Twelfth Enoch Seminar (2023 online), conference

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TITLE (tentative): "Enoch Studies in the 2020s"

FORMAT: online

DATE: June 26-29, 2023

DESCRIPTION: The conference will focus on the work of scholars who have done new work on 1 Enoch. In other words, after an opening session in which we should grant a second round of "Enoch Seminar Life Achievement Awards", we will devote one hour to the work of each scholars, witha 15-20 min presentation followed by a panel of 2-3 respondents plenty of time for discussion. At the end we conclude with a wrap-up session.

Schedule (EST Time)

Day 1

8:30 -- Introduction (Gabriele Boccaccini)

9am-11am -- Session 1 :

11:30am-1:30pm -- Session 2 :

2:30-4:30pm -- Special Session: "Fifty years of Research on 1 Enoch" (John Collins, Devorah Dimant, James VanderKam, Gabriele Boccaccini, Kelley Coblentz Bautch, Loren Stuckenbruck)

or 9:15-10:30 -- 10:45-12 // 2:00-3:15 -- 3:30-4:45

Day 2

9am-11am -- Session 3

11:30am-1:30pm -- Session 4

2:30-4:30pm -- Session 5

Day 3

9am-11am -- Session 6

11:30am-1:30pm -- Session 7

2:30-4:30pm -- Session 8 (Conclusions)

Day 4

9am-11am

11:30am-1:30pm

2:30-4:30pm -- Wrap-up session & Award Ceremony

Participants

Monday ----

Introduction: "Fifty Years of Enoch Research: From Milik to the Present" (John J. Collins, Jim Vanderkam?, Devorah Dimant?) Gabriele Boccaccini, Kelley Coblentz Bautch, Loren Stuckenbruck)

Confirmed speakers

  • 4. Arjen Bakker, University of Groningen, NL (*)
  • 27. Archie Wright


  • 2. Kelley Coblentz Bautch, St. Edward's University, USA (*) -- "Enoch Unbound" -- Even while scholars have recognized the diversity of Enochic compositions, there has been the tendency to conflate ancient extant and fragmentary texts with compositions that have reached us in later, anthologized forms. This presentation explores the proliferation of Enochic traditions outside of fixed collections or particular compositions associated with the patriarch. We consider two important contributions to scholarship on Enoch, J. T. Milik, The Books of Enoch (1976) and Reeves and Reed, Enoch from Antiquity to the Middle Ages (2018), which helpfully serve as contrasting poles. Though Milik's groundbreaking study points to multiple compositions associated with the patriarch, he himself popularized the notion of an Enochic Pentatauch, reifying the idea of an early fixed collection. More contemporary scholarship, however, challenges even the idea of fixed forms of Enochic texts, that scholars might anachronistically reflect back on the most ancient of traditions.
  • 17. Elena Dugan, Phillips Academy Andover, USA -- "New Philology and the Discovery of New Works: Enoch in the First-Century CE" (Dugan) -- Scholars working on fragmentary, damaged, or incomplete manuscripts are often bound to perform some degree of restoration—but how much? And to which imagined ‘whole’ do we affix our fragments? This talk will explore 1 Enoch as an exploration into how New/Material Philology can illuminate negative space in our archive of ancient literature. New Philology can guide scholars towards new clarity in describing and accounting for what is present in our manuscripts, and even more crucially, what is not. By not assuming an absolute presence of a certain work in every document, we can let attention to the phenomenon of absence open the way to newly dynamic stories of the evolution and development of ancient literature. In this case, new recognition of patterns of absence from our earliest manuscripts will clear the way for a new hypothesis: the re-dating of a crucial part of 1 Enoch to the heady early days of the first Jewish Revolt, and the tumultuous environs of the first-century CE.


