The Second Book of Enoch (abbreviated as 2 Enoch and also known as Slavonic Enoch, Slavic Enoch or Secrets of Enoch) is a
pseudepigraphic
Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pseu ...
text in the
apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the
patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
Enoch
Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="o ...
, ancestor of
Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
, through ten heavens of an
Earth-centered cosmos. The Slavonic edition and translation of 2 Enoch is of Christian origin in the 8th century but is based on an earlier work. 2 Enoch is distinct from the
Book of Enoch, known as 1 Enoch, and there is also an unrelated
3 Enoch, although none of the three books are considered canonical scripture by the majority of Jewish or Christian bodies. The numbering of these texts has been applied by scholars to distinguish each from the others.
The
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount (lexicographer), Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in ...
of 2 Enoch corresponds closely with beliefs of the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
about the
metaphysical
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
structure of the
universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...
. It may have been influential in shaping them. The text was lost for several centuries, then recovered and published at the end of the nineteenth century. The full text is extant only in
Church Slavonic
Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...
, but
Coptic
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet ...
fragments have been known since 2009. The Church Slavonic version itself represents a translation from an earlier
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
version.
[F.I. Andersen ''2 (Old Bulgarian Apocalypse of) Enoch, a new Translation and Introduction'' in ed. James Charlesworth ''The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol 1'' (1983), page 94]
Some scholars attribute 2 Enoch to an unidentified
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
sect, while others regard it as the work of first-century
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
.
Some consider it a later
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
work. It is not included in either the
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
or the
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
, except that it was heavily utilized by the
Bogomil
Bogomilism ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Pe ...
s.
Manuscript tradition
2 Enoch has survived in more than twenty
Old Bulgarian
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and other ...
manuscripts and fragments, dated from the 14th to 18th centuries AD. These Old Bulgarian materials did not circulate independently, but were included in collections that often rearranged, abbreviated, or expanded them. Typically, Jewish pseudepigraphical texts in Slavic milieux were transmitted as part of larger historiographical, moral, and liturgical codexes and compendiums, where ideologically marginal and mainstream materials were mixed with each other.
2 Enoch exists in longer and shorter
recension Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author. The term is derived from Latin ''recensio'' ("review, analysis").
In textual criticism (as ...
s. The first editors
[Popov, ''Kniga Enocha'', Mosckow 1880, (based on m. P)][ M. I. Sokolov, ''Slavjanskaja kniga Enocha'', Moscow 1899 and 1910]Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
, Morfill ''The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, translated from Old Bulgarian'', Oxford 1896 (based on m. P and N) considered the longer version to be the original. Since 1921, Schmidt
[N. Schmidt ''The two recension of Old Bulgarian Enoch'', in ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', 41(1921) pp 307ss] and many authors
[Paolo Sacchi, William J. Short ''Jewish Apocalyptic and Its History'', , 1996] challenged this theory, and considered the shorter recension to be more ancient. Vaillant
[A. Vaillant ''Le livre des secrets d'Henoch, Texte slave et traduction francaise'', Paris 1952 (based on m. U)] showed in 1952 that the additional parts found only in the longer version use more recent terms. Other scholars
[A. De Santos Otero ''Libro de los secretos de Henoc (Henoc eslavo)'' in ed. A. Diez Macho ''Apocrifos del Antiguo Testamento'' IV, Madrid 1984 (based on m. R)] suggest that both of them preserve original material, and posit the existence of three or even four recensions.
Two different ways of numbering verses and chapters are used for 2 Enoch: the more widely accepted is Popov's
of 73 chapters, while De Santos Otero
proposed division into 24 chapters.
The best family of manuscripts are copies of the compilation of rearranged materials from Chapters 40–65 found in a 14th-century judicial codex titled ''The Just Balance'' (''Merilo Pravednoe''). The main manuscripts of the longer version are designated R, J, and P. The main manuscripts of the shorter version are designated U, B, V, and N. Several other manuscripts exist.
