Andrei A. Orlov
TITLES OF ENOCH-METATRON IN 2 ENOCH[1]
[published in the Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 18 (1998) 71-86].
"Whoever is dealing with the Account
of Creation and the Account of the Chariot must inevitably fail.
It is therefore written, “Let this heap of ruins be under
your hand” (Isa. 3.6). This refers to things that a person
can not understand, unless he fails in them. "
(The Book of Bahir, 150)
In his introduction to the English translation of 2 Enoch
F.I. Andersen states that “all attempts[2] to locate the intellectual
background of the book have failed.”[3] Among these endeavors were several
efforts to establish the connection between 2 Enoch and Ma’aseh
Merkabah.[4] One of
the essential contributors to this approach Hugo Odeberg[5] points out that the
similarities in descriptions of Celestial titles for Enoch in 2
and 3 Enoch may be the important evidence of a possible
connection between 2 Enoch and texts of the Merkabah
tradition. The purpose of this article is to call attention to
some details of these descriptions which might shed new light on
the relationship between early Enochic[6]
and Merkabah traditions.
The substantial part of 2 Enoch’s narrative is
dedicated to Enoch”s ascent into the celestial realm and to
his heavenly metamorphosis near the Throne of Glory. In these
lengthy and elaborated descriptions of Enoch’s
transformation into a celestial being, on a level with the
archangels, one may find the origin of another image of Enoch
which was developed later in Merkabah mysticism, that is, the
image of the angel Metatron, The Price of Presence.
Odeberg may well be the first scholar to have discovered the
characteristics of “the Prince of the Presence” in the
long recension of 2 Enoch. He successfully demonstrated in
his synopsis of parallel passages from 2 and 3 Enoch,
that the phrase “stand before my face forever”[7] does not serve merely
as normal Hebraism “to be in the presence,” but
establishes the angelic status of Enoch as Metatron, the Prince
of the Presence, Mynph r#.[8]
The title itself is developed mainly in chs. 21-22,[9] which are dedicated to the
description of the Throne of Glory. In these chapters, one finds
many promises that Enoch will “stand in front of the face of
the Lord forever.”[10]
In terms of the theological background of the problem, the title
seems connected with the image of Metatron in the Merkabah
tradition,[11] which
was “crystallized in the classical Hekhalot literature.”[12] According to the
legend of the Hekhalot tradition, Enoch “was raised to the
rank of first of the angels and Mynph r#
(literally, “prince of the divine face,” or
“divine presence”).”[13]
3 Enoch, as well as other texts of the tradition, have a
well-developed theology connected with this title.
The Merkabah tradition emphasizes the role of Metatron as the “Knower of Secrets,” Myzr (dwy.[14] According to 3 Enoch he is “wise in the secrets and Master of the mysteries.”[15] He is the one who received these secrets from the angels and from the Lord (the Holy One). He serves also as “the Revealer of Secrets,” the one who is responsible for the transmission of the highest secrets to the Prices under him, as well as to mankind. In ch. 38 of 3 Enoch, Metatron told to R. Ishmael that he was the person who revealed secrets to Moses, in spite of the protests of heavenly hosts:
...when I revealed this secret to Moses, then all the host in
every heaven
on high raged against me and said to me: Why do you reveal this
secret
to a son of man...the secret by which were created heaven and
earth...
and the Torah and Wisdom and Knowledge and Thought and the Gnosis
of things above and the fear of heaven. Why do you reveal this to
flesh
and blood?[16]
According to this theological material, Enoch (Metatron) is
responsible for transmitting the secrets of the Written Torah as
well as the Oral Tradition. “And Metatron brought them out
from his house of treasuries and committed them to Moses, and
Moses to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the
prophets and the prophets to the men of Great Synagogue...”[17]
In late Merkabah, Metatron (Enoch) is the guide and the revealer
of secrets to all who are initiated into the account of chariots.[18] Hekhaloth
literature (3 Enoch, Shi’ur Qomah) describes
these functions of Metatron. He guides and reveals secrets to R.
Ishmael and to R . Akiba. Sometimes the Merkabah narrative
extends his role to the titles of the Prince of Wisdom and the
Prince of Understanding.[19]
It is apparent that in 2 Enoch one may see some kind of
preparation of Enoch for his role as Metatron, “the Knower
of Secrets.” The preparation entails several stages.
First, the archangel Vereveil inducts Enoch into these secrets.
He instructs Enoch in “all the deeds of the Lord, the earth
and the sea, and all the elements and the courses...and the
Hebrew language, every kind of language of the new song of the
armed troops and everything that it is appropriate to learn”
(23.1-2). Second, the Lord himself continues to instruct him in
the secrets, which he had not even explained to the Angels
(24.3). Finally, the Lord promised Enoch the role of “Knower
of Secrets.” The important detail here is that the
promise of the role is closely connected with other titles of
Metatron such as “The Prince of Presence,”
“The Heavenly Scribe,” and “The Witness of
the Judgment.” In the text the Lord promised:
...and you will be in front of my face from now and forever.[20] And you
will be seeing my secrets[21]
and you will be scribe for my servants[22]
since you will be writing down everything that has happened on
earth
and that exists on earth and in the heavens, and you will be for
me a witness of the judgment[23]
of the great age (36.3).
