The book of Enoch the prophet

1 '^ , 'INTRODUCTIONBYTHEAUTHOROF''THEEVOLUTION OFCHRISTIANITY:ffWX^^^eVW^\W!.^WOWV>y(5 UVA'iVJU1^Apuioll^i-^^VVU^^^T^)/^^^-LOND ONKEGANPAUL,TRENCH&CO.,1,PATERNOSTERSQUA RE1883(TTterightsoftranslationandofrepro ductionarereserved.') ^stle-^-Jttde,wereadthefollowingwords: "Enochalso,theseventhfromAdam,prophesied ofthese,saying,Behold,theLordcomethwitht enthousandsofhissaints,toexecutejudgment uponall,andtoconvinceallthatareungodlyam ongthemofalltheirungodlydeedswhichtheyha veungodlycommitted,andofalltheirhardspee cheswhichungodlysinnershavespokenagainst Him."^ModernresearchseesintheEpistleofJu deaworkofthesecondcentury:butasorthodoxt heologiansacceptitscontentsastheinspired utteranceofanApostle, ;notevenintheApocryphacanwetraceonelinef romthepenofthemarvellousbeingtowhomunint erruptedimmor-^ ^ ,therefore,acceptedasaDivinerevelationon thatmomentousdaywhenJesusexplainedtheScr ip-tures,afterhisresurrection,toJudeandh isapostolicbrethren;andhavewemodernsbetr ayedourtrustbyexcludinganinspiredrecordf romtheBible?

2 EevertingtothesecondcenturyofChristianit y, ,Irenseus,assigningtotheBookofEnochanaut henticityanalogoustothatofMosaicliteratu re,affirmsthatEnoch,althoughaman,filledt heofficeofGod'smessengertotheangels.'-^T ertuUian,whoflourishedatthecloseofthefir standatthebeginningofthesecondcentury,wh ilstadmittingthatthe"ScriptureofEnoch"is notreceivedbysomebecauseitisnotincludedi ntheHebrewCanon,speaksoftheauthoras"them ostancientprophet, Enoch ,"andofthebookast hedivinelyinspiredautographofthatimmorta lpatri-arch,preservedbyNoahintheark, ,"ButasEnochhasspokeninthesamescriptureo ftheLord,and'everyscripturesuitablefored ificationisdivinely^ "AgainstHeresies," ,' afactwhichshouldcauseusnosurprise,asthey werenottoreceivehim,evenwhenpersonallyad dressedbyhimself."TheseviewsTertullianco n-firmsbyappealingtothetestimonyoftheApo stleJude.^TheBookofEnochwasthereforeassa credasthePsalmsorIsaiahintheeyesofthefam oustheologian, ( ),inquotingHebrewliterature, ,heaffirmsthattheworkoftheantediluvianpa triarchwasnotacceptedintheChurchesasDivi ne; ,inhistreatise^ontheangels,weread:"Weare nottosupposethataspecialofficehasbeenass ignedbymereaccidenttoaparticularangel:as to|Kaphael,theworkofcuringandhealing;toG rabriel,thedirectionofwars;toMichael,the dutyofhearingtheprayersandsupplicationso fmen.

3 "^Fromwhatsource^"OnFemaleDress,"ii.^. j)qPrincipiis," :*'AfterthisIbesoughttheangelofpeace,who proceededwithme, ,WhoarethosewhomIhaveseenonthefoursides, ,thepatient, , ,whopresidesoverallthatispowerful,isGabr ieh^Andthefourth,whopresidesoverrepentan ceandthehopeofthosewhowillinheriteternal life,isPhanuel."^Wethusdiscoverthesource ofOrigen'sapparentlysuperhumanknowledge, ,thisremarkablebookgraduallysankintoobli vion,disappearedoutofWesternChristendom, andwaseventuallyforgottenbyaChurch, ,unknowntoEuropefornearlyathousandyears, , (circa792, ),wasatlengthdiscoveredbyBruceinAbyssini a,whobroughthomethreecopiesoftheEthiopic versionin1773,respectingwhichhewrites: *AmongstthearticlesIconsignedtothelibrar yatPariswasaverybeautifulandmagnificentc opyofthePropheciesofEnoch,inlargequarto; another,isamongsttheBooksofScripturewhic hIbroughthome,standingimmediatelyJbefore theBookofJob,whichisitsproperplaceintheA byseinian^ Cani)n;andathirdcopyIhavepresentedtothe.

