Book of Enoch

 

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For other writings attributed to Enoch, see Book of Enoch (disambiguation).

The Book of Enoch (also 1 Enoch^[1]) is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel. It is regarded as canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, but no other Christian group.
The older sections (mainly in the Book of the Watchers) are estimated to date from about 300 BC, and the latest part (Book of Parables) probably was composed at the end of the 1st century BC.^[2]
It is wholly extant only in the Ge'ez language, with Aramaic fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls and a few Greek and Latin fragments. For this and other reasons, the traditional Ethiopian view is that the original language of the work was Ge'ez, whereas non-Ethiopian scholars tend to assert that it was first written in either Aramaic or Hebrew; E. Isaac suggests that the Book of Enoch, like the Book of Daniel, was composed partially in Aramaic and partially in Hebrew.^[3]:6
The authors of the New Testament were familiar with the content of the story and influenced by it:^[4] a short section of 1 Enoch (1 En 1:9) is quoted in the New Testament (Letter of Jude 1:14–15), and is there attributed to "Enoch the Seventh from Adam" (1 En 60:8).

Contents

• 1 Content
• 2 Canonicity
  • 2.1 Judaism
  • 2.2 Christianity
    • 2.2.1 References in the New Testament
    • 2.2.2 Reception
    • 2.2.3 Ethiopic Orthodox Church
    • 2.2.4 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• 3 Manuscript tradition
  • 3.1 Ethiopic
  • 3.2 Aramaic
  • 3.3 Greek and Latin
• 4 History
  • 4.1 Second Temple period
  • 4.2 Early influence
  • 4.3 Rediscovery
  • 4.4 Ge'ez origin theory
• 5 The Book of the Watchers
  • 5.1 Content
  • 5.2 Description
• 6 Book of Parables
  • 6.1 Content
• 7 The Astronomical Book
  • 7.1 Content
• 8 The Dream Visions
  • 8.1 Content
  • 8.2 Animals in the second Dream-Vision
  • 8.3 Description
• 9 The Epistle of Enoch
  • 9.1 Content
• 10 Names of the fallen angels
• 11 See also
• 12 Footnotes
• 13 References
• 14 External links

Content

The first part of the Book of Enoch describes the fall of the Watchers, the angels who fathered the Nephilim. The remainder of the book describes Enoch's visits to heaven in the form of travels, visions and dreams, and his revelations.
The book consists of five quite distinct major sections (see each section for details):

• The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1–36)
• The Book of Parables of Enoch (1 Enoch 37–71) (also called the Similitudes of Enoch)
• The Astronomical Book (1 Enoch 72–82) (also called the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries or Book of Luminaries)
• The Book of Dream Visions (1 Enoch 83–90) (also called the Book of Dreams)
• The Epistle of Enoch (1 Enoch 91–108)

Most scholars share the view^[5] that these five sections were originally independent works (with different dates of composition), themselves a product of much editorial arrangement, and were only later redacted into what we now call 1 Enoch.
Józef Milik has suggested that the Book of Giants found among the Dead Sea Scrolls should be part of the collection, appearing after the Book of Watchers in place of the Book of Parables, but for various reasons, Milik's theory has not been widely accepted.^{[citation needed]}

Canonicity

Judaism

Although evidently widely known during the Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, 1 Enoch was excluded from both the formal canon of the Tanakh and the typical canon of the Septuagint and therefore, also the writings known today as the Deuterocanon.^[6][7] One possible reason for Jewish rejection of the book might be the textual nature of several early sections of the book that make use of material from the Torah; for example, 1 En 1 is a midrash of Deuteronomy 33.^[8][9] The content, particularly detailed descriptions of fallen angels, would also be a reason for rejection from the Hebrew canon at this period – as illustrated by the comments of Trypho the Jew when debating with Justin Martyr on this subject. Trypho: "The utterances of God are holy, but your expositions are mere contrivances, as is plain from what has been explained by you; nay, even blasphemies, for you assert that angels sinned and revolted from God." (Dialogue 79) ^[10]

Christianity

References in the New Testament

Enoch is referred to as an historical person and prophet, and quoted, in Jude 1:14–15:

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

Compare this with Enoch 1:9, translated from the Ethiopic (found also in Qumran scroll 4Q204=4QEnoch^c ar, col I 16–18):^[11]

And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones To execute judgment upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh Of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.

Compare this also with what may be the original source of 1 En 1:9 in Deuteronomy 33:2:^[12][13][14]

The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand.