This substantial passage graphically depicts the interrelation of
the future roles of Enoch (Metatron) in the narrative of 2
Enoch. In spite of the fact that the text does not elaborate
the real embodiments of these roles and titles, but only promises
and initiations in these roles, it leaves the impression that 2
Enoch is part of larger tradition and that its author has
prior knowledge of the future development of these titles and the
deeds behind them.
It is intriguing that the narrative of 2 Enoch does not
show the promised powerful deeds of Enoch-Metatron in different
offices of the heavenly realm, for example, those of the Knower,
The Scribe, The Witness and The Prince of Presence even in early
“primitive” Merkabah or apocalyptic form. It looks as
if the author of the text deliberately avoids these details. He
knows that it is not time for revealing these faces. Enoch must
return to the earth, and only after that trip he will fully
assume his heavenly offices. In 67.2, which serves as the
conclusion to Enoch’s story, there is a statement about the
theme: “and the Lord received him and made him stand in
front of his face for eternity.”[24]
In this regard, the narratives of 2 Enoch and 3 Enoch seem
to be written from different temporal perspectives. The setting
of Enoch’s story in 2 Enoch is the antediluvian
period. Melchizedek”s narrative of the book distinctively
stresses this point. This explains why in 2 Enoch
“there is no place for Abraham, Moses, and the rest.”[25]
Odeberg notices that Enoch’s initiation into the Secrets
(and his title- the Knower of Secrets) is closely connected with
his scribal activities[26]
and with his other title- “the Scribe”[27] (rpws)
or “the Heavenly Scribe.”[28] The steps in the development of
this theme in 2 Enoch are apparent. Enoch”s scribal
functions have several aspects:
1. He was initiated into the scribal activities by the Lord
himself. “And the Lord said to Vereveil, “Bring out the
books from the storehouses, and give a pen to Enoch[29] and read him the
books.” And Vereveil...gave me the pen[30] from his hand” (22.11).[31]
2. He writes down the mysteries which were explained to him by
angels. In 23.4 angel Vereveil commands him: “Write
everything that I have explained to you.”[32]
3. The results of his scribal activity were a certain number of
books. “I wrote accurately. And I expounded 300 and 60
books” (23.6).[33]
4. The Lord instructed Enoch to deliver these books in his
handwriting to his sons[34]
(33.8), and to distribute the books in his handwriting to his
children, and they to their children, and they to their children,
for they will read them from generation to generation (33.8-10).
5. The Lord appointed the guardian angels for Enoch”s
writings:
"For I will give you an intercessor, Enoch, my archistratig,
Michael, on
account of your handwritings and the handwritings of your
fathers-
Adam and Seth. They will not be destroyed until the final age.
For
I have commanded my angels Arioch and Mariokh, whom I have
appointed
on the earth to guard them and to command the things of time to
preserve
the handwritings of your fathers so that they might not perish in
the
impending flood which I will create in your generation"
(33.10-12.)[35]
The motif of guardian angels of the books is very specific for
the esoterism[36] of
Merkabah tradition. This motif can be found in 3 Enoch as
well as in late texts of the tradition.
6. Finally the Lord gave the promise to Enoch about his future
role as the Heavenly Scribe when he will return to heaven after
the instructions of his sons, “...and you will be the scribe[37] for my servants,
since you will be writing down everything that has happened on
earth and that exists on earth and in the heavens, and you will
be for me a witness of the judgment of the great age”
(36.3).[38]
To conclude this section I shall examine an interesting detail
that is very important as a characteristic of a hypothetical
provenance, but which has remained unnoticed by scholars. In
23.4, when Enoch was already in the highest realms, Vereveil gave
him permission to sit down.[39]
“You sit down; write everything...” And Enoch said,
“And I sat down[40]
for a second period of 30 days and 30 nights, and I wrote
accurately” (23.6).[41]
It is important to notice that Vereveil’s suggestion that
Enoch be seated occurs after Enoch has been “brought in
front of the face of the Lord” (22.6), and after he has been
invited by the Lord “to stand in front of his face
forever” (22.6-7). According to Rabbinic tradition,
“there is no sitting in heaven.”[42] An allegorical description,
which can be found in 3 Enoch, depicts God as the one who
places Metatron on a throne at the door of the seventh Hall.[43] In his commentary
on this section of 3 Enoch, Odeberg states that
“assigning a seat or a throne to any angel-prince or to any
one beside the Holy One, might endanger the recognition of the
absolute sovereignty and unity of the Godhead.”[44] Furthermore, he
reasoned that according to Rabbinic tradition the privilege of
“sitting” was accorded to Metatron by virtue of his
character as “scribe,” for he was granted permission as
a scribe “to sit and write down the merits of Israel.”[45] This fact, that
Enoch was seated in the text of 2 Enoch is one more
powerful example that further strengthens the hypothesis
regarding the connection of the text of 2 Enoch with the Merkabah
tradition.
Previous research has shown that the descriptions of celestial
titles in 2 Enoch occupy some sort of intermediate
position between early Enochic traditions and Metatron tradition.
