3 Enoch
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3 Enoch is an Old Testament Apocryphal book. 3 Enoch purports to have been written in the second century CE, but its origins can be traced to the fifth century.[1] Other names for 3 Enoch include "The Third Book of Enoch", "The Book of the Palaces", "The Book of Rabbi Ishmael the High Priest" and "The Revelation of Metatron".
Most commonly, the Book of Enoch refers to 1 Enoch, which survived completely only in the Ethiopic language. There is also a 2 Enoch, which has survived only in Old Slavonic.[2] [3]
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Modern scholars describe this book as pseudepigraphal, as it says it is written by Rabbi Ishmael who became a 'high priest' after visions of ascension to Heaven, 90 AD - 135 AD.[1] Rabbi Ishmael is a leading figure of Merkabah literature; however, a number of scholars suggest that it was in fact written by a number of people over a prolonged period of time.[citation needed]
The name Sefer Hekhalot (Hekhalot meaning Palaces/Temples), along with its proposed author, places this book as a member of Hekalot/Merkabah lore. Its contents suggest that 3 Enoch's contents and ideas are newer than those shown in other Merkabah texts.[4] The book does not contain Merkabah hymns,[5] it has unique layout[6] and adjuration.[7] All these facts make 3 Enoch unique not just among Merkabah writings, but also within the writings of Enoch.
As with 1 Enoch, the exact dating of this book is a difficult task, but some scholars believe it was written around the time of the Babylonian Talmud.[who?]
3 Enoch contains a number of Greek and Latin words. This book, unlike 1 Enoch, appears to have been originally written in Hebrew. There are a number of indications suggesting that the writers of 3 Enoch had knowledge of, and most likely read, 1 Enoch.
Some points that appear in Enoch 1 and Enoch 3 are:
- Enoch ascends to Heaven in a storm chariot (3 Enoch 6:1; 7:1)
- Enoch is transformed into an angel (3 Enoch 9:1-5; 15:1-2)
- Enoch as an exalted angel is enthroned in Heaven (3 Enoch 10:1-3; 16:1)
- Enoch receives a revelation of cosmological secrets of creation (3 Enoch 13:1-2)
- The story about precious metals and how they will not avail their users and those that make idols from them (3 Enoch 5:7-14)
- One of the characters is a hostile angel named Azaz'el/Aza'el (3 Enoch 4:6; 5:9)
The main themes running through 3 Enoch are the ascension of Enoch into Heaven and his transformation into the angel Metatron.
"This Enoch, whose flesh was turned to flame, his veins to fire, his eye-lashes to flashes of lightning, his eye-balls to flaming torches, and whom God placed on a throne next to the throne of glory, received after this heavenly transformation the name Metatron."
—Gershom G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941/1961) p. 67
[edit] References
- ^ a b Craig A. Evans (1992). Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation. p. 24.
- ^ http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/2enoch.html
- ^ http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_sd/enoch.html
- ^ Swartz, Scholastic Magic, 178ff
- ^ Alexander, Philip. “3 Enoch,” 245.
- ^ Dan, Joseph. The Ancient Jewish Mysticism, 110.
- ^ Schäfer, The Hidden and Manifest God, 144.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Early Jewish Writings: 3 Enoch
- Enoch, Elijah and Einstein's Theory of Relativity
- Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha and Sacred Writings
- Dark Mirrors of Heaven: Enoch and the Watchers
- The Etymology of the Name "Metatron"
- Metatron as the Scribe
- Metatron as the Mediator
- Metatron as God's Shiur Qomah
- Metatron as the Prince of the World
- Metatron as the Deity: Lesser YHWH
- Metatron as the Youth
- Hebrew book of 3 Enoch
