Book of Enoch

The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch[1]) is an ancient Jewish religious work, ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not currently regarded as part of the Canon of Scripture as used by Jews, apart from the Beta Israel canon; nor by any Christian group, apart from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church canon.

Western scholars currently assert that 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 the 1st century BC.[2] However, Ethiopian scholars generally 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 yet been found[3].

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[4]:6.

A short section of 1 Enoch (1En1:9) is quoted in the New Testament (Letter of Jude 1:14-15), and there apparently attributed to "Enoch the Seventh from Adam" (1En60:8). It is argued that all the writers of the New Testament were familiar with it and were influenced by it in thought and diction.[5]

Contents

Content

The first part of Book of Enoch describes the fall of the Watchers, the angels who fathered the Nephilim. The remainder of the book describes Enoch's visits to Heaven in the form of travels, visions and dreams, and his revelations.

The book consists of five quite distinct major sections (see each section for details):

The shared view[6] 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[3]. 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

Canonicity in Judaism

Although evidently widely known at the time of the Development of the Jewish Bible canon, 1Enoch was excluded from both the formal canon of the Tanakh and the typical canon of the Septuagint and therefore also the writings known today as the Apocrypha.[7][8] One possible reason for Jewish rejection of the book might be the textual nature of several early sections of the book which make use of material from the Torah, for example 1En1 is a midrash of Deuteronomy 33.[9][10]. The content, particularly detailed description of fallen angels, would also be a reason for rejection from the Hebrew canon at this period - as illustrated by the comments of Trypho the Jew when debating with Justin Martyr on this subject. Trypho: "The utterances of God are holy, but your expositions are mere contrivances, as is plain from what has been explained by you; nay, even blasphemies, for you assert that angels sinned and revolted from God." (Dialogue 79) [11]

Canonicity in Christianity

The book is referred to, and quoted, in Jude 14-15:

"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 (found also in Qumran scroll 4Q204=4QEnochc ar, col I 16-18[12]

"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."

Compare this also with what may be the original source of 1En1:9 in Deuteronomy 33:2 [13][14][15]

"The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand."

Under the heading of canonicity it is not enough to merely demonstrate that something is quoted (or Paul's quotation of "All Cretans are liars" Titus 1:12 would grant canonicity to the works of Epimenides). It is also necessary to demonstrate the nature of the quotation.[16] In the case of the Jude 14 quotation of 1Enoch 1:9, it is undeniable that a quotation has been made. However, there remains a question as to whether the author of Jude attributed the quotation believing the source to be the historical Enoch before the flood, or a midrash of Deut.33:2-3.[17][18][19] The Greek text is also unusual in stating that "Enoch the Seventh from Adam" prophesied "to" (dative) not "concerning" (genitive) the men.[20]

Peter H. Davids points to Dead Sea scrolls evidence, but leaves it open whether Jude viewed 1 Enoch as canon, deuterocanon, or otherwise: "Did Jude, then, consider this scripture to be like Genesis or Isaiah? Certainly he did consider it authoritative, a true word from God. We cannot tell whether he ranked it alongside other prophetic books such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. What we do know is, first, that other Jewish groups, most notably those living in Qumran near the Dead Sea, also used and valued 1 Enoch, but we do not find it grouped with the scriptural scrolls."[21]

It may be significant that the attribution "Enoch the Seventh from Adam" is apparently itself a section heading taken from 1 Enoch (1En 60:8, Jude1:14a), and not from Genesis.[22]

Another 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)[23] and by many of the early Church Fathers as Athenagoras[24], Clement of Alexandria[25], Irenaeus[26] and Tertullian[27] who wrote c. 200 that the Book of Enoch had been rejected by the Jews because it contained prophecies pertaining to Christ.[28]

However, later Fathers denied the canonicity of the book and some even considered the letter of Jude uncanonical because it refers to an "apocryphal" work.[29] By the 4th 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:

"ቃለ፡ በረከት፡ ዘሄኖክ፡ ዘከመ፡ ባረከ፡ ኅሩያነ፡ ወጻድቃነ፡ እለ፡ ሀለው፡ ይኩኑ"
"በዕለተ፡ ምንዳቤ፡ ለአሰስሎ፡ ኲሉ፡ እኩያን፡ ወረሲዓን።"
"Qāla barakat za-Hēnōk zakama bārraka ḫirūyāna wa-ṣādḳāna 'ila halaw yikūnū baʿilata mindābē la'asaslō kʷilū 'ikūyān wa-rasīʿān"
"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. Robert Henry Charles’ critical edition of 1906 subdivides the Ethiopic manuscripts into two families:

Family α: thought to be more ancient and more similar to the Greek versions:

Family β: more recent, apparently edited texts

Additionally there are the manuscripts used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church for preparation of the deuterocanonicals from Ge'ez into the targumic Amharic in the bilingual Haile Selassie Amharic Bible (Mashaf qeddu bage'ezenna ba'amarenna yatasafa 4 vols. c.1935).[30]

Aramaic

Eleven Aramaic-language fragments of the Book of Enoch were found in cave 4 of Qumran in 1948,[31] 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[32]. Another translation has been released by Vermes and Garcia-Martinez [33]. 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.

Also at Qumran (cave 1) have been discovered 3 tiny fragments in Hebrew (8,4-9,4; 106).

Chester Beatty 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:

It has been claimed that several small additional fragments in Greek have been found at Qumran (7QEnoch: 7Q4, 7Q8, 7Q10-13), dating about 100 BC, ranging from 98:11? to 103:15[34] 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 [35]; 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[36].

History

Second Temple period

The 1976 publication by Milik[32] of the results of the paleographic dating of the Enochic fragments found in Qumran made a breakthrough. According to this scholar who studied the original scrolls for many years, 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 3rd century BC[37]. 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"[38]:93. 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[39]. Margaret Barker argues that "Enoch is the writing of a very conservative group whose roots go right back to the time of the First Temple"[40]. The main peculiar aspects of the Enochic Judaism are the following:

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[43].

The relation between 1 Enoch and the Essenes was noted even before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls[44]. 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[45] 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:

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.[46]

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"[47]. 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, the Son of Man, the messianic kingdom, demonology, the resurrection, and eschatology[4]:10. The limits of the influence of 1Enoch are discussed at length by RH Charles [48], E Isaac [4], GW Nickelsburg [49] in their respective translations and commentaries. It is possible that the earlier sections of 1Enoch had direct textual and content influence on many Biblical apocrypha, as Jubilees, 2 Baruch, 2 Esdras, Apocalypse of Abraham and 2 Enoch, though even in these cases, the connection is typically more branches of a common trunk than direct development.[50]

The Greek text was known to, and quoted, both positively and negatively, by many Church Fathers: references can be found in Justin Martyr, Minucius Felix, Irenaeus, Origen, Cyprian, Hippolytus, Commodianus, Lactantius and Cassian[51]:430, 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[52].

Rediscovery

Sir Walter Raleigh, in his History of the World (written in 1616 while imprisoned in the Tower of London), makes the curious assertion that part of the Book of Enoch "which contained the course of the stars, their names and motions" had been discovered in Saba in the 1st century and was thus available to Origen and Tertullian. He attributes this information to Origen's Hom. in Num. 1,[53] though no such statement is found anywhere in extant versions of Origen.

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[54].

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[55]. 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 19th century, Silvestre de Sacy, in "Notices sur le livre d'Enoch"[56] 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 Ethiopic manuscript[57].

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 fortlaufendem Kommentar, ausführlicher Einleitung und erläuternden Excursen. Two other translations came out around the same time one in 1836 called Enoch Restitutus, 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[58].

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[41]. 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, Genesis 6:1-2) and narrates the travels of Enoch in the heavens. This section is said to have been composed in the fourth or 3rd century BC according to Western scholars.[59]

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:

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; Sêmîazâz 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, Râmêêl, Kokabiel, Tamiel, Ramiel, Dânêl, Chazaqiel, Baraqiel, Asael, Armaros, Batariel, Bezaliel, 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[60]: 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 Azâzêl:

"And Azâzêl 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, Kôkabêl the constellations, Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun, and Sariêl 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 Azâzêl:

"the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azâzêl hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dûdâêl (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 Azâzêl: 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, including R.H. Charles, suggest that 'biters' should read 'bastards' 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 CE.[61]

No fragments of chapters 37-71 (Book of Parables) were found at Qumran. This led J.T. Milik in 1976[32], in line with many scholars of the 19th century as Lucke (1832), Hofman (1852), Wiesse (1856) and Phillippe (1868), to believe that those chapters were written in later Christian times by a Jewish Christian to enhance Christian beliefs with Enoch's authoritative name.

