ptolemies) still kept tearing the sheep and swooping down upon them and devouring them: still the sheep remained silent, but the rams lamented and cried out. And those (Seleucids) fought and battled with it and sought to lay low its horn, but they had no power over it." 109:8-12"All the (Macedonians) and vultures and (Seleucids) and (Ptolemies) were gathered together, and there came with them all the sheep of the field, yea, they all came together, and helped each other to break that horn of the ram." 110:16
According to this theory, the first sentence is most likely the death of High Priest Onias III who is murdered which is described in (dies aprox 171 BC). The 'great horn' clearly isn't Mattathias the initiator of the rebellion as he dies a natural death as described in . It's also not Alexander the Great as the great horn is described as a warrior who has fought the Macedonians, Seleucids and Ptolemies. Judas Maccabeus (167 BC-160 BC) has fought all three of these, with a large number of winning battles against the Seleucids over a large period of time "they had no power over it". He is also described as "one great horn among six others on the head of a lamb" possibly pertaining to his five brothers and Mattathias. If you take this in context of the history from Maccabeus time Dillman Chrest Aethiop says verse 13 can find its explanation in 1 Maccabees iii 7; vi. 52; v.; 2 Maccabees vi. 8 sqq., 13, 14; 1 Maccabees vii 41, 42 and 2 Maccabees x v, 8 sqq. The evidence does seem to suggest that this is in fact the life and times of Judas Maccabeus. He is eventually killed by the Seleucids at the Battle of Elasa where he faced "twenty thousand foot soldiers and two thousand cavalry". At one time it was believed this passage possibly belonged to John Hyrcanus; the only reason for this was the time between Alexander the Great and John Maccabeus was too short. However it has been asserted that evidence shows this section does indeed discuss Maccabeus.
It then describes:
- "
And I saw till a great sword was given to the sheep, and the sheep proceeded against all the beasts of the field to slay them, and all the beasts and the birds of the heaven fled before their face."
This might be simply the "power of God", God was with them to avenge the death. It may also be perhaps Jonathan Apphus taking over command of the rebels to battle on after Judas death. Other possible appearances are John Hyrcanus (Hyrcanus I) (Hasmonean dynasty) "And all that had been destroyed and dispersed, and all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the heaven, assembled in that house, and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced with great joy because they were all good and had returned to His house." Possibly describing John's reign a time of great peace and prosperity. Certain scholars also claim Alexander Jannaeus of Judaea is alluded to in this book.
The end of the book describes the new Jerusalem, culminating in the birth of a Messiah:
- "
And I saw that a white bull was born, with large horns and all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air feared him and made petition to him all the time. 38. And I saw till all their generations were transformed, and they all became white bulls; and the first among them became a lamb, and that lamb became a great animal and had great black horns on its head; and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced over it and over all the oxen."
Still another interpretation, which has just as much as credibility, is that the last chapters of this section simply refer to infamous battle of Armageddon, where all of the nations of the world march against Israel; this interpretation is supported by the War Scroll, which describes what this epic battle may be like, according to the group(s) that existed at Qumran.
The Epistle of Enoch
Dated: some scholars propose a date somewhere between the 170 BC and the 1st century BC.
This section can be studied as formed by five sub-sections, mixed by the final redactor:
Apocalypse of Weeks (93:1-10 91:11-17): this sub-section, dated usually the first half of 2nd century BC, narrates the history of the world using a ten periods (said "weeks") scheme, of which seven regard the past and three the future events (the final judgment). The climax is in the seventh part of the tenth week where new heaven shall appear and there will be many weeks without number for ever, and all shall be in goodness and righteousness. Exhortation (91:1-10 91:18-19) this short list of exhortations to follow the righteousness said by Enoch to his son Methuselah looks like to be a bridge to next sub-section. Epistle (92:1-5 93:11-105:2): the first part of the epistle sketches the wisdom of the Lord, final reward of the justs and the punishment of the evils, and the two separated paths of righteousness and unrighteousness. Then we have six oracles against the sinners, the witness of the whole creation against them and the assurance of the fate after death. According Boccaccini the epistle is composed by two layers: a "proto-epistle", with a theology near the deterministic viewpoint of the Qumran group, and a slightly later part (94:4-104:6) that points out the personal responsibility of the single, describing often the sinners as the wealthy ones and the justs as the oppressed (a theme we find also in the Book of Parables). Birth of Noah (106-107): this part appears in Qumran fragments separated from the previous text by a blank line, thus looking like an appendix. It narrates of the deluge and of Noah who is born already with the appearance of an angel. Probably this text derives, as other small portions of 1 Enoch, from an originally separated book (see Book of Noah), but was arranged by the redactor as direct speech of Enoch himself. Conclusion (108): this second appendix was not found in Qumram and is considered to be work of the final redactor. It highlights the "generation of light" in opposition to the sinners destined to the darkness.
Content of the Epistle of Enoch
XCII, XCI.1-10, 18-19. Enoch's Book of Admonition for his Children.
- XCI.1-10, 18-19. Enoch's Admonition to his Children.
- XCIII, XCI.12-17. The Apocalypse of Weeks.
- XCI.12-17. The Last Three Weeks.
- XCIV.1-5. Admonitions to the Righteous.
- XCIV.6-11. Woes for the Sinners.
- XCV. Enoch's Grief: fresh Woes against the Sinners.
- XCVI. Grounds of Hopefulness for the Righteous: Woes for the Wicked.
- XCVII. The Evils in Store for Sinners and the Possessors of Unrighteous Wealth.
- XCVIII. Self-indulgence of Sinners: Sin originated by Man: all Sin recorded in Heaven: Woes for the Sinners.
- XCIX. Woes pronounced on the Godless, the Lawbreakers: evil Plight of Sinners in The Last Days: further Woes.
- C. The Sinners destroy each other: Judgement of the Fallen Angels: the Safety of the Righteous: further Woes for the Sinners.
- CI. Exhortation to the fear of God: all Nature fears Him but not the Sinners.
- CII. Terrors of the Day of Judgement: the adverse Fortunes of the Righteous on the Earth.
- CIII. Different Destinies of the Righteous and the Sinners: fresh Objections of the Sinners.
- CIV. Assurances given to the Righteous: Admonitions to Sinners and the Falsifiers of the Words of Uprightness.
- CV. God and the Messiah to dwell with Man.
- CVI-CVII. (first appendix) Birth of Noah.
- CVIII. (second appendix) Conclusion.
Names of the Fallen angels
Some of the fallen angels that are given in 1 Enoch have other names such as Rameel ('morning of God'), who becomes Azazel and is also called Gadriel ('wall of God') in Chapter 69. Another example is that Araqiel ('Earth of God') becomes Aretstikapha ('world of distortion') in Chapter 69.
"Azaz" as in Azazel means strength, so the name Azazel can refer to strength of God. But the sense in which it is used most-probably means impudent (showing strength towards) which comes out as arrogant to God. This is also a key point to his being Satan in modern thought.
The suffix of the names 'el' means 'God' (List of names referring to El) which is used in the names of high ranking angels. The Archangels all include this such as Uriel (Flame of God) or Michael "who is like God?".
Another is given as Gadrel, who is said to have tempted Eve.
Footnotes
See also
External links
Text:
Introductions and others:
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