Watchers (Ben-Dov, Leuchter, Eisler...) ----

  • 10. Jonathan Ben-Dov, Tel-Aviv University, Israel -- "Mythology in the Hellenistic Levant: The Book of Watchers and the Phoenician History of Philo of Byblos" -- Many scholars sought to illuminate the intellectual background for the mythology of the Watchers. The main sources used for reconstructing this background were Babylonian mythology from the earlier cuneiform literature and the figure of Prometheus from Greek mythology. In contrast, or better alongside these sources, I suggest that the closest parallels to the Book of Watchers as a mythological composition is The Phoenician History of Philo of Byblos (1-2 centuries CE). In this work – fragments of which were preserved by Eusebius – the author presents a “tehcnogony”, i.e., a history of the earliest inventions of civilization, featuring primordial heroes who invented various tools and elements of civilization. This history is embedded in a theogony of the earlier gods, which in itself presents a variety of parallels to myths known from the Jewish sphere. Both the Enochic and the Phoenician treatises posit a primordial figure – Enoch and Sanchouniathon – as the authority behind the narrative. Given the provenance of the Watchers stories at the slopes of the Anti-Lebanon, the resemblance seems significant. Methodological issues arising from Philo’s text notwithstanding (and there are quite a few of them), we may be justified in viewing it alongside BW as two mythological collections from the early Hellenistic Levant that share much in common. They can thus illuminate the cultural interaction between Jews and Phoenicians at this obscure period, while at the same time highlighting the unique development of this shared tradition in each of the sources respectively.
  • 8. Mark Leuchter, Temple University, PA, USA -- "Breaking Ground: Reconstituting Geomythology in the Earliest Enochian Discourses" -- While there is broad scholarly agreement that the majority of material in 1 Enoch 1-36 formed against the background of Greek imperialism, an increasing number of researchers have proposed that the Shemihaza-Asael narrative in 1 Enoch 6-11 derives from the Achaemenid Era. These chapters contain a variety of challenges to Achaemenid conventions, including a reaction to the crumbling of imperial geographic hierarchies as the Achaemenid empire met its sudden death. The Shemihaza-Asael narrative addresses the implications of a disrupted Achaemenid geomythology, with its closing chapter/s taking up motifs from a much earlier Israelite mythology of landscape/netherworld long pre-dating the rise of Persia. This carries implications for discerning some additional points of contact between 1 Enoch 1-36 and the Pentateuch. But it also points to developing understandings of landscapes, the netherworld, and mantic scribalism standing at the nexus between them.
  • 24. Daniel Assefa -- "The Narrator and the Reader in the Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1-36)" -- The study of the narrator, a significant aspect of narrative-critical analysis, enables readers to explore the way in which a story is told. The succession of events found in the Book of Watchers and accomplished by various characters is mediated by a narrator who speaks in the first person and adopts different perspectives to communicate with the reader. The characteristics of the Book of the Watcher’s narrator and their impact will be examined, with particular attention to the narrator’s perspective and voice. Besides, aspects of the implied reader will be taken into consideration.
  • 18. Philip Esler, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, UK (pesler@gos.ac.uk) -- "Heaven in 1 Enoch 1-36 as a Royal Court" -- The standard interpretation of heaven in 1 Enoch 1-36 is that it is presented as a temple with the Watchers as priests. This paper will argue for an alternative view, that the source domain for the metaphorical structure that is the Enochic heaven is the royal court and courtiers of ancient near eastern and hellenistic kingdoms. Having highlighted problems with the current view, I will propose Norbert Elias’ The Court Society as offering pertinent sociological perspectives on the nature of royal courts that are readily comparable with the ancient phenomena (as classicists have argued). The paper will then explore significant points of comparison between this sociology of courts and courtiers and the picture of heaven in 1 Enoch 1-36. Central issues addressed will be the the picture of God in splendid seclusion, the widespread use of the language of petition, the secession of the Watchers as rebellion by courtiers against their king, the architecture of heaven (noting the parallels with the Achaemenid capital at Pasargadae) and the depiction of Enoch as a sage in a royal court. The result of this analysis is to suggest tension existed between the Enochic scribes and the temple and to situate them as working within Israelite tradition while being familiar, possibly through personal experience, with the functioning of ancient near eastern and hellenistic monarchies, especially the courts and courtiers at their heart."
  • 6. Logan Williams, University of Exeter, UK (*) -- "Temple and Cosmos in the Book of Watchers: Reassessing the Evidence" -- Ever since Martha Himmelfarb’s groundbreaking work Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypses, it has been a scholarly commonplace to describe Enoch’s ascent in 1 Enoch 14 as an entry into a heavenly temple. Jonathan Klawans further opines that the Book of Watchers expresses the notion that heaven is a temple but not the notion that the cosmos is a temple. Investigating the relationship between היכל and בית, this paper reconsiders how these terms map onto the temple architecture outlined in the Hebrew Bible and how they may map onto the heavenly and cosmic architecture described in the Book of Watchers. I question whether it is appropriate to describe the celestial buildings in the Book of Watchers as a ‘temple’, and I further suggest that there may be good reasons to consider the possibility that the Book of Watchers is intelligible in a ‘temple-as-cosmos’ model.