Therefore, some later titles of Metatron, which are absent in 1
Enoch, Jubilees and Qumran materials are presented in the
narrative of 2 Enoch. A good illustration of this
situation could be the observation of another celestial title of
Enoch (Metatron) which can be found in 2 Enoch, namely-Na’ar,
r(n which can be translated as
“The Youth” or “The Lad.”[46]
According to Jewish mystical lore, this title could be considered
as “proof” of the theological assumption that Metatron
is the translated Enoch ben Yared. The tradition derives this
title from the exegesis of Prov. 22.6 (r(nl
Kwnx), which was interpreted as “Enoch was made into
the Na’ar, i.e. Metatron.”[47]
The title “Youth” in Merkabah has several possible
theological meanings. According to one of them, the name may be
explained by the fact that Metatron grows old, and is then
constantly rejuvenated.[48]
Another possible explanation is that he is young in comparison
with other angel-princes who existed from the beginning.[49] It is notable, that
the several important occurrences of the title “Youth”
in the text of 2 Enoch come from the mouths of angels. In
ch. 9 of the short recension an angelic being, who is
accompanying Enoch on his way through the heavenly realm,
addresses Enoch as “Youth”: “This place has been
prepared, Youth (yunoshe), for the righteous...[50] Later in ch. 10 we
can hear the same address again: “This place, Youth (yunoshe),
has been prepared for those who practice godless uncleanness on
the earth...”[51]
These occurrences could be considered by someone simply as
reminders for Enoch about his novice status in the heavenly
realm. This, however, is not the case with the Merkabah
tradition, where “Na’ar” also designates
special relationships between the Holy One and Metatron. In 3
Enoch when R. Ishmael asks Metatron “What is your
name?” Metatron answers, “I have seventy names,
corresponding to the seventy tongues of the world... but my King
calls me “Youth” (Na’ar).”[52] Interestingly
enough, we can see the beginning of this tradition in the test of
2 Enoch. In ch. 24 of the short recension[53] we read: “And the Lord
called me (Enoch) and he placed me to himself closer than
Gabriel. And the Lord spoke to me “Whatever you see, Youth (yunoshe)
things standing still and moving about were brought to perfection
by me. And not even to my angels have I explained my secrets...
as I am making them known to you today.”[54] As we can see in the passage the
title “Youth” stresses the unique role of
Enoch-Metatron among other archangels-princes, despite his young
angelic age. In spite of the abundance of the information about
“Na’ar” in Merkabah literature the title
itself, in many respects remains a mysterious theological puzzle.
Perhaps the most mysterious thing connected with this title is
the fact that prominent scholars of Jewish mystical literature
like Scholem and Odeberg do not find the important title in the
narrative of 2 Enoch. One possible explanation may be that
Vaillant did not pay enough attention to the variants of the
reading of the term “Youth” in his edition, considering
this reading as a “corruption,”[55] and consequently dedicated just
a few sentences to this fact. According to Vaillant this
“corruption” occurred because the Slavonic word Enoshe,
the vocative form of “Enoch,” is very similar to
“Youth,” yunoshe.[56] This probably explains why those
scholars who based their research on Vaillant” text also
missed this vital point. Only the new collation of manuscripts
for Andersen”s translation again drew attention to this
variant. Andersen gives a short concluding note on the term
“Youth” that “It cannot be a coincidence that this
title is identical with that of Enoch (=Metatron) in 3 Enoch.”[57]
The Merkabah tradition stresses the role of Metatron as
“governing power over the nations, kingdoms and rulers on
earth.”[58]
Chapter 30 of 3 Enoch pictures Metatron as the Prince of
the World Mlw(h r#, the leader of
seventy-two princes of the kingdom of world, who speaks (pleads)
in favor of the world before the Holy One.[59] Odeberg notes that “the
Prince of the World in 3 Enoch combines the function of
the rulers of the nations: they plead each one the cause of his
nation, the Prince of the World pleads the cause of all nations
together, of the world in its entirety.”[60]
Both ch. 43 of the short recension of 2 Enoch and a
similar passage of the text of 2 Enoch in a Slavonic
collection “The Just Balance”[61] reveal Enoch in his new
celestial role. The texts outline Enoch”s instructions to
his children during his brief return to the earth I which he
mentions his new role as the Governor of the earth:
Blessed is he who understands all works of the Lord, (and
glorifies
Him): and, because of His work, knows the Creator. And behold my
children, I am the Governor[62]
of the earth, I wrote (them) down. And the
whole year I combined and the hours of the day.[63] And the hours I mea-
sured: and I wrote down every seed on earth. And I compared every
measure and the just balance I measured. And I wrote (them) down,
just
as the Lord commanded...the doings of each person will put down,
and
no one will hide, because the Lord is the one who pays, and He
will be
the avenger on the great judgment day.[64]
The interesting parallel here to 3 Enoch is the fact that
the role of Enoch (Metatron) as the Governor (Prince) of the
World is closely connected in both texts with the theme of Divine
Judgment[65] and with
Metatron’s role in that process as the Witness of the
Judgment. As we recall in 3 Enoch these two themes –
governing of the world and pleading for the world – stayed
together: Metatron is the Prince of the World “who pleads in
the favor of the world.” The narrative of 2 Enoch has
a similar pattern – the title of Governor in this context
means “the Mediator of Divine Judgment”[66] - Enoch pleads before the Lord
for the world while reminding the world about the Divine
Judgment.
