3 Enoch

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3 Enoch which only exists in the Hebrew language, chapters 1-16 are believed to have been created before the 9th century BCE[1] possibly 5th-6th century CE. P. Alexander[2] lists other historical names for 3 Enoch as being "The Third Book of Enoch", "The Book of the Palaces", "The Book of Rabbi Ishmael the High Priest", and "The Revelation of Metatron". Another title suggested in The Enoch-Metatron Tradition is "Book of [the Heavenly] Palaces" or "Sefer Hekhalot".[3] With Hebrew Apocalypse of Enoch being listed on the Early Jewish Writings website for 3 Enoch.

Most commonly, the phrase Book of Enoch refers to 1 Enoch, which survives completely only in Ethiopic language. There are also 2 other books including this one the other called 2 Enoch (surviving only in Old Slavonic, c. 1st century; Eng. trans. by R. H. Charles (1896) [1][2]). The numbering of these texts has been applied by scholars to distinguish the texts from one another. The remainder of this article deals with 3 Enoch only.

Contents

  1. The Ascension of Ishmael (Chapters. 1-2)
  2. Ishmael Meets the Exalted Enoch (Chapters. 3-16)
  3. A Description of the Heavenly Household (Chapters. 17-40)
  4. The Marvels of Heaven (Chapters. 41-48)

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 into heaven 90 CE - 135 CE [4]. Rabbi Ishmael is a hero of Merkavah literature however a number of scholars believe that it was in fact written by a number of people over a prolonged period of time [5].

The name Sefer Hekhalot (Hekhalot meaning Palaces/Temples) along with its proposed author places this book as a member of Hekalot/Merkaba lore. Its contents suggest that 3 Enochs contents and ideas are newer than those shown in other Merkaba texts.[6] The book does not contain Merkaba hymns[7], it has unique layout [8] and adjuration.[9] All these facts make 3 Enoch unique not just among Merkaba writings but also the writings of Enoch.

As with 1 Enoch dating of this book is a difficult task but some scholars believe it was written in the area of Babylon.

3 Enoch contains a number of Greek and Latin words. This book unlike 1 Enoch appears to have been originally written in the Hebrew language. There are however a number of things that show that the writers of 3 Enoch had knowledge of and most likely read 1 Enoch.[4]

Some points[1][10] 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
  • Receives a revelation of cosmological secrets of creation 3 Enoch 13:1-2
  • The story about precious metals and how they won't avail there 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 (ancestor of Noah) into heaven and his change 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 ”

  1. ^ a b Dr. James R. Davila
  2. ^ P. Alexander, “The Historical Settings of the Hebrew Book of Enoch,”
  3. ^ Orlov, Andrei A. (2005 September 01). The Enoch-Metatron Tradition. Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 3-16-148544-0. 
  4. ^ a b Craig A. Evans, Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation, (1992) p. 24
  5. ^ Early Jewish Writings Website
  6. ^ Swartz, Scholastic Magic, 178ff
  7. ^ Alexander, Philip. “3 Enoch,” 245.
  8. ^ Dan, Joseph. The Ancient Jewish Mysticism, 110.
  9. ^ Schäfer, The Hidden and Manifest God, 144.
  10. ^ 3 Enoch and the Similitudes of Enoch by Bankole Davies-Browne

  • Craig A. Evans, "Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation", (1992) p. 24
  • James Davila, "Enoch as a Divine Mediator"
  • "The Hebrew Book of Enoch" traslated by Hugo Odeberg, New York, Cambridge U.P., 1928

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