[A. Orlov, The Enoch-Metatron Tradition (Tuebingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2005) 148.]
There is one fragment of 2 Enoch in
Glagolitic
The Glagolitic script (, , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril, a monk from Thessalonica. He and his brother Saint Methodius were sent by the Byzan ...
in the
Croatian dialect. It dates to the 17th century.
Most scholars believe that the Old Bulgarian version was translated from one or more lost
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
versions, since the text attests to some traditions that make sense only in the Greek language. For example, a tradition found in 2 Enoch 30 that derives
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
’s name from the Greek designations of the
four corners of the world
Several cosmological and mythological systems portray four corners of the world or four quarters of the world corresponding approximately to the four points of the compass (or the two solstices and two equinoxes). At the center may lie a sacr ...
. Semitisms found in various parts of the text, such as the words ''Ophanim'' and ''Raqia Arabot'', point to the possibility of a Semitic original behind the Greek version.
In 2009, four fragments in
Coptic
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet ...
from Chapters 36–42 were identified. They follow the short recension and are related to Manuscript U.
Date
Dates ranging from the 1st century BCE to the 10th century CE have been proposed, with the late 1st century CE often preferred. The date of the text can be deduced solely on the basis of the internal evidence, since the book has survived only in the medieval manuscripts (even if a reference to 2 Enoch could be found in
Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, ...
's ''
On the First Principles
''On the First Principles'' (Greek: Περὶ Ἀρχῶν / ''Peri Archon''; Latin: ''De Principiis'') is a theological treatise by the Christian writer Origen. It was the first systematic exposition of Christian theology.
When Origen was aroun ...
'' i, 3:3). 2 Enoch's composition must be later than that of the Book of the Watchers in
1 Enoch, around the 3rd century BCE. The crucial arguments for the early dating of the text have very largely been linked to the themes of the
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...
and its ongoing practices and customs. Scholarly efforts have been, in this respect, mostly directed toward finding hints that the Sanctuary was still standing when the original text was composed. Scholars note that the text gives no indication that the
destruction of the Temple
The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of Jud ...
had already occurred at the time of the book's composition. Critical readers of
pseudepigraphic texts would have difficulty finding any explicit expression of feelings of sadness or mourning about the loss of the sanctuary.
Affirmations of the value of
animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of one or more animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spr ...
and Enoch's
halakhic
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
instructions, found in 2 Enoch 59, also appear to be fashioned not in the "preservationist",
mishnaic
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
-like style, but rather as if they reflected sacrificial practices that still existed when the author was writing his book. The author tries to legitimize the central place of worship, through reference to the place
Ahuzan, which is a cryptic name for a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
temple.
Scholars have also previously noted in the text some indications of the ongoing practice of
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to the central place of worship. These indications could be expected in a text written in the
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
n diaspora. In his instructions to the children, Enoch repeatedly encourages them to bring the gifts before the face of God for the remission of sins, a practice which appears to recall well-known sacrificial customs widespread in the
Second Temple period
The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the Second Temple existed. It started with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the First Jewis ...
. Further, the Old Bulgarian apocalypse also contains a direct command to visit the Temple three times a day, an inconsistency if the sanctuary had been already destroyed.
Content
The Second Book of Enoch, also known as ''The Book of the Secrets of Enoch,'' is most noted for its description of multiple heavens and accounts of battles between angels and devils. This account is thought to have been known by and to have influenced the apostle Paul who described his experience of being taken up to the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). Enoch describes the ten heavens this way:
# The first heaven is just above the firmament (Genesis 1:6-7) where the angels control atmospheric phenomena such as the storehouses of snow and rain and the waters above.
# In the second heaven, Enoch finds darkness: a prison where rebel angels are tortured.
# In the third heaven, he sees both paradise represented as the
Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
which is also guarded by angels (similar to ) and hell where bad men are tortured.