However, J.H. Charlesworth summarized[62] 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 CE 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 argue 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.

XLV-LVII. The Second Parable.

LVIII-LXXI. The Third Parable.

The Astronomical Book

Correspondence of weekly day in the Qumran year[63]
 Months 1,4,7,10   Months 2,5,8,11   Months 3,6,9,12 
Wed 1 8 15 22 29 6 13 20 27 4 11 18 25
Thurs 2 9 16 23 30 7 14 21 28 5 12 19 26
Fri 3 10 17 24 1 8 15 22 29 6 13 20 27
Sat 4 11 18 25 2 9 16 23 30 7 14 21 28
Sun 5 12 19 26 3 10 17 24 1 8 15 22 29
Mon 6 13 20 27 4 11 18 25 2 9 16 23 30
Tues 7 14 21 28 5 12 19 26 3 10 17 24 31

Four fragmentary editions of the Astronomical Book were found at Qumran, 4Q208-211.[64] 4Q208 and 4Q209 have been dated to the beginning of the 2nd century BC, providing a terminus ante quem for the Astronomical Book of the 3rd century BC[65], if not earlier. The fragments found in Qumran also include material not contained in the later versions of the Book of Enoch.[63][65][66]

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 guided by Uriel, and it describes a Solar calendar that was later described also in the Book of Jubilees which was used by the Dead Sea sect. The use of this calendar made it impossible to celebrate the festivals simultaneously with the Temple of Jerusalem.

The year was composed from 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, which was 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.[63]:94-95 It is not known how they used to reconcile this calendar with the tropical year of 365.24219 days (at least seven suggestions have been made), and it is not even sure if they felt the need to adjust it.[63]:125-140

Content of the Astronomical Book

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, is dated by most to Maccabean times (about 163-142 BC). It was written before the Flood according to the 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.

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:

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 Daniel 9:24. 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 seems, according to Western scholars, 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 hypothetical 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 1 Maccabees 3:33-35 (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 1 Maccabees 2:49. 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[67], mixed by the final redactor:

Content of the Epistle of Enoch

XCII, XCI.1-10, 18-19. Enoch's Book of Admonition for his Children.