Zodiac/Calendar/Magic (Jacobus, Fröhlich, Goff) ----

  • 20. Helen Jacobus, University of Manchester, UK (*) -- “The Books of Enoch as vehicles of the circulation of the zodiac between Hellenistic and Byzantine Egypt and Late Roman and Byzantine Palestine” (Jacobus) -- This paper argues that the Greek fragments of the Book of Enoch, known from Akhmim (Panopolis), and Oxyrhynchus, which includes part of the Book of Luminaries and the Aramaic Astronomical Book, may reflect a long-term process of circulation of astronomical knowledge between Egypt and Palestine. The suggestion follows this author’s research in progress that the depictions of the zodiac on some mosaic floors of Late Roman and Byzantine-period synagogues in Palestine are paralleled in zodiacal iconography in a number of private Roman tomb ceilings and coffin lids from first and second century CE Roman Egypt. Some mosaic artists from Egypt worked in Palestine and there were strong connections between the countries. However, similarities between the Egyptian zodiacs executed in the Greco-Roman style, including iconography in tombs from Akhmim, and several zodiac wheels on the floors of Late Roman and Byzantine synagogues centuries apart have not been explained. There is also a connection between an early Ptolemaic zodiacal calendar and the “synchronistic calendar” in the Aramaic Astronomical Book. Intellectual links with the different Books of Enoch, common origins in Mesopotamian astronomy, and the diachronic standardization of Greco-Roman-Egyptian zodiacal art probably account for this close connection.
  • 25. Ida Fröhlich, PPCU Budapest, Hungary -- THE STORY OF THE WATCHERS (1EN 6-11): A NEW APPROACH -- "The narrative of 1En 6-11 is an aetiological myth of physical evil coming upon man in the form of evil spirits. The tradition of the Watchers is referred to in several Qumran texts intended to provide protection against evil spirits. Scholarly explanations claimed to discover social phenomena behind the tradition. The story can be best explained in the context of the Enochic collection. The Introduction (1En 1-5) claims the Fallen Watchers as a negative example of those "who change their works." A positive example is given the Astronomical book (1En 72-82) in the figure of the Holy Watchers who do not change their works and represent the system of a 364-day ideal solar calendar, with equinoxes and solstices as corner points. This calendar is consistent with that used by other Qumran texts (Jubilees, the Temple Scroll, and 4QMMT). It is generally accepted that the basis of this system is a 360-day zodiac calendar, represented by the Mesopotamian compendium MUL.APIN. This calendar served as a basis for the practice of astral magic, a paradigm shift and scientific revolution in Mesopotamia at the end of the 7th century. Astral magic was the basis of the sciences, above all healing practice (melothesia). Some Qumran Aramaic astronomical texts (4Q208-209) are related to Babylonian magico-hemerological texts (Helen Jacobus). It can be assumed that their authors and their environment were also familiar with the ideas of astral magic about the properties of the stars. The presentation aims at discussing the narrative of 1En 6-11 as a myth on the origin of physical evil shaped in metaphors related to the concepts of astral magic. In this way, the 364-day year can be interpreted as a counter-tradition to the zodiac calendar, and the basis of a different world interpretation and healing practice."
  • 26. Matthew Goff, Florida State University, USA -- "The Ring of Shamḥiza: The Aramaic Nachleben of Enoch and Enochic Tradition in Incantation Bowls" -- In recent years there has been, with good reason, much interest in the reception of Enochic traditions. In this paper I would like to contribute to this scholarship by examining the transmission of Enochic traditions in Mesopotamian incantation bowls. They are attested in this corpus, as in the reference to a “Ring of Shamḥiza” in a bowl published by Montgomery. There has been some good work on Enochic traditions in the bowls, by scholars such as Jonas Greenfield, Siam Bhayro, and, most recently, Yakir Paz. There also has been in recent years several new publications of bowl collections. For this project I will review this material and assess what the current state of our knowledge regarding the bowls contributes to how we understand the Nachleben of Enoch traditions in late antique Mesopotamia.

