Introducing the Pseudepigrapha of Second Temple Judaism

Message, Context, and Significance

Daniel M. Gurtner

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781540965417
• eBook ISBN: 9781493427147
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

2020 Center for Biblical Studies Book Award (Reference Works)

This book introduces readers to a much-neglected and misunderstood assortment of Jewish writings from around the time of the New Testament. Dispelling mistaken notions of "falsely attributed writings" that are commonly inferred from the designation "pseudepigrapha," Daniel Gurtner demonstrates the rich indebtedness these works exhibit to the traditions and scriptures of Israel's past. In surveying many of the most important works, Introducing the Pseudepigrapha of Second Temple Judaism shows how the pseudepigrapha are best appreciated in their own varied contexts rather than as mere "background" to early Christianity or emerging rabbinic Judaism. Foreword by Loren T. Stuckenbruck.

SECTION

1

Apocalypses

The word “apocalypse” is derived from the Greek apokalypsis, meaning simply “revelation.” As a genre, however, it describes a type of literature dating from around 200 BCE to 200 CE1 that depicts the reception of some divine disclosure to a person—typically a famous figure from the Hebrew Bible—alongside its interpretation by a heavenly figure such as an angel.2 The manner in which one receives such disclosures is typically by a vision or dream directly conveyed by a heavenly being, or the visionary is taken on an otherworldly journey, often with an angelic guide.

Though apocalypses exhibit some variety, there are some points of commonality: an appeal to heavenly revelation, the importance of angelic mediators, and an expectation of a judgment of individuals after death. Typically apocalypses exhort readers/hearers to perceive the present life “in light of impending judgment and to adopt one’s values and lifestyle accordingly.”3 Or, more poignantly, an apocalypse is “intended to interpret present, earthly circumstances in light of the supernatural world and of the future, and to influence the understanding and behavior of the audience by means of divine authority.”4 Apocalypses are saturated with symbolic language and images of a wide variety, using these images as communicative devices for their messages. They use symbols as metaphors for the purpose of referring to concrete objects or events as well as abstract ideas, often expressed in specific, nonliteral language, typically using imagery drawn from a set of recognizable symbols that were often understood to represent things beyond themselves.

Apocalypses are found in portions of the Hebrew Bible, such as the book of Daniel (chaps. 7–12; cf. Ezek. 40–48; Isa. 24–27, 34–35, 56–66; Zech. 9–14). Apocalypses within the Pseudepigrapha include 1 Enoch, which is composed of a set of distinct apocalypses, including the Book of Watchers (chaps. 1–36), the Similitudes of Enoch (chaps. 37–71), the Astronomical Book (chaps. 72–82), the Dream Visions (chaps. 83–84), the Animal Apocalypse (chaps. 85–90), and the Epistle of Enoch (chaps. 91–108). Also discussed in the coming chapters are 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, Sibylline Oracles 3–5, 11, and the Apocalypse of Abraham.

1. J. Collins, Apocalyptic Imagination, 3–4.

2. John J. Collins has defined the term in his seminal work as follows: “‘Apocalypse’ is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world.” “Introduction,” 9.

3. J. Collins, “Apocalypse,” 344–45.

4. A. Collins, “Introduction,” 7.

1

1 Enoch

Introduction

First Enoch, also known as the Ethiopic Apocalypse of Enoch, is a collection of five originally independent writings dating from the fourth century BCE to the first century CE (see table 1.1). As a whole 1 Enoch represents the oldest of three works associated with the biblical Enoch, who was born in the seventh generation from Adam (Gen. 5:21–24). Aramaic fragments of all portions of 1 Enoch—except the Similitudes—discovered in Qumran Cave 4 confirm Aramaic as the original language.1 Today the work is extant in full only in Ethiopic, which was translated from Greek between the fourth and sixth centuries. The oldest of the about ninety surviving Ethiopic manuscripts are from the fifteenth century. The first component of 1 Enoch is the Book of Watchers (chaps. 1–36). It describes righteous Enoch’s reception of heavenly visions; the rebellion of angels, or Watchers; and the work of Azazel, the rebellion’s leader. Enoch ascends to the heavenly throne room and is commissioned as a prophet of judgment. Accompanied by an angelic entourage, he travels throughout the earth and receives visions of judgment. The second component of 1 Enoch is called the Similitudes of Enoch, or Book of Parables (chaps. 37–71). It, like the Book of Watchers, is a record of Enochic visions and angelic interpretations as the prophet travels through God’s throne room and the universe. Aside from Enoch, the main figure here is an eschatological judge, mostly called “Chosen One” but also “Son of Man” and other titles. The Astronomical Book, or Book of the Heavenly Luminaries (chaps. 72–82), describes the role and structure of heavenly and earthly bodies and addresses the importance of the solar calendar of 364 days. This is followed by the Book of Dreams (chaps. 83–90), which contains two visions: the first (chaps. 83–84) is a vision of the coming flood, followed by a prayer; the second (chaps. 85–90), also called the Animal Apocalypse, recounts an apocalyptic vision of human history, using animals to represent people and people to represent angels. The Epistle of Enoch (chaps. 91–108) is a compilation of several writings, only one of which is a letter (Epistle of Enoch [92:1–5; 93:11–105:2]). It is preceded by an Exhortation (91:1–10, 18–19) and followed by the Apocalypse of Weeks (93:1–10; 91:11–17), which gives a visionary account of human history from the time of Enoch to the end of days. The Birth of Noah (106:1–107:3) provides a fictitious account of that biblical figure and is followed by the Eschatological Admonition (108:1–15).