Under the heading of canonicity, it is not enough to merely demonstrate that something is quoted. Instead, it is necessary to demonstrate the nature of the quotation.^[15] In the case of the Jude 14 quotation of 1 Enoch 1:9, it would be difficult to argue that Jude does not quote Enoch as an historical prophet since he cites Enoch by name. However, there remains a question as to whether the author of Jude attributed the quotation believing the source to be the historical Enoch before the flood or a midrash of Deut 33:2–3.^[16][17][18] The Greek text is also unusual in stating that "Enoch the Seventh from Adam" prophesied "to" (dative case) not "of" (genitive case) the men.^{[19][improper synthesis?]}
Peter H. Davids points to Dead Sea Scrolls evidence but leaves it open as to whether Jude viewed 1 Enoch as canon, deuterocanon, or otherwise: "Did Jude, then, consider this scripture to be like Genesis or Isaiah? Certainly he did consider it authoritative, a true word from God. We cannot tell whether he ranked it alongside other prophetic books such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. What we do know is, first, that other Jewish groups, most notably those living in Qumran near the Dead Sea, also used and valued 1 Enoch, but we do not find it grouped with the scriptural scrolls."^[20]
The attribution "Enoch the Seventh from Adam" is apparently itself a section heading taken from 1 Enoch (1 En 60:8, Jude 1:14a) and not from Genesis.^[21]
Also II Peter 2:4–5 and I Peter 3:19–20 made reference to some Enochian material.^[22]

Reception

The Book of Enoch was considered as Scripture in the Epistle of Barnabas (16:4)^[23] and by many of the early Church Fathers, such as Athenagoras,^[24] Clement of Alexandria,^[25] Irenaeus^[26] and Tertullian,^[27] who wrote c. 200 that the Book of Enoch had been rejected by the Jews because it contained prophecies pertaining to Christ.^[28] However, later Fathers denied the canonicity of the book, and some even considered the letter of Jude uncanonical because it refers to an "apocryphal" work.^[29]
By the 4th century, the Book of Enoch was mostly excluded from Christian canons, and it is now regarded as scripture by only the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Church.

Ethiopic Orthodox Church

This subsection contains Ethiopic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Ethiopic characters.

The traditional view of the Ethiopic Orthodox Church, which reckons 1 Enoch as an inspired document, is that the Ethiopic text is the original one, written by Enoch himself. In their view, the following opening sentence of Enoch is the first and oldest sentence written in any human language, since Enoch was the first to write letters:

"ቃለ፡ በረከት፡ ዘሄኖክ፡ ዘከመ፡ ባረከ፡ ኅሩያነ፡ ወጻድቃነ፡ እለ፡ ሀለው፡ ይኩኑ"

"በዕለተ፡ ምንዳቤ፡ ለአሰስሎ፡ ኲሉ፡ እኩያን፡ ወረሲዓን።"

"Qāla barakat za-Hēnōk zakama bārraka ḫirūyāna wa-ṣādqāna 'ila halaw yikūnū baʿilata mindābē la'asaslō kʷilū 'ikūyān wa-rasīʿān"

"Word of blessing of Henok, wherewith he blessed the chosen and righteous who would be alive in the day of tribulation for the removal of all wrongdoers and backsliders."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) does not consider the Book of Enoch to be part of its standard canon, though it is believed that the original Book of Enoch was an inspired book.^[30] The Book of Moses, found within the scriptural canon of the LDS Church, has several similarities to the Book of Enoch,^[31] including names^[32] that have been found in some versions of the Book of Enoch, and is believed by the Church to contain extracts from "the ministry, teachings, and visions of Enoch".^[33][34][35]

Manuscript tradition

Ethiopic

The most extensive witnesses to the Book of Enoch exist in the Ge'ez language. Robert Henry Charles's critical edition of 1906 subdivides the Ethiopic manuscripts into two families:
Family α: thought to be more ancient and more similar to the Greek versions:

• A – ms. orient. 485 of the British Museum, 16th century, with Jubilees
• B – ms. orient. 491 of the British Museum, 18th century, with other biblical writings
• C – ms. of Berlin orient. Petermann II Nachtrag 29, 16th century
• D – ms. abbadiano 35, 17th century
• E – ms. abbadiano 55, 16th century
• F – ms. 9 of the Lago Lair, 15th century