4 BodleianLibraryatOxford, ,theBishopofCarlisle."Thispricelessmanus cript,destined,someday,torevealtheforgot tensourceofmanyChristiandogmasandmysteri es,restedinBodleianobscurity, ,ArchbishopofCashel,formerlyProfessorofH ebrewatOxford,whoissuedhisfirsteditionin 1821,inapparentunconsciousnessthathewasg ivingtomankindthetheologicalfossilsthrou ghwhichwe,intheclearer^jightofourgenerat ion,maystudythe"EvolutionofChristianity. "ThescarcityofArchbishopLaurence'stransl ation,beforethepublicationofthesecondedi tionin1833,producedanimpressioninGermany thattheworkhadbeensuppressedbyitsauthor; ,issuedin1838, ,intoLatinbyGrfrorerin1840,againintoGerm anbyDillmannin1853,andhasbeendiscussedby Weisse,Liicke,Hilgenfeld,andKalisch,thel atterofwhomutteredtheprediction,thattheb ookofEnoch"willonedaybeemployedasamostim portantwitnessinthehistoryofreligiousdog mas."Thedayandthehourhayecome,theclockha sstruck,andinthuspublishinganeditionofAr chbishopLaurence'stranslationoftheBookof Enoch ,weplacewithinthereachofallreaderso ftheEnglishlanguage, "PreliminaryDissertation"ofArchbishopLau rence,inwhichhediscusses,withimpartialcr iticismandaccomplishedscholarship,theori ginoftheBookofEnoch,wefindhimattainingth eimportantconclusions,thatitwaswrittenby aJewoftheDispersioninhisownlanguage,whet herHebreworthelaterAramaeanacquiredinexi le;thattheversioninthehandsoftheauthorof theEpistleofJudeandtheAnte-NiceneFathers wasaGreektranslation.

5 Andthat^^'^^Mm^^ ,whethertranslatedfromAramaeanorGreek, ,ArchbishopLaurencereferstothe"mostancie ntremainsoftheCabbala(Hebrewtraditions)c ontainedinthe'Zohar,'aspeciesofphilosoph icalcommentaryupontheLaw, ,occasionalreferencesaremadetotheBookofE noch,asabookcarefullypreservedfromgenera tiontogeneration."ArchbishopLaurencethen givesextractsfromthe"Zohar,"referringtoi mportantpassagesintheBookofEnoch,andinfe rsthat"theauthorsoftheCabbalisticalremai nswrotetheirreconditedoctrinesinChaldee, "andpossessedacopyoftheBookofEnoch,writt eninthatlanguageorinHebrew,"whichtheyreg ardedasthegenuineworkofhimwhosenameitbor e,andnotasthespuriousproductionofalatera ge."ArchbishopLaurencethenconsidersthepr obabledateofthework,andinfers,fromthequo tationofJude,thatitmusthavebeenwrittenan tecedenttotheChristianera,butnotbeforeth eCaptivityofBabylon, ,"intherepresentationoftheAncientofDaysc omingtojudgmentwiththeSonofman.

6 "ButsinceArchbishopLaurencewrote,modernc riticismhasdisclosedhownebulousisthedate ofDaniel,sothatitbecomesasreasonabletoas sumethattheauthororcompilerborrowedfromt heBookofEnoch, ,how-ever,discoveredmoresatisfactoryproo f,throughinternalevidence,thatthebook"wa swrittenlongsubsequenttothecommencement, andeveatotheconclusion,oftheBabylonianCa ptivity."ThatsectionoftheBookofEnoch, ,containsanallegoricalnarrativeoftheroya ldynastiesofIsraelandJudah,fromwhichArch bishopLaurenceconstructsahistoryextendin gfromSaultothebeginningofthereignofHerod theGreat,andinfersthattheBookofEnochwasw ritten"beforetheriseofChristianity;mostp robablyatanearlyperiodofthereignofHerod. "TheArchbishopadds:"Thatitcouldnothavebe entheproductionofawriterwholivedafterthe inspiredauthorsoftheNewTestament,orwhowa sevencoevalwiththem, aquotationwhichprovesittohavebeeninhisti meaworkascribedtoEnochhimself.

7 " ArchbishopLaurence,furthermore,attainspr o-INTBODUCTION, ,oftheBookofEnochweread,"ThechiefsoftheE ast,amongtheParthiansandMedes,shallremov ekings, '\fromtheirthrones,springingaslionsfromt heirdens,andlikefamishedwolvesintothemid stoftheflock."Commentingonthispassage,Ar ch-bishopLaurencesays,"NowtheParthianswe realtogetherunknowninhistory,untilthe250 thyearbeforeChrist,when,undertheguidance ofArsaces(thefamilynameofalltheirsubsequ entkings)theyrevoltedfromAntiochusTheus, ,however, ,whenArsacesdefeatedandtookprisonerSeleu cusCallicinus,theSyrianmonarch, ; ,andfromtheEuphratestotheCaucasus." ;butastheauthoraddstothepassagealreadyci ted,"Theyshallgoup,andtreaduponthelandof theirelect, ,thepath,andthecityofmyrighteouspeoplesh allimpedetheprogressoftheirhorses," ,andtheirdefeatofAnthonyeighteenyearslat er,"whenthecreditoftheParthianarmswasatt hehighest;anditisprobablethataboutthesam eperiod,oratleastnotlongafter,theBookofE nochw^aswritten.