Another interesting point about this material is the fact that
the passage which is dedicated to the description of Enoch’s
role as “Governor of the World” is incorporated into a
part of the book that is directly connected with other
descriptions of the titles of Enoch. My previous observations
about the celestial titles of the Enoch showed that these
descriptions are situated in chs. 21-38 (according to
Andersen”s division). These early chapters unfold
Enoch”s transformation from a human being into an angel in
the highest celestial realms near the Throne of Glory.
In chs. 39-67, Enoch gives some instructions to his children
during his brief visit to the earth. The text makes clear that
during this visit Enoch is already an angelic being. In ch. 56 of
2 Enoch he says to his son: “Listen, my child! Since
the time when the Lord anointed me with the ointment of my glory,
it has been horrible for me, and food is not agreeable to me, and
I have no desire for earthly food.”[67] This portrayal of Enoch as
angelic being in this section of the book is very important,
because it allows us to see traces of another tradition in the
text of 2 Enoch. It is possible that in this part of the
book we have some remnants of developed Metatron tradition.
Chapters 39-67 differ slightly from chs. 21-38 in the ways the
picture Enoch”s role in the celestial realm.
First, later chapters (43-44) give an important description of
Enoch as Governor (Prince) of the world, a role which in late
Merkabah literature usually is connected with Metatron tradition.
Second, an important aspect of the passage of chs. 43-44 is the
Slavonic term prometaya,[68]
which follows Enoch”s title, “the Governor of the
World.”[69] This
Slavonic term is found solely in the text of 2 Enoch.
There is no other Slavonic text where the word prometaya
is documented. Phonetically close to the term
“Metatron” prometaya could represent a very
early, rudimentary form of the name which later was transformed
into the term “metatron.”[70]
It is noteworthy that we can not find the term in the early
chapters connected with the descriptions of other celestial
titles.
Third, at the beginning of this textual block (ch. 40) we have
the following words of Enoch: “Now therefore, my children, I
know everything; some from the lips of the Lord, other my eyes
have seen from the beginning to the end, and from the end to the
recommencement.”[71]
This statement does not fit with previous descriptions of
Enoch’s initiations which were restricted by fixed temporal
boundaries (angel Vereveil instructions for 30 days and 30
nights, and so on). Later, in ch. 50, Enoch says that the already
“put into writing the achievements of every person, and no
one can escape.”[72]
As we recall in his deeds as the Governor of the earth he already
“arranged the whole year” (43.1) and he “has
distinguished every seed on the earth, and every measure and
every righteous scale”(43.1). This unlimited horizon of
functions and deeds of Enoch is not consistent with the previous
narrative of chs. 21- 38. It is apparent that we have two
different traditions which sometimes demonstrate the lack of
linkage and reconciliation.
Finally, we must keep in mind the fact which radically
differentiates 2 Enoch”s story from other stories of
early Enochic documents (like 1 Enoch, Jubilees or Qumran
fragments). The important theological watershed of Enochic and
Metatron traditions in the book is the allegorical description of
the extraction of Enoch from his “earthly cloth- ing”
and the placement of him into the “clothes of Glory.”[73] In 2 Enoch
22, after the archangel Michael extracted Enoch from his clothes
and anointed him with the delightful oil which was “greater
than the greatest light,”[74]
Enoch becomes like “one of the glorious ones, and there was
no observable difference.”[75]
This symbolic event of angelic[76]
transmutation[77]
apparently represents in many ways an important turning point in
which the Enochic tradition has moved into a new era of its
development – the Metatron tradition.[78]
As I have already mentioned, the most impressive alignments
between 2 Enoch and Merkabah tradition are dependent upon
developing the themes connected with the Celestial Titles of
Enoch (Metatron). They give new evidence that the Metatron
tradition has deep connections with early Enochic literature.[79]
As we know, the process of the hidden theological transformation,
when one name (“Enoch”) suddenly becomes transformed
into another name (“Metatron”), does not demonstrate
the continuity of the textual tradition. On the contrary, a gap
exists between the early Enochic literature (I Enoch, Jubilees,
Qumran Enoch, 2 Enoch) and the Metatron literature (Shi’ur
Qomah, 3 Enoch). Because of the two distinct names,
it appears that the two traditions are not linked. Something
seems to be missing between these two great theological streams.
An important scholarly task involves finding “bridge”
which may fill this theological gap between the prerabbinic Enoch
and the rabbinic Metatron. One of the links may be found in the
indissoluble continuity of the titles of this main character,
which are common to both traditions. The titles, like the
developed images of the Heavenly roles of Enoch (Metatron), help
us to see the transparent theological development which lies
beneath the hidden meanings of these enigmatic names.
[1] Part of this
paper was read at the Annual Meeting of SBL/AAR, New Orleans,
23-26 November 1996.