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

  1. ↑ There are two other books named "Enoch": 2 Enoch, surviving only in Old Slavonic (Eng. trans. by R. H. Charles 1896) and 3 Enoch (surviving in Hebrew, c. 5th to 6th century CE).
  2. ↑ Fahlbusch E., Bromiley G.W. The Encyclopedia of Christianity: P-Sh pag 411, ISBN 0-8028-2416-1 (2004)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wossenie Yifru, 1990 Henok Metsiet, Vol. I, Ethiopian Research Council
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 E. Isaac 1 Enoch, a new Translation and Introduction in ed. James Charlesworth The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol 1 ISBN 0-385-09630-5 (1983)
  5. ↑ "Apocalyptic Literature" (column 220), Encyclopedia Biblica
  6. ↑ Vanderkam, JC. (2004). 1 Enoch: A New Translation. Minneapolis:Fortress. pp. 1ff (ie. preface summary). ; Nickelsburg, GW. (2004). 1 Enoch: A Commentary. Minneapolis:Fortress. pp. 7–8. 
  7. ↑ Emanuel Tov and Craig Evans, Exploring the Origins of the Bible: Canon Formation in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective, Acadia 2008
  8. ↑ Philip R. Davies, Scribes and Schools: The Canonization of the Hebrew Scriptures London: SPCK, 1998
  9. ↑ E Isaac, in Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, ed. Charlesworth, Doubleday, 1983
  10. ↑ "1 Enoch contains three [geographical] name midrashim [on] Mt. Hermon, Dan, and Abel Beit-Maacah" Esther and Hanan Eshel, George W.E. Nickelsburg in perspective: an ongoing dialogue of learning p459. Also in Esther and Hanan Eshel, Toponymic Midrash in 1 Enoch and in Other Second Temple Jewish Literature, Historical and Philological Studies on Judaism 2002 Vol24 pp. 115-130
  11. ↑ transl. P. Schaff Early Christian Fathers http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/01286.htm
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Clontz, T.E. and J., "The Comprehensive New Testament with complete textual variant mapping and references for the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, Nag Hammadi Library, Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha, Plato, Egyptian Book of the Dead, Talmud, Old Testament, Patristic Writings, Dhammapada, Tacitus, Epic of Gilgamesh", Cornerstone Publications, 2008, p.711, ISBN 978-0-9778737-1-5
  13. ↑ "1.9 In 'He comes with ten thousands of His holy ones the text reproduces the Massoretic of Deut.33,2 in reading ATAH = erchetai, whereas the three Targums, the Syriac and Vulgate read ATIH, = met'autou. Here the LXX diverges wholly. The reading ATAH is recognised as original. The writer of 1-5 therefore used the Hebrew text and presumably wrote in Hebrew." R.H.Charles, Book of Enoch: Together with a Reprint of the Greek Fragments London 1912, p.lviii
  14. ↑ "We may note especially that 1:1, 3-4, 9 allude unmistakably to Deuteronomy 33:1-2 (along with other passages in the Hebrew Bible), implying that the author, like some other Jewish writers, read Deuteronomy 33-34, the last words of Moses in the Torah, as prophecy of the future history of Israel, and 33:2 as referring to the eschatological theophany of God as judge." Richard Bauckham, The Jewish world around the New Testament: collected essays. 1999 p276
  15. ↑ "The introduction.. picks up various biblical passages and re-interprets them, applying them to Enoch. Two passages are central to it The first is Deuteronomy 33:1 .. the second is Numbers 24:3-4 Michael E. Stone Selected studies in pseudepigrapha and apocrypha with special reference to the Armenian Tradition (Studia in Veteris Testamenti Pseudepigrapha No 9) p.422.
  16. ↑ John Barton, The Old Testament: Canon, Literature and Theology Society for Old Testament Study 2007
  17. ↑ Nickelsburg, op.cit. see index re. Jude
  18. ↑ Bauckham, R. 2 Peter, Jude Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 50, 1983
  19. ↑ Jerome H. Neyrey 2 Peter, Jude, The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries 1994
  20. ↑ See Wallace D. Greek Grammar beyond the Basics. The unique use of the dative toutois in the Greek text (προεφήτευσεν δὲ καὶ τούτοις) is a departure from normal NT use where the prophet prophesies "to" the audience "concerning" (genitive peri auton) false teachers etc.
  21. ↑ Peter H. Davids, The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude, The Pillar New Testament commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2006). 76.
  22. ↑ Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch, Fortress, 2001
  23. ↑ "Apocalyptic Literature", Encyclopedia Biblica
  24. ↑ Athenagoras of Athens, in Embassy for the Christians 24