Noah (Drawnel & Feldman) ----

  • 22. Ariel Feldman, Brite Divinity School. -- “Cleanse the Earth from All Impurity (1 En. 10:20, 22)”: Restoring Earth’s Purity in Early Jewish Traditions on the Flood" -- "Taking 1 En. 10:20, 22 as its point of departure, this paper considers Early Jewish texts depicting Noah’s Flood as earth’s purification. It next seeks to place this view of the Flood vis-à-vis a tradition embedded in Jubilees and Genesis Apocryphon wherein Noah atones for the earth after the Flood by means of a sacrifice. The paper further suggests that Genesis Apocryphon, being aware of both traditions, implicitly argues for the priority of the latter view."
  • 16. Mirjam Judith Bokhorst, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany -- "Opportunities and limitations of a synoptic approach in editing and translating, exemplified by 1 En 22" -- "In the practice of editing and translating 1 Enoch, there are usually two ways of dealing with the complicated evidence of textual transmission. Some translations represent an eclectic hybrid text, which is based on all textual witnesses, but which historically never existed in one of the source languages (e.g. Uhlig or Nickelsburg). In other cases, the translation is almost arbitrarily based on one textual witness, because this either comes close to the postulated final text in terms of language and time or offers a perceived complete and text-critically trustworthy text (e.g. Isaac or Knibb). Both ways of dealing, however, are inadequate from a historical perspective because each, in its own way, fails to acknowledge the entire textual evidence. Therefore, in my paper I argue for a synoptic approach, which I will illustrate and explain using the example of a new synoptic edition and translation of 1 En. 22."


Langlois, Schumann & Machiela (Covenant and Law) ----

  • 5. Daniel Schumann, University of Tuebingen, Germany -- "Making Sense of Silence: How to Read the Lack of Covenantal Terminology in Enochic Literature in a 3rd and 2nd Century BCE Judean Context" (Schumann) -- "In my paper, I will investigate the intertwined concepts of covenant and election in Deutero-Isaiah (Is 65), the Enochic corpus (1 En 1:3.8; 93:2), and the Damascus Document (CD A 3:1–20). I will show that the lack of any mention of the covenant of God with his people in 1 Enoch reflects inner-Jewish tensions between different priestly and apocalyptic-oriented groups in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. As a result, the authors of the Book of Watchers (1 En 1-36) and the Epistle of Enoch (92-105) separate Israel into a small remnant of righteous people on the one hand, and a majority of sinners on the other, thus focusing on the election of a small group and its individuals instead of Israel as a covenantal people."


