The Books of Enoch and the Traditions of Enoch

Abstract

The figure of Enoch and the books associated with him are among the most fascinating products of Judaism during the period of the Second Temple. Revealer of heavenly secrets, regulator of the calendar, inventor of books and learning, Enoch is a multi-faceted and rich figure. The study of the literature of Enoch has been greatly enhanced in recent years by the publications of J. T. Milik. To him were entrusted the fragmentary manuscripts of the books of Enoch discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and he has published the results of his studies of them in two important articles and most recently in The Books of Enoch (Oxford 1976). 1 The first publication of the Ethiopic version of the Book of Enoch by the Englishman Richard Laurence in 1821, was followed by a series of discoveries of fragments of the text in various Greek versions and in Syriac. 2 Up to the discovery of Cave 4 at Qumran, no fragments of the original were known. The publication of the Ethiopic version of this work in the last century was a major factor in arousing interest in the Jewish background against which Christianity arose. In its length, diversity and richness it is unparalleled among the Jewish apocalypses and it forms a cyclopaedia of Jewish religious thought and speculation in a very crucial period. The timeliness of Milik's publication is enhanced by the concern with the Jewish apocalypses which has come to the fore again in recent years.3