[2] On different
approaches to 2 Enoch, cf. I.D. Amusin, Teksty Kumrana
(Pamjatniki pis’mennosti vostoka, 33/I; Moscow: Nauka,
1971); F.I. Andersen, “ 2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of)
Enoch,” OTP, 1.91-221; Ch. Böttrich, Adam als
Mikrokosmos: Eine untersuchung zum slavische Henochbuch (Frankfurt
am Main: Peter Lang, 1995); idem, Das Slavische Henochbuch
(Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlaghaus, 1995); idem,
Weltweisheit, Menschheitsethik, Urkult; Studien zum slavischen
Henochbuch (WUNT, R.2, 50; Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1992);
R.H. Charles, “The Date and Place of Writings of the
Slavonic Enoch,” JTS 22 (1921) 161-63 (163); J.H.
Charlesworth, “In the Crucible: The Pseudepigrapha as
Biblical Inter- pretation,” in J.H. Charlesworth and C.A.
Evans (eds.), Pseudepigrapha and Early Biblical Interpretation
(Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993) 20-43; J.H.
Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New
Testament: Prolegomena for the Study of Christian Origins (SNTSMS,
54; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985); idem, The
Pseudepigrapha and Modern Research with a Supplement (SBLSCS,
7; Chico, CA: Scholar Press, 1981); J. Collins, “The Genre
Apocalypse in Hellenistic Judaism,” in D. Hellholm (ed.), Apocalypticism
in the Mediterranean World and the Near East (Tübingen:
J.C.B Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1983); L. Cry, “Quelques noms
d’anges ou d’êtres mysterieux en II Henoch,” RB
49 (1940) 195-2003; J. Daniélou, The Theology of Jewish
Christianity (Chicago: Henry Regenry Company, 1964); U.
Fischer, Eschatologie und Jenseitserwartung im hellenistischen
Diasporajudentum (BZNW, 44; Berlin: W. de Gruyter, 1978); J.
Fossum, “Colossians 1.15-19a in the fight of Jewish
Mysticism and Gnosticism,” NTS 35 (1989) 183-201; K.
Lake, “The date of the Slavonic Enoch,” HTR 16
(1923) 397-98; N.A. Meschchersky, “Sledy pamyatnikov Kumrana
v staroslavyanskoj i drevnerusskoj literature (K izucheniu
slavyanksih versij knigi Enocha),” Trudy otdela
drevnerusskoi literatury 19 (1963) 130-47; N.A. Meschchersky,
“K istorii teksta slavyanskoj knigi Enocha (Sledy
pamyatnikov Kumrana v vizantiiskoj i staroslavyanskoj
literature),” Vizantiiskij vremennik 24 (1964)
91-108; N.A.. Meschchersky, “K voprosu ob istochnikan
slavyanskoj knigi Enoha,” Kratkie soobshcheniya Instituta
narodov Azii 86 (1965) 72-78; J.T. Milik, The Books of
Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4 (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1976); G.W.E. Nickelsburg, “The Books of
Enoch in Recent Research,” RSR 7 (1981) 210-17: H.
Odeberg, 3 Enoch or the Hebrew Book of Enoch (New York:
Ktav, 1973); M. Philonenko, “La cosmogonie du ‘Livre
des secrets d’Hénoch’,” in Religions en
Egypte: Hellénistique et Romaine (Paris: Presses
Universitaires de France, 1969); S. Pines, “Eschatology and
the Concept of Time in the Slavonic Book of Enoch,” in R.J.
Zwi Werblowsky (ed.), Types of Redemption (Leiden: E.J.
Brill, 1970); J. Reeves, “Jewish Pseudepigrapha in
Manichaean Literature: The Influence of the Enochic
Library,” in J.C. Reeves (ed.), Tracing the Threads:
Studies in the Vitality of Jewish Pseudepigrapha (Atlanta,
CA: Scholars Press, 1994) 173- 203: A. Rubinstein,
“Observations on the Slavonic Book of Enoch,” JJS
15 (1962) 1-21; G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New
York: Schocken Books, 1954); idem, On the Mystical Shape of
the Godhead (New York: Schocken Books, 1991); idem,
Origins of the Kabbalah (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press, 1987); M. Scopello, “The Apocalypse of Zostrianos
(Nag Hammadi VIII.1) and the Book of the Secrets of Enoch,” Vigillae
Christianae 34 (1980) 367-85; M.E. Stone, Jewish Writings
of the Second Temple Period (CRINT; Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 1984) 2.406-408; A. Vaillant, Le livre des secrets
d’Hénoch: Texte slave et traduction française (Paris:
L’institut d’études slaves, 1952; repr. Paris, 1976);
J. VanderKam, Enoch, a Man for All Generations (Columbia:
South Carolina, 1995).
[3] Andersen, “ 2
Enoch,” 95.
[4] On the Merkabah
tradition, see the following sources: P. Alexander, “The
Historical Settings of the Hebrew Book of Enoch,” JJS
28 (1977) 156-80; D. Blumenthal, Understanding Jewish
Mysticism, a Source Reader: The Merkabah Tradition and the
Zoharic Tradition, I (2 vols.; New York: Ktav, 1978); I.
Chernus, Mysticism in Rabbinic Judaism (Berlin: W. de
Gruyter, 1982); M. Cohen, The Shi’ur Qomah: Liturgy and
Theurgy in Pre-Kabbalistic Jewish Mysticism (Lanham:
University Press of America, 1983); J. Greenfield, “
Prolegomenon,” in Oderberg, 3 Enoch, pp. xi-xlvii; I.