# The fourth heaven is the place of the movements of the Sun and of the Moon, which are described in detail. Around the sun he sees angelic creatures known as
phoenixes (which also reside in the sixth heaven) and
chalkydri
Chalkydri ( grc, χαλκύδραι ''khalkýdrai'', compound of ''khalkós'' "brass, copper" + ''hýdra'' " hydra", "water-serpent" — lit. "brazen hydras", "copper serpents") are mythical creatures mentioned in the apocryphal Second Book of E ...
. There is also on this level a heavenly choir comprising soldier angels whose singing is wonderful and marvelous.
# In the fifth heaven, Enoch finds some
Grigori Grigory, Grigori and Grigoriy are Russian masculine given names.
It may refer to watcher angels or more specifically to the egrḗgoroi or Watcher angels.
Grigory
* Grigory Baklanov (1923–2009), Russian novelist
* Grigory Barenblatt (1927201 ...
: soldiers of Satan that look like human beings but were giants. They were in a state of limbo, having not yet been condemned, and Enoch convinced them to repent.
# In the sixth heaven, he sees the angels in charge of governing the cosmos and people. These are the archangels who are above angels, measure all life in heaven and on earth, and the angels who are (appointed) over seasons and years, the angels who are over rivers and sea, and who are over the fruits of the earth, and the angels who are over every grass, giving food to all, to every living thing, and the angels who write all the souls of men, and all their deeds, and their lives before the Lord's face.
# In the seventh heaven, Enoch, now guided by Gabriel, is allowed to enter and sees the Lord on his throne face to face but only from a distance. This is where the legions of God's angels live in beautiful light.
# The eighth heaven is just below the upper firmament in which are stuck the constellations; here lives Muzaloth, changer of the seasons and mover of the constellations.
# The ninth heaven is the upper firmament in which are fixed the constellations and the changer of the seasons.
# The tenth and final heaven is where God's throne resides and God's face may be seen up close. Here he holds court.
The book can be divided into four sections:
* In the first section (chapters 1–22),
Enoch
Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="o ...
, at the age of 365, is taken by two angels through the
ten heavens
Ten, TEN or 10 may refer to:
* 10, an even natural number following 9 and preceding 11
* one of the years 10 BC, AD 10, 1910 and 2010
* October, the tenth month of the year
Places
* Mount Ten, in Vietnam
* Tongren Fenghuang Airport (IATA code ...
, one by one.
* In the second section (chapters 23–37), Enoch, now guided by
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር ...
, speaks with God in the tenth heaven face to face. Afterwards, he is anointed by
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
, and becomes similar in appearance to the angels. God creates orders (ranks/groups) of angels, but one angel among them backed by his order (group), tries to establish his own throne above God's throne. God thus throws him and his order down, so that they remain above the bottomless pit. (This story seems similar to that of the
War in Heaven
In the New Testament of the Christian Bible, the Book of Revelation describes a future war in heaven between angels led by the Archangel Michael against those led by "the dragon", identified as the devil or Satan, who will be defeated and throw ...
between God and Satan.) The group of angels, identified as the angels of Satanail, later seduce (tempt) Eve in the garden of eden. The Lord asks the angel Vereviel to dictate to Enoch 360 books containing all that is knowable. Later, the Lord himself tells Enoch the secrets, unknown even to the angels, of the Creation until the
Flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
. Enoch is then sent back to Earth for thirty days.
* The third section (chapters 38–68) is a list of doctrinal and ethical instructions given by Enoch to his sons. The main moral principle is to have love for all living beings (similar to the ethics found in the
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is a constituent of the apocryphal scriptures connected with the Bible. It is believed to be a pseudepigraphical work of the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is part of the Oskan Armenian Ort ...
). Particularly noticeable is a lack of interest in the sin of
fornication
Fornication is generally consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. When one or more of the partners having consensual sexual intercourse is married to another person, it is called adultery. Nonetheless, John ...
