Still earlier we find almost a verbal reproduction of 50^-611 Id the Sibylline Dracles, ii. 76. In Iren»us, Contra Ufjer. v. 28. 3, the Jewish speculation of 33* ^ is reproduced, and possibly in Origen (see Loiiiinatiwch, ed. xxi. 69). However this may be, there is no doubt as to the direct reference to 24-30. 33**, in the Df- I'ri7u-ip. i, 3. 2. as we have already shown above. In a still earlier period, a.d. 60-100. the writer of the Ascension of Isaiah ^is was most probabtv ac()uainted with 19^, and the writer of the Apoc. Bar 69j » 10 11 with various passages of this book. In the Ep. of Barnabas 155-8, and probably in 181, the thought and diction are dependent on 32^33 and 30'*.
In NT the similarity of matter and language is Bufliciently great to establish a close connexion, if not a literary dependence. With Mt 5' ' Blessed are the peacemakers,' cf. 52" ' Blessed is he who establishes peace ' ; with Mt 5"" "• " ' Swear not at all,' etc., cf. 49' ' I will not swear by a single oath, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any other creature which God made. ... If there is no truth in man, let them swear by a word, yea, yea, or nay, nay.' Again, with Mt 7" and 25" cf. 42'* and 9' ; with Jn 14^ cf. 6P ; with Eph 4» cf. 42'» ; with Kev 9' and 10»-« ef. 42' and 65'.
still earlier we find this book not only Ofled. but quoted by name in the Test. Dan. 6, where the statement, rit vhi/m^tw* riii cAa*rr itlyi^f ykf i* ^<^Aa> 'Ef«y r«v itnmim, 'in i »fx*" l/Av* irT» « 2<xT«*«c, is drawn from 18^ "These are the Ongorl (i.«. 'V..ypKyapi>') who with their prince Satanail reject^-d the holy Ijord.' Finally, the references to Enoch in Te^t. A'avh. i^ ■ *!>-(«* i* ypa^ dc/i« *E»^x* **' *A'V* ■■*' vf^it mrtr^vrtroi ir4 Knpiev. wtptvc/^utot lutTdt wirtit wutrtpittt iStaiw, maii vm*)«-iti MMfii wirmt «»*^<a* loiauo"- Mu iroc^u ufMt KupiH etixu^Xi»r'»r . . . Imt it «,«XM<r^ KupitK v«icfT«( vf^e, arc an adaptation of 34' ^ ' I know the wirki ilriess of men . . . that tliey will cost o(T my yoke . . . and flu all the world with . . . sodomy and all other impure practices . . . and on thisaiu-oiint t will bring a deluge upon the earth, and I will di-'Stroy all.' In the Tejit. Sim. 6, Text. Ben). 9, we Ilnd ailditiorial references to this prophecy, in which Enoch foretoUI the iniimre pnietices of men. Test Jud. 18 may be derived from the same sourc*.
IV. Date and AuTiionsHrp. — The question of the date has to a large extent been determined alrc.uly. The nortions which have a lleb. back- ground are at latest pre-Christian. This follows fioiii the fact of their quotation in the Tcstainents nf the XII Patriarchs. Turning to the rest of the book, the terminus a quo is (letermined by the fact that it frequently uses Sir, cf. 43"' 47» 52* 61''- ' etc. The Ethiopic Enoch, further, is oontinu-
710 ENOCH, BOOK OF SECRETS OF
ENOCH, BOOK OF SECRETS OF
ally presupposed in the background. Its phrase- Oiogy and conceptions are reproduced, V- ' 33*- """ 35^'etc. At times its views are put forward in a developed form, 8>- '■' 40'» 64» ; and occasionally divergent conceptions are enunciated, 16' 18 . Finally, explanations are claimed to have been given by this writer which, as a matter of fact, are not to be found in his writings, but in the Ethiopic Enoch, see 4U°- '• '• ". It is possible that Wis was also used by our author, see 65^. Since, therefore, Sir, Eth. Enoch, and Wis (!) were used by this author, his work cannot have been earlier than B.C. 30. ^ ,
The terminus ad quern must be set down as earlier than 70 A.D. For (1) the temple is still standing. (2) This book was known and used by the writers of the Ep. of Barnabas and the Ascension of Isaiah, and probably by some of the writers of NT. We may therefore with reasonable certainty assign the composition of this book in Greek to the period A.D. 1-50, to an author who is thus a con- temporary of Philo, and who holds many specula- tions in common with him.
The author was an orthodox Hellenistic Jew who lived in Egypt. He believed in the value of Bacrihces, 42« SQ"- * 66^ (but he is careful to enforce enlightened views with regard to them, 45'- * 61'- °), in the law, 52'-», and in a blessed immortality, 50^ 65*- '"'°, in which the righteous will wear 'the raiment of God's glory,' 22^ In Questions affect- ing the origin of the earth, sin, death, he allows himself the most unrestricted freedom, and borrows from every quarter. Thus Platonic 30'«, Egyptian 25'-', and Zend SS""' elements are incorporated in this system. The result is highly syncretistic.