ENOCH IN THE FIRST CENTURY: The Parables and the New Testament

  • 7. Fiodar Litvinau, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany -- "Reception of Hellenistic Traditions in Jewish Pseudepigrapha: Examples from 1 Enoch 69:8 and Apocalypse of Abraham 5" -- The paper will explore the reception of the Greek mythological traditions in the Jewish pseudepigraphic compositions using the examples of 1 En. 69:8 and Apoc. Ab. 5. The first example, 1 En. 69:8 contains a tradition according to which the angel Penemue taught humans how to write. The composition, surprisingly, regards it critically, similarly to the negative attitude to the invention of the alphabet in the myth preserved in Plato, Phaedrus 274c–275b. The second example is found in the story of burning of the image of god Barisat in Apoc. Ab. 5, which appears to be reworked version of the Greek anecdote, connected with the figure of Diagoras (and other philosophers), who burned the image of Heracles in order to cook a meal. The paper will explore the process of appropriation and application of the Hellenistic traditions in a new context, focusing on the transformations and theological interests of the Jewish writers of the Second Temple Period.
  • 13. Jolyon Pruszinski, Princeton University, USA (*) <jolyonp@princeton.edu><jolyon.pruszinski@gmail.com> -- "To Measure for Me the Place of the Chosen: Phenomenologies of Dwelling in the Parables of Enoch" -- The literary genre of “Apocalypse,” as a rule, addresses the present realities in the life of the author (or author’s community) through an ostensible vision of the future, an alternate ideal space, or both. The vision serves as a critique of the author’s reality, and often appears to compensate for it. One of the primary themes of the Parables of Enoch appears through its ubiquitous employment of a language of “dwelling.” The author has a clear interest in a variety of dwellings including that of the Lord of the Spirits (e.g. 45:1, 48:1-3, 62:14, 71:5-8), the ultimate dwellings of the righteous (e.g. 39:4-5, 39:8, 41:2, 41:5, 45:5-6, 51:5b, 61:12, 70:3-4, 71:16) and the wicked (e.g. 38:2, 45:5-6, 46:6, 56:7-8, 63:6, 65:11 ), and even their current experiences of dwelling upon the earth (e.g. 46:4-8, 63:7-12, 65:10-12). It appears that the ultimate dwellings are compensatory for the current, unjust situations of dwelling on earth. In this sense, the Parables display many of the literary phenomena typical to literatures of marginal “dwelling” as described by French philosopher Gaston Bachelard in La poètique de l’espace. Among these are imaginatively generative descriptions of ideal dwellings, hints of experiences of marginal dwelling, and negative reactions to the powers of the world that consigned the writer to his (or her) marginal “corner.” Though the presence of many of these phenomena and the particular form they take in the Parables may pre-date the proposed “anti-landlord” redactional stage of the text’s development (lately traced to the period following Herod the Great’s program of land confiscation mentioned in Josephus, Ant. 17), the text as extant is indicative of the pressures at work during these times of composition and redaction. Relying on a literary-psychological “topoanalysis” based in Bachelard’s work, we may surmise that the author and/or members of his (or her) community were displaced from their homes and consigned to marginal, subsistence living: the type of milieu known to generate such “dwelling” literature.
  • 21. Daniele Minisini, University of Rome, Italy (*) -- "John the Baptist and the Book of Parables: Strengths and Limits of an Enochic Perspective -- Although many brilliant and recent studies have strongly emphasized the specific needs of interpreting John the Baptist’s preaching and actions entirely within Second Temple Judaism, the texts of the Enochic literary tradition, and in particular the Book of Parables, have not found any favor in such studies, despite those that would seem to be deep and structural points of contact. This paper, after attempting to highlight all those elements that would seem to be connecting the reflections of the Book of the Parables of Enoch with the preaching of the Baptist (dwelling especially on the figures of the Son of Man and the ἐρχόμενος, the role of repentance, and the idea of a double judgment), will try to shed light on what the gains of such a perspective might be and its limitations for the study not only of the figure of the Baptist but also for Christian Origins and New Testament writings.
  • 11. Joshua Scott
  • 3. Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan, USA -- "Paul and Enoch: A Direct Connection?" (Boccaccini) --
  • 12. Ruben Bühner, University of Tuebingen, Germany (*) <r.buehner@uni-tuebingen.de> -- “Divine Essence and Divine Relations. The Relation Between the Messiah and other Divine Beings in the Parables of Enoch and in Revelation 4-5" (Bühner) -- The Early Jewish worldview considered that there were many different heavenly beings besides the one God. In the past, scholars have often struggled to find criteriological features or a clear terminology by which to rank among those various heavenly beings. Especially when comparing New Testament views on Jesus with other and earlier messianic hopes scholars have focused on categories like „human,“ „angel“ or „divine.“ Yet, such approaches fail, since they do not account for the different concepts of „divinity“ between early Judaism and later Christianity especially in the Western world. With respect to the elect son of man in the Parables of Enoch as well as the portrayal of Christ in Revelation 4-5 it can be demonstrated, that what makes a heavenly being „divine“ depends less on specific features or his essence, i.e. being an angel, human or something in between. Rather, what matters is how a figure is portrayed in relation to other celestial beings.”
  • Tyler Stewart (Lincoln Christian Seminary) -- Agency and Evil in Justin Martyr: Etiologies of Evil in Justin’s Rhetoric and Theology -- The Enochic narrative of rebellious angels corrupting the cosmos with superhuman evil permeates the literature of early Christianity. The narrative is especially evident in the Apologies of Justin Martyr (esp. 1 Apol. 5.1–6.1; 2 Apol. 5.2–6). Yet, as Annette Yoshiko Reed observes, the central narrative for explaining the origin of evil in Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho is the disobedience of Adam and Eve (Gen 2–3). Reed interprets the difference between the Apologies and the Dialogue as significant for Justin’s rhetoric and theology about evil. According to Reed, Justin’s rhetoric about Adam locates the origin of evil in human disobedience and is especially associated with “Jews” in the Dialogue. At the same time, Justin’s rhetoric about evil originating from angelic rebellion, articulates a theology of superhuman culpability among Greeks in the Apologies. This essay re-examines Justin’s use of Adam and Enoch narratives in Justin’s rhetoric and theology. I argue that Justin employs the Adam and Enoch narratives together in subtle but significant ways to explain evil in both the Apologies and the Dialogue. WhileJustin’s rhetoric shifts, his theological goal is to assert the moral freedom and culpability of humans and angels.