, and not once is the Law of
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
referred to. Enoch teaches the uselessness of intercessions. At the end of the thirty days, Enoch is taken into heaven forever.
* The last section (sometimes referred to as the
Exaltation of Melchizedek) outlines the priestly succession of Enoch. Enoch's son,
Methuselah
Methuselah () ( he, מְתוּשֶׁלַח ''Məṯūšélaḥ'', in pausa ''Məṯūšālaḥ'', "His death shall send" or "Man of the javelin" or "Death of Sword";
gr, Μαθουσάλας ''Mathousalas'') was a biblical patriarch and a ...
, is asked by the people to act as an interim priest. The priesthood of Nir, grandson of
Methuselah
Methuselah () ( he, מְתוּשֶׁלַח ''Məṯūšélaḥ'', in pausa ''Məṯūšālaḥ'', "His death shall send" or "Man of the javelin" or "Death of Sword";
gr, Μαθουσάλας ''Mathousalas'') was a biblical patriarch and a ...
, is also temporary. Then the miraculous birth of Melchizedek and his priesthood are narrated (see
Melchizedek#Hellenistic Judaism for a short summary). In manuscript B and in the long versions, this section ends with a short narrative of the
Deluge
A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood.
The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the Biblical book of Genesis.
Deluge may also refer to:
History
*Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Comm ...
.
Exaltation of Melchizedek
Chapters 69-73 of 2 Enoch (sometimes referred as the ''Exaltation of Melchizedek'' or 2EM) outline the priestly succession of Enoch. There is not unanimous consensus whether this section belongs to the main body of the text or it is an early addition. Considering the not-fragmentary main manuscripts, 2EM is not included in P V N, it is included partially in J, while it is fully included in R U B, which anyway represent the best traditions of all versions. So we have both shorter and a longer versions of 2EM. Some early authors, as Charles,
have not included this section mainly because they based their edition on manuscripts P and N. The lack of this section in recent manuscripts is explained by others
because of the scandalous content (the virgin birth of
Melchisedek
In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...
) for Christian copyists. According to Vaillant, who edited the first critical edition of 2 Enoch,
there is no evidence that 2EM ever existed separately. Modern editions usually include also these chapters.
The recent discoveries of
Melchisedek 11Q13 text at
Qumran
Qumran ( he, קומראן; ar, خربة قمران ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli ...
and of a related
text at Nag Hammadi, have made possible to have an idea about the Melchisedek controversy, involving also 2EM and the
Letter to the Hebrews
The Epistle to the Hebrews ( grc, Πρὸς Ἑβραίους, Pros Hebraious, to the Hebrews) is one of the books of the New Testament.
The text does not mention the name of its author, but was traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle. Most ...
, that developed in non-mainstream
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
communities and in early
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
communities from the 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE against the traditional Jewish identification of
Melchisedek
In the Bible, Melchizedek (, hbo, , malkī-ṣeḏeq, "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteousness"), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as "most high God"). He is f ...
with
Shem
Shem (; he, שֵׁם ''Šēm''; ar, سَام, Sām) ''Sḗm''; Ge'ez: ሴም, ''Sēm'' was one of the sons of Noah in the book of Genesis and in the book of Chronicles, and the Quran.
The children of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, L ...
.
[A. Orlov Journal for the Study of Judaism 31 (2000) 23-38]
A growing number of scholars recognize the antiquity of 2 Enoch, including also 2EM, and support a pre-70 CE dating for its original composition.
[C.A. Giescher ''The different functions of a similar Melchizedek Tradition in 2 Enoch and the Epistle to the Hebrews'' in ed. Craig A. Evans, James A. Sanders ''Early Christian Interpretation of the Scriptures of Israel: Investigations and Proposals'' (1997) p.366] Sacchi
suggests that 2EM is actually an addition to the main body of the text (the style is slightly different), but a very early addition by someone of the same sect that wrote 2 Enoch (it uses the same language and same typical names as
Ahuzan for Temple), dating 2EM after the 70 CE but before or about the Letter to the Hebrews. The differences between 2EM with the Letter to the Hebrews (in the Letter to the Hebrews, Melchisedek is primarily a heavenly figure, while 2EM depicts him as an earthly one) don't allow to prove the dependence of 2EM from Hebrews.