Gruenwald, Apocalyptic and Merkavah Mysticism (AGJU, 14;
Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1980); I. Gruenwald and M. Smith, The
Hekhaloth Literature in English (Chico, CA: Scholars Press,
1983); D. Halperin, The Faces of Chariot: Early Jewish
Responses to Ezekiel’s Vision (TSAJ, 16; Tübingen:
Mohr/Siebeck, 1988); idem, the Merkavah in Rabbinic Literature
(New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1980); M. Idel,
“Enoch is Metatron,” Immanuel 24/25 (1990)
220-40; L. Jacobs, Jewish Mystical Testimonies (New York:
Schocken Books, 1977); N. Janowitz, The Poetics of Ascent:
Theories of Language in a Rabbinic Ascent Text (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1989); M. Morgan, Sepher ha-
Razim: The Book of Mysteries (Chico, CA: Scholars Press,
1983); C. Morray-Jones, “Hekhaloth Literature and Talmudic
tradition: Alexander’s Three Test Cases,” JJS 22
(1991) 1-39; C. Newsom, Songs of Sabbath Sacrifice: A Critical
Edition (HSS, 27; Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1985); P.
Schäfer with M. Schlüter and H.G. von Mutius, Synopse zur
Hekhaloth-Literatur (TSAJ, 2; Tübinger: J.C.B. Mohr [Paul
Siebeck], 1981); P. Schäfer, The Hidden and Manifest God (Albany:
State University of New York Press, 1992); P. Schäfer et al.,
Übersetzung der Hekhaloth-Literatur (4 vols.; TSAJ, 17,
22, 29, 46; Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1987-95); G.
Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism and Talmudic
Tradition (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America,
1965); Idem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New York:
Schocken Books, 1954); N. Séd, “ Les traditions secrètes
et les disciples de Rabban Yohannan ben Zakkai,” RHR
184 (1973) 49-66; M. Swartz, Mystical Prayer in Ancient
Judaism: An Analysis of Ma’ aseh Merkavah (Tübingen:
J.C.B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1992).
[5] Odeberg, 3
Enoch.
[6] On the figure of
Enoch and Enochic traditions see: M. Black, The Book of Enoch
or 1 Enoch: A New English Edition with Commentary and Textual
Notes (SVTP, 7; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1985); Charlesworth, The
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha; idem, The Pseudepigrapha; J.
Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to the
Jewish Matrix of Christianity (New York: Crossroad, 1984)
33-67; P. Grelot, “La légende d’Hénoch dans les
apocryphes et dans la Bible: son origine et signification,” RSR
46 (1958) 5-26, 181-210; H.L. Jansen, Die Henochgestalt; Eine
vergleichende religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung (Norske
Videnskaps-Akademi i Oslo II. Hist.-Filos. Klasse, I; Oslo:
Dybwad, 1939); H. Kvanvig, Roots of Apocalyptic: The
Mesopotamian Background of the Enoch Figure and the Son of Man (WMANT,
61; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1988); Milik, the
Books of Enoch; Odeberg, 3 Enoch; M. Stone, Selected
Studies in Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha with Special Reference to
American Tradition (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1991); M. Stone,
“The Book of Enoch and Judaism in the Third Century
BCE,” CBQ 40 (1978) 479-92; J. VanderKam, “Enoch
Traditions in Jubilees and Other Second-Century Sources,” Society
of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers 1 ( 1978) 229-51; J.
VanderKam, Enoch and the Growth of an Apocalyptic Tradition (Washington:
Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1984); J. VanderKam, Enoch,
a Man for All Generations. On Merkabah features of Enochic
traditions, cf. P. Alexander, “3 (Hebrew Apocalypse of)
Enoch,” OTP, 1.247-48; Greenfield,
“Prolegomenon,” xvi-xxi; Gruenwald, Apocalytic and
Merkavah Mysticism, 32-51.
[7] “stani pred
litsem moim vo veki.”
Vaillant, Le livre des secrets d’ Henoch, 24.
[8] Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 1.55.
[9] Here and later I
have used Andersen’s new English translation, and follow his
division in chapters.
[10] Cf. 21.3; 21.5;
22.6; 22.7.
[11] Scholem, Major
Trends in Jewish Mysticism, 67.
[12] About different
stages in Hekhaloth tradition, cf. Gruenwald, Apocalytic and
Merkavah Mysticism, 98-123, 67.
[13] Scholem, Major
Trends in Jewish Mysticism, 67.
[14] The origin of
the role in Enochic traditions can be traced to 1 Enoch 72.1;
74.2 and 80.1 See also 41.1, “And after this I saw all
secrets of heaven.” M. Knibb, The Ethiopic Book of Enoch (2
vols; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978) 2.128.
[15]Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 2.30.
[16] Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 2.177-78.
[17] Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 2.178.
[18] Metatron himself
was some sort of Merkabah’s mystic par-excellence and a good
example for Yorde Merkabah. As Alexander notes, it is not
hard to see why he attracted mystics. “He was a human being
who had been elevated over all the angels, and was living proof
that man could overcome angelic opposition and approach God. He
was a powerful ‘friend at court’,” Alexander,
“3 Enoch,” 244.