8 " ,asthegenuineproductionofthepatriarchEno ch?TheArchbishopanswersbyshowing,through internalevidence,thatthebookwaswrittenby aJewresidingatadistancefromPalestine,and havingbeenbroughtintoJudseainthenameofth eprophetEnoch, ,andrepresentsthelongestdayintheyearasco nsistingoftwelveoutoftheseeighteenparts. ''Nowtheproportionoftwelvetoeighteenispr eciselythesameassixteentofourandtwenty, , ,wherethelongestdayisfifteenhoursandahal f,norhigherperhapsthanforty-ninedegrees, ,ashighupatleastasthenortherndistrictsof theCaspianandEuxineseas;probablyitwassit uatedsomewherebetweentheupperpartsofboth theseseas;andifthelatterconjecturebewell founded,theauthoroftheBookofEnochwasperh apsamemberofoneofthetribeswhichShalmanes ercarriedaway,andplaced*inHalahandinHabo rbytheriverGoshen,andinthecitiesoftheMod es,'andwhoneverreturnedfromcaptivity."Si nceArchbishopLaurencewrotehis"Pre-limina ryDissertation," 's"NinevehandBabylon,"recordingthediscov ery,inBabylonianruins,ofcupsorbowlsofter racotta,coveredontheinnersurfacewithinsc riptionsinink, ,asamuletsorcharmsagainstevilspirits,dis ease,calamity,andsuddendeath, ; , ,mentionedinhiswork,thatthenamesoftheang elsinscribedonthesecups,andthoserecorded intheBookofEnoch,are,inmanyinstancesiden tical,sothatnodoubtremainsastotheHebrew- ChaldeeoriginofthatgreatSemiticwork,whet herassignabletohumangeniusorDivinerevela tion;andtheexhumedamuletsofJewsoftheDisp ersionattesttheaccuracyofArchbishopLaure nce' ,ascanonizedbytheChurchofEome,issogenera linEnglandthatmanyotherwisewell-informed peopleimaginethattheBookofEnochmaybefoun dinitspages,whereasithasbeenlosttoall^"H alleluiah"appearsuponthecups.

9 Andthusaword,withwhichancientSyro-Chalds eansconjured,hasbecome,throughthevicissi tudesoflanguage,theShibbolethofmodern"Ke vivalists.' , : " ,fromtheinfluenceoftheologicalopinionort heologicalcaprice,theyhavebeensometimesi njudiciouslyadmittedintotheCanonofScript ure;whileontheotherside,fromanover-anxie tytopreservethatCanonin-violate,theyhave beennotsimplyrejected, ,whatevermayormaynotbetheirclaimtoinspir ation,areatleastofconsiderableutility, ;which,ashavingbeenmanifestlywrittenbefo rethedoctrinesofChristianitywerepromulga tedtotheworld,mustaffordus,whenitreferst othenatureandcharacteroftheMessiah,asitr epeatedlydoessorefer,credibleproofofwhat weretheJewishopinionsuponthosepointsbefo rethebirthofChrist;andconsequentlybefore thepossiblepredominanceoftheChristiancre ed." ;butitwasnotgiventohim,ortohisgeneration ,toseehowdeeplyhisconclusionsaffectedthe supernaturalclaimsofChristianity.

10 [TurningtothecontentsoftheBookofEnoch,th efirstsixchaptersannouncetheconderonatio nIoftransgressorsandtheblessingsoftherig hteous,throughthetriumphaladventoftheMes siah, ,theirselectionofwives,thebirthoftheirgi ganticoffspring,andtheinstructionofmanki ndinthemanufactureofoffensiveanddefensiv eweapons,thefabricationofmirrors,thework manshipofjewellery,andtheuseofcosmeticsa nddyes,combinedwithlessonsinsorcery,astr ology,divination,andastronomy allwhichTertullianacceptsasDivinerevelat ion,whenhedenounceswomanasthe"devil'sgat e-way,"-^andassuresher,ontheauthorityoft heinspiredEnoch,thatTyriandyes,Phrygiane m-broidery,Babyloniancloth,goldenbracele ts,gleam-ingpearls,flashingonyx-stones,a ndbrilliantemeralds,withalltheotheradjun ctsofaneleganttoilette,arethespecialgift soffallenangelsto^"OnFemaleDress," :.Theadventoftheangelsmultipliestransgre ssionsonearth,theyarecondemnedto"thelowe stdepthsofthefireintorments,"andEnoch,as themessengerofGod, , "whichreachedtoheaven,"hebeheldtherecept aclesoflight^thunder,andlightning,"thegr eatdarknessormountainsofgloomwhichconsti tutewinter,themouthsofriversandofthedeep ,thestonewhichsupportsthecornersoftheear th,andthefourwindswhichbearuptheearth,an dconstitutethepillarsofheaven.]