Slavic Book of Enoch

The Slavic Book of Enoch is an apocryphal , apocalyptic book and tells of the experiences of Enoch before he was accepted into seventh heaven .

The Slavic Book of Enoch has an apocalyptic character and was probably created in the first century AD. It was originally written in Greek , but today only a Church Slavonic translation has survived. There are several versions, a longer and a short one, the short one being the result of shortening the long version. According to the name, the author is said to have been Enoch mentioned in the biblical book of Genesis , but who certainly did not write it. Scripture can be roughly divided into three areas: the account of the seven heavens, the instruction of Enoch through God, the exhortations of Enoch to his sons and the princes of the people.

According to this book, the names of the sons of Enoch are: Methuselah (Metuschelach), Regim, Rim, Azuchan, Chermion.

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Two angels take Enoch with them and show him the heavens:

In the first heaven he is shown the stars, clouds and sources of dew.
In the second heaven he finds the fallen, captive angels waiting for judgment.
The third heaven is paradise , to which the righteous among men are brought. In the north of this heaven is hell , there the unjust are tormented.
In the fourth heaven are the sun and moon. In the east and west there are six gates each through which the sun passes depending on the season; this explains the days of light that vary in length depending on the season. Likewise with the moon: there are twelve gates here.
In the fifth heaven there are human-like giants as guardians.
In the sixth heaven there are seven choirs of angels who take care of the order of the world.
In the seventh (uppermost) heaven he finds the Archangels , Ophannim , Seraphim , Cherubim and God on his throne.

God instructs the archangel Bretil to give Enoch a pen and paper and to dictate to him all things about heaven, earth and sea; after thirty days Enoch had written 360 books. Then God describes Enoch the creation of the world. Then God sent him back to earth to tell his sons everything within thirty days and to bring them the books. At this point God already mentions the coming flood .

Back on earth, Enoch first gives a speech to his sons, tells them about everything that has happened, warns of sin and repeatedly admonishes them in various ways to live a right, godly life. Later he similarly admonishes the elders of the people and tells of the reward of a righteous life. The book ends with Enoch being taken to the highest heaven.

Individual evidence

↑ The books of the secrets of Enoch by G. Bonwetsch. SV

literature

expenditure

The books of the secrets of Enoch, the so-called Slavic Book of Enoch, edited by G. Nathanael Bonwetsch at JC Hinrichs in Leipzig in 1922
Christfried Böttrich : The Slavic Book of Enoch ; in: Jewish writings from the Hellenistic-Roman period 5; Gütersloh 1996; ISBN 3-579-03957-1
Paul Riessler: Old Jewish literature outside the Bible ; Freiburg, Heidelberg: Kerle, 1988 ⁶ ; Pp. 452-473. Digital full text output on Wikisource

Secondary literature

Christfried Böttrich: world wisdom, cult of humanity, ancient cult. Studies on the Slavic Book of Enoch ; WUNT 50; Tübingen 1992; ISBN 3-16-145860-5
Christfried Böttrich: Adam as a microcosm. An investigation into the Slavic Book of Enoch ; Judaism and the Environment 59; Frankfurt am Main u. a .: Peter Lang 1995. ISBN 3-631-48270-1

Web links

Beate Ego: Art. Henoch / Henoch literature ; in: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (eds.): WiBiLex - the scientific Bible lexicon on the Internet ; Stuttgart: German Bible Society 2007 ff.

[1] The books of the secrets of Enoch by G. Bonwetsch. SV