Jonah Rank
November 13, 2006
His1010x Ancient Jewish History
Instructor- Loren Spielman
The Ethiopic Book of Enoch
Remaining an almost universally extracanonical work (excepting in the Ethiopic church), the document variously referred to as I Enoch (or I En.) or the Ethiopic Book of Enoch offers the contemporary historian of early Jewish history an excellent insight into many different aspects of Judaism during the Second Temple period.
The book, in its pseudopygriphal style is attributed to (and, without a doubt, not truly written by) Enoch, the son of Jared, as mentioned in an obscure curious phrase in the fifth chapter of Genesis in which, without much explanation, the author of this section of Genesis informs the reader that Enoch was in some way “walking with God” (which, in an older mindstyle based on eschatological centrism, had been often interpreted as meaning that Enoch had a special relationship with the Divine and even never died but had rather ascended to Heaven [somewhat akin to the anachronistically formed story of Elijah the Prophet ascending to Heaven in a chariot of fire and never having been able to die]). The heavy messianic yearning and eschatological imagery in I Enoch is an inundating factor in the flow of this work: from a quote in which God refer’s to God’s own Son, and the seemingly pedestrian nature of the existence of the relationships that exist between Enoch and the angels and God. Furthermore, the text here seems to stray ideologically from most past mainstream forms of Israelite religion as, while Genesis did embrace breeding, much of I Enoch consists of shunning vices and sins that had previously not been seen necessarily as vices (cf. I En. 8:2, et al).
It is difficult to date I Enoch precisely; however, it is known that I Enoch, because of its references to various matters accomplished in the reign of Herod the Great, was written after the beginning of Herod the Great’s reign. The surmising of various historians has led many ancient Jewish historians to agree that this work was created circa the 2nd or 1st Century BCE.
Furthermore, the book at hand is claimed to have been written originally in Hebrew, according to Rabbi Joseph Halevi. Yet, none of the manuscripts found of the Enoch documents has been able to verify successfully with any certainty that Enoch I was originally written in Hebrew. The earliest transcriptions of I Enoch appear in Ethiopic (most fully), in Greek (noticeably fragmentarily), and – as found in the Qumran caves – in Aramaic. (Charles, an academic hoping to compromise the notion of its Hebrew origins and the Aramaic tendencies of the text interestingly has juggled the two and decided that the Aramaic is infused with Hebrew terminologies so that the Hebrew and the Aramaic are indecipherable one from another.
The text begins with an introduction where Enoch mentions briefly apocalyptically of the “Day of Judgment” and the happy fates of the “elect”. Enoch is then granted an explanation of all of the secrets of the natural scientific universe origins of the book are not so clear. In the second of a common series of dividing up the Ethiopic Book of Enoch into five sections, Enoch begins to prophecize about the “last day.” The third and intermediate section is a bit of a break and actually presumably the entirety of another extracanonical work, The Book of the Courses of the Heavenly Luminaries (discussing them in terms of the windows of space and the various new mathematically improved calendar for accuracy in which 364 days occur a year [rather than presumably the 354 lunar year often followed by contemporary Jews]). In the fourth section, a history beginning with the Children of Israel and ending with the Hasmonean dynasty’s beginning is recalled. In the fifth section and final section, Enoch reviews a history of Israel again from the theophany at Mount Sinai, and the writer’s voice disappears temporarily to insert another extracanonical work, The Book of Noa, and then Enoch leaves the reader with instructions for how to live better lives.
The Book of Enoch, despite its theological deviations from previous historical Israelite rite practices, it seems that certain eschatological and apocalyptic notions that seem innovative within this work, are matters that sometimes do consent and conform with later Rabbinic standards as recorded in the Talmud.
SOURCES CITED:
“Enoch, Ethiopic Book of.” Encyclopaedia Judaica: CD-ROM Edition. CD-ROM. Jerusalem: Keter, 1997.
Pratt, John P. Book of Enoch. 1883. Richard Laurence. November 13, 2006 http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/enoch.html.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Emily Watkins
November 20, 2006
Ancient Jewish History
Assignment #3: Josephus, Jewish War II:118-167
In this section of Josephus’s writings, he describes the three sects of Jewish philosophy; the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes. He spends almost the entire time discussing the strict yet fascinating beliefs and practices of the Essenes. According to Josephus, the Essenes are very humble people. They reject physical pleasures, dislike riches, wealth, and fragrant oils. They always dress in simple white cloth and only change their clothes and shoes if it is absolutely necessary (i.e. If they are worn to shreads).
The Essenes have a strict structure to their community. Elected officers are selected by the community and represent their interests. Within the community there appears to be a type of socialist system in place. Josephus says that there is no buying or selling between members of the group, for each member gives to his brother what he needs without having to receive something back in return. The Essenes had a “scrupulously careful” judicial system in which an individual could not be sentenced in a court of less than one hundred members. They did, however, have a practice of expelling members who committed serious offenses. Because those who were expelled faced starvation outside of the community, they were often let back in once they had suffered enough for their sins.
