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orion relevance of Enoch?
I understand the reason for the lists' length limit suggestion, though I
found Donald Goodell's posts quite interesting, even if, so far, not
entirely convincing, given, for instance, no response yet on the question
of 108 text "scraps" appearing pre-107 elsewhere in any mss; tense/person
shifts elsewhere in apocalyptic; etc. And, perhaps, a little sidetrack or
two arose.
But I write to suggest (or ask) that the topic was indeed relevant
to this list. The Ethiopic Enoch 108 had, according to A. Dillmann, an
Essene Weltanschauung (Das Buch Henoch, 1853, p.lvi). Milik wrote a greatly
learned if occasionally idiosyncratic treatment on the Qumran Enoch mss and
their legacy. (BTW, for an interesting, learned, and sometimes
idiosyncratic book which for whatever massively distorting reason goes to
great lengths to avoid incorporating Essenes in history--even when drawing
on A. Dupont-Sommer!--see Michael Wise, The First Messiah.) Here on list we
have the distinguished proponent of the view that unassigned pseudepigrapha
be first considered as Christian--Robert Kraft. Enoch 108 is a good test
case.
As long as the conversation is well-informed and civil--as are
David Suiter, Rochelle Altman, F. Rosenthal, et al.--why not welcome it? A
look at the latest JSJ (no. 1, 1999), for instance, shows a rave review by
D. Frankfurter of J. Reeves' new book Herald of that Good--which precisely
discusses, inter alia, Enoch works, Qumran, and even pseudo-pseudepigrapha.
(The same issue has a contribution suggesting De Vita Contemplativa is a
philosopher's dream, and warning off historians--even as it provides
historians Platonic and Stoic links to Josephus' Contra Apion book 2, etc.)
At any rate, in my opinion, what we can learn from Qumran about I
Enoch, including 108, seems to me on topic. With due care on aptness,
civility, and length, could this thread continue?
best wishes,
Stephen Goranson
For private reply, e-mail to stephen goranson <goranson@duke.edu>
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