[19] Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 2.30.
[20] “The Prince
of Presence.”
[21] “The Knower
of Secrets.”
[22] “The
Heavenly Scribe.”
[23] “The
Witness of Divine Judgment.”
[24] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 195.
[25] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 196.
[26] In early Enochic
traditions these two functions are also unified. The motif of
initiation into the secrets as the beginning of scribal
activities occupies a substantial role in the Astronomical Book
of 1 Enoch, the oldest Enochic material. In 1 Enoch
74.2 Enoch writes the instructions of the angel Uriel regarding
the secrects of heavenly bodies and their movements. Knibb, The
Ethiopic Book of Enoch, 2.173. Qumran Enochic fragments
(4QEnGiants 14; 4QEn 92.1) picture Enoch as “the scribe of
distinction” )#rp rps Cf.
Milik, The Book of Enoch, 261-62 and 305. In the book of Jubilees
Enoch is attested as “the first who learned writings and
knowledge and wisdom... And who wrote in the book the signs of
the heaven.” O.S. Wintermute, “Jubilees,” OTP,
2.62.
[27] The origin of
the title in Enochic traditions can be traced to the Book of
the Watchers of 1 Enoch 12.4, 15.1, where Enoch is
named as “a scribe of rightousness.” Knibb, The
Ethiopic Book of Enoch, 2.92 and 100. According to Black the
possible biblical parallel to Enoch’s role as the Scribe
could be the passage from Ezek. 9, which pictures man clad in
white linen with an ink-horn by his side. Black, The Book of
Enoch, 143.
[28] Odebert, 3
Enoch, 1.56.
[29] “vdai že trost’
Enochovi.” Vaillant, Le livre des secrets d’Henoch,
26.
[30] “vdast mi
trost.” Vaillant, Le livre des secrets d’Henoch,
26.
[31] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 141.
[32] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 141.
[33] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 141.
[34] In 1 Enoch
81.6 the angel Uriel commands to Enoch “teach your children,
and write (these things) down for them, and testify to all your
children.” Knibb, The Ethiopic Book of Enoch, 2.187.
[35] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 157.
[36] Alexander notes
that “ classic rabbinical literature makes it clear that
there was an esoteric doctrine in Talmudic Judaism. It was
concerned with two subjects-the Account of Creation (Ma’aseh Bereschit)
and the Account of the Chariot (Ma’aseh Merkabah). All study
and discussion of these topics in public was banned.”
Alexander, “3 Enoch,” 229-30.
[37] “knižnik.” Vaillant, Le
livre des secrets d’Henoch, 36.
[38] It is an
important moment for understanding of the presence of Merkabah
tradition in the text of 2 Enoch: the functions of Enoch
as the Scribe will be connected with his role as the witness of
the Divine Judgment: “Metatron sits and judges the heavenly
houshold” or “Metatron, the angel of the Presence,
stands at the door of the Palace of God and he sits and judges
all the heavenly hosts before his Master. And god pronounces
judgment and he executes it.” Odebert, 3 Enoch,
2.171.
[39] “
syadi.” Vaillant, Le livre des secrets d” Henoch,
26.
[40] “
sydoch.” Vaillant, Le livre des secrets d” Henoch,
26.
[41] Andersen, “
2 Enoch” p. 141.
[42] b. Chag.
15a.
[43] 3 En. 10.
[44] Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 2.27
[45] Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 2.27
[46] According to
Tishby it is the most popular title of Metatron. “Metatron
is known by many names and titles, but his regular designation,
found even in the earlier literature, is,
na’ar-“boy”, or “lad” . I, Tishby, The
Wisdom of the Zohar: Anthology of Texts (3 vols.; London: The
Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 1994) 2.628.
[47] Odebert, 3
Enoch, 1.119.
[48] Tishby, The
Wisdome of the Zohar, 2.628: “ it is the mystery of the
boy who reaches old age and then reverts to his youth as at the
beginning.”
[49] Odebert, 3
Enoch, 1.80.
[50] Barsov’s
manuscript [B], ch. V in M.I. Sokolov, “ Slavyanskaya kniga
Enokha pravednogo: Teksty, latinsky perevod I izsledovanie,”
Chteniya v obshchestve istorii i drevnostei Rossiiskikh 4
(1910) 85.
[51] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 119.
[52] Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 2.6-7.
[53] On Merkabah
stratum of the shorter recension cf. A. Orlov, ”Merkabah
Stratum” of the Short Recension of 2 Enoch (Brown
Library, Abilene, 1995).
[54] Barsov’s
manuscript [B], ch. XI in M.I. Sokolov, “Slavyanskaya kniga
Enokha pravednogo: Teksty, latinsky perevod I
izsledovaniye,” COIDR 4 (1910) 90-91.
[55] Andersen
criticizes Valliant’s position. He stresses that “ the
similarity to the vocative enoše might explain the
variant as purely scribal slip. But it is surprising that it is
only in address, never in description, that the term is used. The
variant jenokhu is rare. There is no phonetic reason why
the first vowel should change to ju; junokhu is never
found.” Andersen, “ 2 Enoch,” 118-19.
[56] Cf. Vaillant, Le
livre des secrets d” Henoch, 8.