  25. ↑ Clement of Alexandria, in Eclogae prophetice II
  26. ↑ Ireneaus, in Adversus haereses IV,16,2
  27. ↑ Tertullian, in De cultu foeminarum I,3 and in De Idolatria XV
  28. ↑ The Ante-Nicene Fathers (ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson; vol 4.16: On the Apparel of Women (De cultu foeminarum) I.3: "Concerning the Genuineness of 'The Prophecy of Enoch'")
  29. ↑ Cf. Gerome, Catal. Script. Eccles. 4.
  30. ↑ Gabriele Boccaccini Enoch and the Messiah Son of Man: revisiting the Book of parables 2007 p367 "..Ethiopian scholars who produced the targumic Amharic version of 1 Enoch printed in the great bilingual Bible of Emperor Haile Selassi"
  31. ↑ The Online Critical Pseudepigrapha
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Josef T. Milik (with Matthew Black). The Books of Enoch, Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1976)
  33. ↑ Vermes 513-515; Garcia-Martinez 246-259
  34. ↑ P. Flint The Greek fragments of Enoch from Qumran cave 7 in ed.Boccaccini Enoch and Qumran Origins 2005 ISBN 0-8028-2878-7, pag 224-233
  35. ↑ see Beer, Kautzsch, Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen, l.c. p. 237
  36. ↑ M.R. James, Apocrypha Anecdota T&S 2.3 Cambridge 1893 pp. 146-150
  37. ↑ John Joseph Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature (1998) ISBN 0-8028-4371-9, pag. 44
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Gabriele Boccaccini, Roots of Rabbinic Judaism: An Intellectual History, from Ezekiel to Daniel, (2002) ISBN 0-8028-4361-1
  39. ↑ John W. Rogerson, Judith Lieu, The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies Oxford University Press: 2006 ISBN 0-19-925425-7, pag 106
  40. ↑ Margaret Barker, The Lost Prophet: The Book of Enoch and Its Influence on Christianity 1998 reprint 2005, ISBN 1-905048-18-1, pag 19
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 George W. E. Nickelsburg 1 Enoch: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Fortress: 2001 ISBN 0-8006-6074-9
  42. ↑ John J. Collins in ed. Boccaccini Enoch and Qumran Origins: New Light on a Forgotten Connection 2005 ISBN 0-8028-2878-7, pag 346
  43. ↑ James C. VanderKam, Peter Flint, Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls 2005 ISBN 0-567-08468-X, pag 196
  44. ↑ see the page "Essenes" in the 1906 JewishEncyclopedia
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 Gabriele Boccaccini Beyond the Essene Hypothesis (1998) ISBN 0-8028-4360-3
  46. ↑ Annette Yoshiko Reed, Fallen Angels and the History of Judaism and Christianity, 2005 ISBN 0-521-85378-8, pag 234
  47. ↑ Gershom Scholem Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1995) ISBN 0-8052-1042-3, pag 43
  48. ↑ RH Charles, 1 Enoch SPCK London 1916
  49. ↑ Nickelsburg 1 Enoch, Fortress, 2001
  50. ↑ see Nickelsburg, op.cit.
  51. ↑ P. Sacchi, Apocrifi dell'Antico Testamento 1, ISBN 978-88-02-07606-5
  52. ↑ Cf. Nicephorus (ed. Dindorf), I. 787
  53. ↑ Walter Raleigh, History of the World, p. 154.
  54. ↑ Ludolf, Commentarius in Hist. Aethip., p. 347
  55. ↑ Bruce, Travels, vol 2, page 422
  56. ↑ Silvestre de Sacy in Notices sur le livre d'Enoch in the Magazine Encyclopédique, an vi. tome I, p. 382
  57. ↑ see the judgement on Laurence by Dillmann, Das Buch Henoch, p lvii
  58. ↑ Hoffmann, Zweiter Excurs, pages 917-965
  59. ↑ The Origins of Enochic Judaism (ed. Gabriele Boccaccini; Turin: Zamorani, 2002)
  60. ↑ the Ethiopian text gives 300 cubits (135 m), which is probably a corruption of 30 cubits (13.5 m)
  61. ↑ Enoch and the Messiah Son of Man: Revisiting the Book of Parables (ed. Gabriele Boccaccini; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007); Sabino Chiala', Libro delle Parabole di Enoch (Brescia: Paideia, 19977)
  62. ↑ James H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament, ISBN 0-521-30190-4 (1985) page 89
  63. ↑ 63.0 63.1 63.2 63.3 Beckwith, Roger T. (1996). Calendar and chronology, Jewish and Christian. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9004105867. 
  64. ↑ Martinez, Florentino Garcia; Tigchelaar, Eibert J.C., eds (1997). The Dead Sea Scrolls: Study Edition. Brill/Eerdmans. pp. 430–443. ISBN 0802844936. 
  65. ↑ 65.0 65.1 Nickelsburg, George W. (2005). Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah, 2 ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p. 44. ISBN 0800637798. 
  66. ↑ Jackson, David R. (2004). Enochic Judaism: three defining paradigm exemplars. Continuum. p. 17. ISBN 9780567081650. 
  67. ↑ Loren T. Stuckenbruck, 1 Enoch 91-108 (2008) ISBN 3-11-019119-9

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