Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch;[a] Hebrew: סֵפֶר חֲנוֹךְ, Sēfer Ḥănōḵ; Ge'ez: መጽሐፈ ሄኖክ, Maṣḥafa Hēnok) is an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to the patriarch Enoch who was the father of Methuselah and the great-grandfather of Noah.[1][2] The Book of Enoch contains unique material on the origins of demons and Nephilim, why some angels fell from heaven, an explanation of why the Genesis flood was morally necessary, and a prophetic exposition of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah. Three books are traditionally attributed to Enoch, including the distinct works 2 Enoch and 3 Enoch.
For other writings attributed to Enoch, see Book of Enoch (disambiguation).
None of the three books are considered to be canonical scripture by the majority of Jewish or Christian church bodies.
The older sections of 1 Enoch (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) are estimated to date from about 300–200 BC, and the latest part (Book of Parables) is probably to 100 BC.[3]
Modern scholars believe that Enoch was originally written in either Aramaic or Hebrew, the languages first used for Jewish texts; Ephraim Isaac suggests that the Book of Enoch, like the Book of Daniel, was composed partially in Aramaic and partially in Hebrew.[4]: 6 No Hebrew version is known to have survived.
The individuals residing in the Qumran Caves, where the Dead Sea Scrolls and the book were unearthed, were not aligned with the mainstream Jewish sect of the time known as the Pharisees. Instead, they were affiliated with one of several splinter groups called the Essenes, who adhered to distinctive practices. Hence, the Book of Enoch, alongside numerous other texts discovered in the caves, is recognized for its substantial variance from Rabbinic Judaism.[5]
Authors of the New Testament were also familiar with some content of the story.[6] A short section of 1 Enoch (1:9) is cited in the New Testament Epistle of Jude, Jude 1:14–15, and is attributed there to "Enoch the Seventh from Adam" (1 Enoch 60:8), although this section of 1 Enoch is a midrash on Deuteronomy 33:2. Several copies of the earlier sections of 1 Enoch were preserved among the Dead Sea Scrolls.[2] Today, The Book of Enoch only survives in its entirety in Ge'ez (Ethiopic) translation.
It is part of the biblical canon used by the Ethiopian Jewish community Beta Israel, as well as the Christian Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Other Jewish and Christian groups generally regard it as non-canonical or non-inspired, but may accept it as having some historical or theological interest.
Manuscript tradition[edit]
Ethiopic[edit]
The most extensive surviving early manuscripts of the Book of Enoch exist in the Ge'ez language. Robert Henry Charles's critical edition of 1906 subdivides the Ethiopic manuscripts into two families:
Family α: thought to be more ancient and more similar to the earlier Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek versions:
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
Ephraim Isaac, the editor and translator of 1 Enoch in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, writes that "1 Enoch is clearly composite representing numerous periods and writers". And that the dating of the various sections spans from early pre-Maccabean (i.e. c. 200 BCE) to CE 160.[52] George W. E. Nickelsburg writes that "1 Enoch is a collection of Jewish apocalyptic traditions that date from the last three centuries before the common era".[53]
Second Temple period[edit]
Paleographic analysis of the Enochic fragments found in the Qumran caves dates the oldest fragments of the Book of the Watchers to 200–150 BCE.[42] Since this work shows evidence of multiple stages of composition, it is probable that this work was already extant in the 3rd century BCE.[54] The same can be said about the Astronomical Book.[1]
Because of these findings, it was no longer possible to claim that the core of the Book of Enoch was composed in the wake of the Maccabean Revolt as a reaction to Hellenization.[55]: 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. David Jackson speaks even of an "Enochic Judaism" from which the writers of Qumran scrolls were descended.[56] Margaret Barker argues, "Enoch is the writing of a very conservative group whose roots go right back to the time of the First Temple".[57] The main peculiar aspects of this Enochic Judaism include:
Names of the fallen angels[edit]
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 68. Another example is that Araqiel ('Earth of God') becomes Aretstikapha ('world of distortion') in Chapter 68.
Azaz, as in Azazel, means strength, so the name Azazel can refer to 'strength of God'. (This is also a key point in modern thought that Azazel was Lucifer’s chief leaders of the revolt against God [1][2]
Also important in this identification is the fact that the original name Rameel, is very similar in meaning to the word Lucifer ('Morning Star') which is a common Latin name of Satan in Christianity.
Nathaniel Schmidt states "the names of the angels apparently refer to their condition and functions before the fall," and lists the likely meanings of the angels' names in the Book of Enoch, noting that "the great majority of them are Aramaic."[104]
The name suffix -el comes from the Hebrew text and the Lord’s name Emmanuel, (see list of names referring to El), and is used in the names of high-ranking angels. The archangels' names all include -el, such as Uriel ('flame of God') and Michael ('who is like God').[105]
Gadreel (Hebrew: גדר האל, romanized: Gader ha-el, lit. 'Wall of God') is listed as one of the chiefs of the fallen Watchers. He is said to have been responsible for deceiving Eve.[106][107] Schmidt lists the name as meaning 'the helper of God.'[104]
Enoch and contemporary theology[edit]
Enochic studies have traditionally been historical, focusing on the meanings of the text for its ancient audiences. 1 Enoch counts as Old Testament scripture in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and has played a significant role in its theology, especially via the andemta tradition of interpretation.[108] In 2015 a group of scholars from Ethiopia and other countries held meetings in Ethiopia and the UK to explore the significance of Enoch for contemporary theology. The initial outcome was a collection of essays published in 2017 on various theological topics, including justice, political theology, the environment, the identity of the Son of Man, suffering and evil.[109]