Theology
The theological universe of 2 Enoch is deeply rooted in the Enochic mold of the
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
Apocalyptic literature
Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post- Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. '' Apocalypse'' ( grc, , }) is a Greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unf ...
of the
Second Temple period
The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the Second Temple existed. It started with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the First Jewis ...
. Yet along with appropriations of ancient traditions about the seventh antediluvian hero, the text attempts to reshape them by adding a new mystical dimension to the familiar apocalyptic imagery. The figure of Enoch portrayed in the various sections of 2 Enoch appears more elaborate than in the early Second Temple Enochic treatise of
1 Enoch. The anointing of Enoch, after he saw face to face the Lord, makes him be similar in appearance to a glorious angel and that allows him to sit above other angels on the left of the Lord.
According to Orlov,
in this attempt, one may find the origins of another image of Enoch, very different from the early Enochic literature, that was developed much later in rabbinic
Merkabah
Merkabah ( he, מֶרְכָּבָה ''merkāvā'', "chariot") or Merkavah mysticism (lit. Chariot mysticism) is a school of early Jewish mysticism, c. 100 BCE – 1000 CE, centered on visions such as those found in the Book of Ezekiel chapter ...
and
Hekhalot
The Hekhalot literature (sometimes transliterated Heichalot) from the Hebrew word for "Palaces", relating to visions of ascents into heavenly palaces. The genre overlaps with ''Merkabah'' or "Chariot" literature, concerning Ezekiel's chariot, so t ...
mysticism: the image of the supreme angel
Metatron
Metatron ( ''Meṭāṭrōn'', ''Məṭaṭrōn'', ''Mēṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭaṭrōn'', ''Meṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭṭaṭrōn'') or Mattatron ( ''Maṭṭaṭrōn'') is an angel in Judaism mentioned three times in the Talmud in a few br ...
, "the Prince of the Presence", found in the later
3 Enoch. The titles of the patriarch found in the Old Bulgarian apocalypse appear to be different from those attested in early Enochic writings and demonstrate a close resemblance to the titles of Metatron as they appear in some Hekhalot sources. These developments demonstrate that 2 Enoch represents a bridge between the early apocalyptic Enochic accounts and the later mystical rabbinic and Hekhalot traditions.
Usage
The
Bogomils
Bogomilism ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar P ...
often used and read the Slavonic book of Enoch.
Some have even theorized that the book was made by the Bogomils, but this theory is now rejected.
See also
*
Book of Giants
The ''Book of Giants'' is an apocryphal Jewish book which expands upon the Genesis narrative of the Hebrew Bible, in a similar manner to the Book of Enoch. Together with this latter work, the ''Book of Giants'' "stands as an attempt to explain h ...
*
1 Enoch
*
3 Enoch
Note
References
Further reading
* ''The Secrets of Enoch'' can be found in
The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden
''The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden'' (1926) is a collection of 17th-century and 18th-century English translations of some Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and New Testament apocrypha, some of which were assembled in the 1820s ...
External links
Online English translations
The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, edited by R. H. Charles (no preview)* William Morfill (1896).
2Enoch' or ''The Book of the Secrets of Enoch.'
Edited by R. H. Charles with the "Melkizedekian Fragment" as an appendix
About 2 Enoch
Jewish Encyclopedia: Enoch, Books of (Ethiopic and Slavonic)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enoch 2
1st-century books
2
Old Testament pseudepigrapha
Apocalyptic literature
Old Church Slavonic literature
Works of unknown authorship
Jewish apocrypha