4. Thursday

SESSION 9 : RECEPTION HISTORY (I)


  • 14. Alexander McCarron (*) -- "Textual Growth in Ethiopic Enoch 1:9 (1 Enoch 1:9) and the Ethiopic manuscripts of the Epistle of Jude 14b-15" -- The Enochic theophany grew and evolved as it was translated into, and transmitted in, new socio-religious and socio-linguistic environments, and as it was transmitted within new literary contexts including the Epistle of Jude 14b-15. The two primary Ethiopic versions of the Enochic Theophany, found in manuscripts of Ethiopic Enoch and the Epistle of Jude, reflect ongoing textual growth in which each text shaped how the alternate text-type developed. Based on a close study of readings preserved in key manuscripts of Ethiopic Enoch including Tana 9 and EMML 2080, and early and late manuscripts of the Ethiopic Epistle of Jude including Gundä Gundē 86 and BL Or. 13264, this paper will explore the link between recensional readings and activity in each text-type and those found in alternate text-types. This paper will explore the possibility that these Ethiopic versions were shaped and revised in dialogue with each other as the texts were copied and transmitted. It will propose that retrospective text-critical methodologies often overlook how alternate text-types continue to shape each other throughout the ongoing life of the text(s).
  • 28. Ralph Lee -- "Christian Commentary on 1Enoch: The Gunda Gunde Commentary" -- This paper seeks to develop our understanding of 1Enoch and its Christian commentary developed in Ethiopia. Although there no known sources of great antiquity, the manuscript evidence shows that reflection on 1Enoch had developed well by the 16th century, although the commentary focusses on certain portions of the book: the Book of Watchers, sections from the Book of Parables, the Astronomical Book, some sections of the Book of Dreams, and the Apocalypse of Weeks. Very significant in the extant Gǝʿǝz commentary is that found in the monastery of Gunda Gunde in two 16th century manuscripts. This commentary again only comments on portions of the text, very briefly and in four sections, which match well the commentary found throughout the extant literature. As the only known commentary on 1Enoch as a whole this commentary represents an important summary of how 1Enoch was used as part of the corpus of books in the EOTC. This paper seeks to explore in detail aspects of this commentary on the four ‘visions’ that are in , 1Enoch 1:3-11:2; 39:3-53:1; 70:1-70:3; and 82:4-91:16, seeking to understand the way in which 1Enoch is used in relation to other literature in Ethiopia’s biblical corpus.