Their society has a strict hierarchy. If a senior member so much as touches a junior member of their community, the senior member must bathe to purify himself. Those who aspire to become members must go through a long process to prove their dedication. After proving themselves for one year, new members are granted partial acceptance into the society, being allowed to share in the purer holy water. However it is not until they have spent 3 years with the Essenes that they are allowed to attend communal meetings.
Josephus describes the Essenes strict practices of prayer. They pray early in the morning and before and after meals. The words of their prayers have been handed down through the generations. The Essenes are also very concerned with purity. Josephus describes the various times which they purify themselves and their wives using no oils, but simply cold water.
The Essenes preserved what Josephus calls “the books of the sect and the names of the angles”. This probably refers to some collection of the various books of the Bible, but could have also included Essian literature or possibly a version of oral law. Whatever it was, it is clear that it was very treasured by the Essenes. Josephus says that they honored the seventh day more than any other Jews, preparing all food the day before and never lighting a fire.
Josephus writes that the Essenes believed the soul to be immortal and to be judged by God after death. If the individual acted righteously during their life they will be rewarded after death and their soul is passed to another body. The wicked, however, suffer eternal punishment. It is interesting to note that this belief is similar to the Christian belief in heaven and hell. Josephus suggests that the purpose of this belief is to encourage good and discourage wickedness. This suggestion shows that perhaps Josephus either does not believe that it is true, or believes that the Essenes it up to help their society run better, but is not something that is an accepted fact about what happens after death.
At the end of this section, Josephus spends a mere half a page on the Sadducees and Pharisees. This suggests that the Essenes were far less mainstream and, at least to Josephus, far more interesting. Indeed Josephus’s attitude towards the Essenes is one of great awe.
Simone Gore
11/20/06
Ancient
Professor Spielman
An Examination of the Bar Kochba Letters
The Bar Kochba letters are interesting historical documents. They provide a glimpse into the elusive messianic leader Shimeon bar Kochba. They also supply an interesting lens to study the Jewish ritual in the second century CE. The letters were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek- all three languages of the Jews at that time (Revolts of the Jews against Rome 301). What is interesting how these few short messages bring Bar Kochba to life.
Bar Kochba was an extremely harsh leader. In his letters he orders his troops to confiscate wheat as well as to not help people from Tekoa (BKL9.51, 301). He threatens Yehonathan and Masabala (who seem to be his subordinate field officers) with a “punishment” if they fail to conscript more soldiers (BKL 9.52, 301). He also employs guilt involving a reprimand to Yehonathan and Masabala that while they are safe and comfortable in their camp (perhaps in one of the rightfully famous caves?), their comrades in arms are suffering (BKL 9.55, 302)
Bar Kochba is extremely terse in his discourse. He does not parse words for greetings. Although in his defense, he was conducting a revolt against the most powerful army in the world. Nevertheless, he uses the word “peace” twice and the term “be well” twice too, as his sole salutations. I find the lack of niceties interesting, because one would expect someone who would be deemed to be the messiah to be charismatic. He certainly seems to view himself as nobility. Within his correspondence, he refers to himself as “prince over Israel” (presumably the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew nasi),v which indicates that he recognizes himself as nobility, although he does not refer to himself as “king over Israel (BKL 9.51, 301).” Since, he does not spend time to write salutations, it makes me wonder, how he achieved his success as a leader if he did not exercise charisma. If in truth he was not a charismatic individual, perhaps he was a brigand?
Another fascinating aspect about Bar Kochba is his concern with the fulfillment of Jewish rituals. He wrote a letter to Yehudah bar Menashe instructing Yehuda to send men to harvest etrogim, lulavim, aravot, and hadasot for the festival of Sukkot. Bar Kochba expresses concern that there needs to be sufficient ritual objects for the army, as well as for the tithe (BKL 9.53 301-302). Perhaps, this concern indicates a lack of participation within the Jewish religion, especially outward religious behavior, since the Destruction of the Second Temple. Another question that is raised is what is the reason for Bar Kochba concern with ritual? Is he a pious Jew? Or is he using religion as a means to recruit the religious leaders to his cause. His concern about tithing seems to indicate that he wants to enlist the help of the priests for his cause. At this point in time, it is likely that the priests were not in power, since the outward signs of Judaism had been destroyed in 70 CE. This letter does not lead to any decisive conclusions--it just raises questions.
Bar Kochba was a terse and harsh leader, who may have also been a pious Jew. However, while we learn from the letters about Bar Kochba’s use of threats and concern over the celebration of Sukkot-it is hard to discern much more than that. We are left with only our hypotheses, and as such, we can only speculate. However, this does not detract from the historical value of the letters. They represent an important archeological find and one day we may discover more documents to elucidate the mysterious figure of Shimeon bar Kochba.
Works Cited
“Bar Kochba Letters.” Revolts of the Jews against the Roman Empire. 301-302.
Post a Comment