[57] Andersen, “
2 Enoch” , p. 119. Sreznevsky” s dictionary
equates the Slavonic word yunoše with Greek vea??sko?. Cf. I.
Sreznevsky, Slovar’ drevnerusskogo Yazyka (3 vols.;
Moscow: Kniga, 1989) 2.1627-28.
[58] Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 1.81.
[59] Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 2.105. In chapter 48 of 3 Enoch the Holy One
says that he “committed unto him (Metatron) 70 angels
corresponding to the nations (of the world) and gave into his
charge all the household above and below ... and arranged for him
all the works of Creation.” Odeberg, 3 Enoch, 2.166.
[60] Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 2.105.
[61] “The Just
Balance” (Merilo Pravednoe) is the Slavonic
collection of ethical writings in which the existence of 2
Enoch first was made public. Cf. M.N. Tihomirov, Merilo
Pravednoe po rukopisi XIV veka (Moscow: AN SSSR, 1961).
[62] Majority of
manuscripts use Slavonic words krumstvuemaya or kormstvuemaya.
I. Sreznevsky in his
dictionary relates these Slavonic terms to the Greek word
??ß??v?s?? or the Latin gubernatio. Cf. I.I.
Sreznevsky, Stovar’ drevnerusskogo yazyka, I (II), p.
1410. The manuscripts of “Merilo Pravednoe”
[MPr] use the word pravlemaya. Cf. Tihomirov, Merilo
Pravednoe po rukopisi XIV veka, 71. Andersen translates the
term as “manager” – “I am the manager of the
arrangements on earth...,” Andersen, “2 Enoch,”
217.
[63] Cf. Similar
functions of Enoch in the book of Jubilees where he
“appointed times of the years according to their order, with
respect to each of their months... And their weeks according to
jubilees he recounted; and the days of the years he made known.
And the months he set in order, and the sabbaths of the years he
recounted,” Wintermute, “Jubilees,” 62-63.
[64] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 217-19.
[65] The rudimentary
traces of this tradition can be found in other documents of early
Enochic literature: in 1 Enoch, Aramaic Levi, and in the
book of Jubilees, where Enoch is pictured as the one
“who saw what was and what will happen among the children of
men in their generations until the day of judgment. He saw and
knew everything and wrote his testimony and deposited the
testimony upon the earth against all the children of men and
their generation...And he wrote everything, and bore witness to
the Watchers...And Enoch bore witness against all of them...And
behold, he is there writing condemnation and judgement of the
world, and all of the evils of the children of men.”
Wintermute, “Jubilees,” 62.
[66] See Jub.
4.24 “...he (Enoch) was put there for a sign and so that he
might relate all of the deeds of the generations until the day of
judgment.” Wintermute, “Jubilees,” 63.
[67] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 183.
[68] Vaillant, Le
livre des secrets d” Henoch, 44.
[69] “And behold
my children, I am the Governor of the earth, [prometaya], I wrote
them down ...”
[70] I investigated
the relationships between the words prometaya and Metatron in my
article “The Origin of the Name ‘Metatron’ and the
Text of 2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch” JSP (forthcoming).
[71] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 165.
[72] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 177.
[73] A possible
parallel to this theme could be 1 Enoch 71 where Enoch
“was born to righteousness.” The text describes the
situation when Enoch went through some sort of
“transformation” when his whole body was
“melted” and his spirit was transformed. Knibb, The
Ethiopic Book of Enoch, 2.166-67. However radical difference
of this transformation from the similar event in 2 Enoch
is the fact that transformed Enoch in 1 Enoch does not
belong to the archangelic rank of “glorious ones” to
which Metatron belongs. The text is silent about any text of
angelic transmutation.
[74] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 139.
[75] Andersen,
“2 Enoch,” 139.
[76] J.H.
Charlesworth rightly observes on this episode that “it is
conceivable that here Enoch – although he is not explicitly
called “an angel” – has attained the rank of an
angel or been transformed into angel. The possibility looms large
since in 2 Enoch 21.3 Gabriel is identified as one of the
Lord” s glorious ones.” James H. Charlesworth,
“The Portrayal of the Righteous as an Angel,” in: J.J.
Collins and G.W.E. Nickelsburg (eds.), Ideal Figures in
Ancient Judaism: Profiles and Paradigms (Chico, CA: Scholars
Press, 1980) 135-51 (147). Cf. Also Scopello, “The
Apocalypse of Zostrianos,” 377.
[77] In Merkabah
tradition we can find many parallels to this story. 3 Enoch
has the similar description of the clothing Metatron in a garment
of Glory. “He made me a garment of glory on which were fixed
all kinds of lights and He clad me in it.” Odeberg, 3
Enoch, 2.32.
[78] P. Alexander
notes that the transformation of Enoch in 2 Enoch 22
provides the closest approximation, outside Merkabah literature,
to Enoch transformation into Metatron in 3 Enoch 3-15.
Alexander, “3 Enoch,” 248.
[79] For a discussion
of the date of 2 Enoch in the first century CE before the
destruction of the Second Temple, cf. Scholem, Jewish
Gnosticism, 17; and Gruenwald, Apocalyptic and Merkavah
Mysticism, 50.