Table 1.1

Components of 1 Enoch

Book of Watchers (1 En. 1–36) Book of Parables (1 En. 37–71) Astronomical Book (1 En. 72–82) Book of Dreams (1 En. 83–90) • Dream Visions (1 En. 83–84) • Animal Apocalypse (1 En. 85–90) Epistle of Enoch (1 En. 91–108) • Exhortation (1 En. 91:1–10, 18–19) • Epistle of Enoch (1 En. 92:1–5; 93:11–105:2). • Apocalypse of Weeks (1 En. 93:1–10; 91:11–17) • Birth of Noah (1 En. 106:1–107:3) • Eschatological Admonition (1 En. 108:1–15)

The Book of Watchers (1 En. 1–36)

Introduction

The Book of Watchers (1 En. 1–36) is among the oldest writings that together make up 1 Enoch and may serve as an introduction to the whole work. On its own, the Book of Watchers is an expansion of the biblical account from Genesis 6. The vaguely referenced “sons of God” (בְנֵי־הָאְֶלֹהִם, bənê-hāʾĕlōhîm) who take human wives in the Hebrew Bible (Gen. 6:2) are given names in the Book of Watchers (e.g., Shemihazah; 1 En. 7:1–2). The enigmatic description of their activities in seemingly neutral tones in the Hebrew Bible (Gen. 6:2) gives way to explicit condemnation of the Watchers for their sin (e.g., 1 En. 6:1–10:16a). Where the ensuing narratives of Genesis depict God’s judgment against humans in the flood (Gen. 6:6–7), the Book of Watchers lays blame elsewhere. In the Shemihazah narrative (1 En. 7–8) the flood is in response to the violence against humans enacted by the children of the Watchers. The Azazel2 account (chaps. 10–13) includes this but adds human sin as part of the occasion as well. Despite its present form as a single unit, the Book of Watchers is a composite document often studied in its constituent parts (chaps. 1–5, 6–16, and 17–36). Yet there is some debate among scholars about whether the component parts in their current form can be adequately identified, as well as the profitability of examining these parts for their respective dates and provenances. First Enoch 1:1–12:6 is extant as a unified whole in the earliest fragment of the Book of Watchers (4QEna). Furthermore, the entirety of the Book of Watchers (chaps. 1–36) seems to be established as a whole by the time the book of Jubilees is written mid-second century BCE.3

Language and Manuscripts

The Book of Watchers is widely held to be composed originally in Aramaic and then rendered into Greek and then Ethiopic (Ge’ez). Like the remainder of 1 Enoch, the Book of Watchers is found complete only in the Ethiopic version but is attested in fragmentary form in other languages as well.4 The earliest manuscripts of the Book of Watchers are found among the Dead Sea Scrolls and are written in Aramaic. These include five manuscripts: 4Q201 (also referenced as 4QEna) contains 1 Enoch 1–10 and possibly chapter 12. The manuscript dates from early in the second century BCE but may have been copied from an older manuscript.5 4Q202 (4QEnb) contains a number of very small, indistinct fragments, but it can be seen to contain 1 Enoch 5–10 and 14 and dates from perhaps the middle of the second century BCE.6 4Q204 (4QEnc) is also fragmentary and contains portions of the Book of Watchers from chapters 1–6, 10, 13–15, 31–32, and 35–36. It dates from the end of the first century BCE.7 4Q205 (4QEnd) seems to date from the same period as 4Q204 and contains fragmentary portions of chapters 22 and 25–27.8 4Q206 (4QEne) dates from early in the first century BCE and contains fragmentary portions from chapters 20–22, 28–29, and 31–34 of the Book of Watchers.9 In full the manuscript evidence from Qumran provides compelling evidence for both an early date for the Book of Watchers (prior to 175 BCE) and Aramaic as the original language.10

Perhaps before the turn of the era, the Book of Watchers was rendered into Greek. The principal manuscripts include Codex Panopolitanus, which dates from the fifth or sixth century CE and contains, among other things, 1 Enoch 19:3–21:9 followed by a wording that is nearly identical to the fuller Ethiopic version—where they overlap—of 1 Enoch 1:1–32:6a. The ninth-century Chronography of George Syncellus contains excerpts from the Book of Watchers (6:1–9:4; 8:4–10:14; 15:8–16:1). And so, though only abo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Section 1 Apocalypses
• Section 2 Testaments and Related Texts
• Section 3 Legends and Expansions of Biblical Traditions
• Section 4 Psalms, Wisdom Literature, and Prayers
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Author Index
• Scripture Index
• Ancient Writings Index
• Cover Flaps
• Back Cover