SESSION 10 : RECEPTION HISTORY (II)

  • 30. Muhammed Assim Sarhan, Ain Shams University, Egypt -- "Enochian ascension as a portrary of Muhammadan Reality in Spain through zohar and Ibn Arabi Mekkian revelations" -- It has been common in Islamic exegesis to unify Enoch with prophet Idris and Hermes Trismegistus. Through Alchemy and mystic texts many esoteric fragments have been attributed to Enoch. In medieval Spain although Ibn hazm and Ibn Massars's works didn't show Spanish muslims' awareness of such infusion, Ibn Arabi's theology shows heavily relyness on such awareness. This paper aim at exploring intertextuality and hermeneutic perspectives of Muhammadian reality as stated in oral Islamic tradition shown in Ibn Arabi's books with the Enochian Metatronic hermeneutics in Zohar.
  • 19. Ariel Hessayon, University of London, UK -- "Richard Laurence (1760–1838), his English translation of Ethiopic Enoch and its initial reception" -- In mid-May 1821 the first edition of Richard Laurence’s The Book of Enoch the Prophet: An Apocryphal Production, supposed to have been lost for ages was published in octavo at Oxford for the author. Advertised in a number of newspapers and periodicals, it sold for 9s. A second edition followed in 1833, and a third edition in 1838. There were also translations into Swedish (Stockholm, 1826) and Latin (Stuttgart, 1840), as well as a German version of Laurence’s ‘Preliminary dissertation’ (Jena, 1833). In this paper I want to take a closer look at Laurence, locating his English translation of Ethiopic Enoch within wider contexts: notably Laurence’s early life (a native of Bath and son of a watchmaker, he matriculated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford); academic and ecclesiastical career (he was made Regius Professor of Hebrew in 1814 and consecrated Archbishop of Cashel at Dublin on 21 July 1822); political connections (evident through Laurence’s correspondence and dedications); and other literary activities. Added to this was another backdrop, namely the administration of Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, which presided over the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars (1815), the Corn Laws (1815) and the Peterloo Massacre (1819). Finally, I want to examine the initial response to Laurence’s translation together with his theories about when, where and by whom the book of Enoch was written. This covers the period to shortly after Laurence’s death and includes various contemporary reviews as well as works by figures such as John Baty (1839), John Butt (1827), George Gorham (1829), Edward Greswell (1834–35), Edward Murray (1836), John Overton (1822), John Oxlee (1827) and William Winning (1834)."
  • 29. Anne Kreps, University of California-Santa Cruz, USA -- The “Lost” Book of Enoch and Christian Vernacular Fundamentalism -- Robert Glenn Howard coined the phrase “Christian Vernacular Fundamentalism” to describe a cultural discourse emerging with the dawn of the internet that focused on linking end time prophecy to specific historical events. Such discussions occurred on early internet message boards and apart from the mainstream evangelical churches, who avoid literal predictions of the end times in the wake of past failures. Without institutional support, the discussions themselves become sacred acts, which Howard called “ritual deliberation.” This paper examines current digital ritual deliberations about the end of days. It studies social media platforms devoted to such discussions. Unlike the apocalyptic message boards of the nineties, these groups reach for the Book of Enoch to discern the schedule of the end times and identify the major players of the apocalypse. For instance, ritual deliberation about the identity of the beast and its mark is mediated by 1 Enoch’s narrative of the fallen angels. The beast and mark are not linked to a specific person or visible sign. Instead, the beast comes to symbolize a spiritual movement at large, and the mark invisible—a vaccine, a microchip, or perhaps even a microchip delivered by vaccine. Such a reading is a collision of hermeneutics—ancient and modern—and conspiratorial fantasies about the Dead Sea Scrolls. Influenced by the idea of 1 Enoch as a ‘lost’ book of the Bible, modern readers study the text as a suppressed of hidden wisdom that solves biblical mysteries once and for all. For some, the ancient sectarian community associated with the DSS even offers a model for modern sectarian action. Their readings of 1 Enoch thus offer a glimpse into political discord in the United States. At the same time, by spiritualizing the beast and his mark, these readers can maintain an eschatological discourse of literal predictions without being beholden to a timeline and the possibility of prophetic failure.

Respondents: Annette Reed? -- Jim McGrath? (Kreps)

Confirmed participants

  • Daniel Assefa
  • Kenneth Atkinson
  • Al Baumgarten
  • Gabriele Boccaccini
  • Kelly Coblentz Bautch
  • John Collins
  • Paula Fredriksen
  • David Hamidovic
  • Angela Harkins
  • Michael Langlois
  • Jim McGrath
  • Hindy Najman
  • Adele Reinhartz
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