1 Enoch
Introduction
1 Enoch, also known as the Ethiopic Book of Enoch, is attributed to the seventh descendent of Adam and Eve: Enoch. Enoch is mentioned in Genesis 5:21-24 in which he was spiritually relocated by God. This account gave rise to the story of Enoch seeing the mysteries of the universe, the secrets of the world, and the predetermined course of human history. It can be argued that 1 Enoch is the most important text in the corpus of Jewish literature from the Hellenistic and Roman periods due to its size, contents, historical contexts, and continual influence. The language of the original composition of 1 Enoch was Aramaic, but the collection as a whole was only preserved in an Ethiopic translation of a Greek translation. …show more content…
It is obvious through the resurgence of interest in the contents of the Ethiopian version of 1 Enoch that modern theological scholars of Christianity should be looking into the canonization of this text. Clement of Rome, as part of his moral instruction, cited the example of the obedience of the inanimate creation. The Passage he cites is in close parallel to 1 Enoch 2-5 and 101. This would reflect either knowledge of 1 Enoch from a personal experience, or a Jewish instructional tradition that was inspired by 1 Enoch. Either way, this proves the function of 1 Enoch in the early church as much more than just reading material. Irenaeus provides the example of the bishop of Hierapolis, Papias. Papias attributed to Jesus of Nazareth a saying about the fecundity of the earth that was originally derived from 1 Enoch 10:19. Irenaeus himself also makes several references to the sin of angels that is described in Enochic theology. Irenaeus also has a clear reference to Enochic tradition in his Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching. In this work he refers to the “illicit unions” and many details of the lists of teaching in 1
Introduction
1 Enoch, also known as the Ethiopic Book of Enoch, is attributed to the seventh descendent of Adam and Eve: Enoch. Enoch is mentioned in Genesis 5:21-24 in which he was spiritually relocated by God. This account gave rise to the story of Enoch seeing the mysteries of the universe, the secrets of the world, and the predetermined course of human history. It can be argued that 1 Enoch is the most important text in the corpus of Jewish literature from the Hellenistic and Roman periods due to its size, contents, historical contexts, and continual influence. The language of the original composition of 1 Enoch was Aramaic, but the collection as a whole was only preserved in an Ethiopic translation of a Greek translation. …show more content…
It is obvious through the resurgence of interest in the contents of the Ethiopian version of 1 Enoch that modern theological scholars of Christianity should be looking into the canonization of this text. Clement of Rome, as part of his moral instruction, cited the example of the obedience of the inanimate creation. The Passage he cites is in close parallel to 1 Enoch 2-5 and 101. This would reflect either knowledge of 1 Enoch from a personal experience, or a Jewish instructional tradition that was inspired by 1 Enoch. Either way, this proves the function of 1 Enoch in the early church as much more than just reading material. Irenaeus provides the example of the bishop of Hierapolis, Papias. Papias attributed to Jesus of Nazareth a saying about the fecundity of the earth that was originally derived from 1 Enoch 10:19. Irenaeus himself also makes several references to the sin of angels that is described in Enochic theology. Irenaeus also has a clear reference to Enochic tradition in his Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching. In this work he refers to the “illicit unions” and many details of the lists of teaching in 1