Family β: more recent, apparently edited texts

• G – ms. 23 of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, 18th century
• H – ms. orient. 531 of the Bodleian Library of Oxford, 18th century
• I – ms. Brace 74 of the Bodleian Library of Oxford, 16th century
• J – ms. orient. 8822 of the British Museum, 18th century
• K – ms. property of E. Ullendorff of London, 18th century
• L – ms. abbadiano 99, 19th century
• M – ms. orient. 492 of the British Museum, 18th century
• N – ms. Ethiopian 30 of Monaco of Baviera, 18th century
• O – ms. orient. 484 of the British Museum, 18th century
• P – ms. Ethiopian 71 of the Vatican, 18th century
• Q – ms. orient. 486 of the British Museum, 18th century, lacking chapters 1–60

Additionally, there are the manuscripts^[which?] used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church for preparation of the deuterocanonicals from Ge'ez into the targumic Amharic in the bilingual Haile Selassie Amharic Bible (Mashaf qeddus bage'ezenna ba'amaregna yatasafe 4 vols. c.1935^[when?]).^[36]

Aramaic

Eleven Aramaic-language fragments of the Book of Enoch were found in cave 4 of Qumran in 1948^[37] and are in the care of the Israel Antiquities Authority. They were translated for and discussed by Józef Milik and Matthew Black in The Books of Enoch.^[38] Another translation has been released by Vermes and Garcia-Martinez.^[39] Milik described the documents as being white or cream in color, blackened in areas, and made of leather that was smooth, thick and stiff. It was also partly damaged, with the ink blurred and faint.

• 4Q201 = 4QEnoch ^a ar, Enoch 2:1–5:6; 6:4–8:1; 8:3–9:3,6–8
• 4Q202 = 4QEnoch ^b ar, Enoch 5:9–6:4, 6:7–8:1, 8:2–9:4, 10:8–12, 14:4–6
• 4Q204 = 4QEnoch ^c ar, Enoch 1:9–5:1, 6:7, 10:13–19, 12:3, 13:6–14:16, 30:1–32:1, 35, 36:1–4, 106:13–107:2
• 4Q205 = 4QEnoch ^d ar; Enoch 89:29–31, 89:43–44
• 4Q206 = 4QEnoch ^e ar; Enoch 22:3–7, 28:3–29:2, 31:2–32:3, 88:3, 89:1–6, 89:26–30, 89:31–37
• 4Q207 = 4QEnoch ^f ar
• 4Q208 = 4QEnastr ^a ar
• 4Q209 = 4QEnastr ^b ar; Enoch 79:3–5, 78:17, 79:2 and large fragments that do not correspond to any part of the Ethiopian text
• 4Q210 = 4QEnastr ^c ar; Enoch 76:3–10, 76:13–77:4, 78:6–8
• 4Q211 = 4QEnastr ^d ar; large fragments that do not correspond to any part of the Ethiopian text
• 4Q212 = 4QEn ^g ar; Enoch 91:10, 91:18–19, 92:1–2, 93:2–4, 93:9–10, 91:11–17, 93:11–93:1

Also at Qumran (cave 1) have been discovered three tiny fragments in Hebrew (8:4–9:4, 106).

Chester Beatty XII, Greek manuscript of the Book of Enoch, 4th century

Greek and Latin

The 8th-century work Chronographia Universalis by the Byzantine historian George Syncellus preserved some passages of the Book of Enoch in Greek (6:1–9:4, 15:8–16:1). Other Greek fragments known are:

• Codex Panopolitanus (Cairo Papyrus 10759), named also Codex Gizeh or Akhmim fragments, consists of fragments of two 6th-century papyri containing portions of chapters 1–32 recovered by a French archeological team at Akhmim in Egypt and published five years later, in 1892.
• Codex Vaticanus Gr. 1809, f. 216v (11th century): including 89:42–49
• Chester Beatty Papyri XII : including 97:6–107:3 (less chapter 105)
• Oxyrhynchus Papyri 2069: including only a few letters, which made the identification uncertain, from 77:7–78:1, 78:1–3, 78:8, 85:10–86:2, 87:1–3

It has been claimed that several small additional fragments in Greek have been found at Qumran (7QEnoch: 7Q4, 7Q8, 7Q10-13), dating about 100 BC, ranging from 98:11? to 103:15^[40] and written on papyrus with grid lines, but this identification is highly contested.
Of the Latin translation, only 1:9 and 106:1–18 are known. The first passage occurs in Pseudo-Cyprian and Pseudo-Vigilius;^[41] the second was discovered in 1893 by M. R. James in an 8th-century manuscript in the British Museum and published in the same year.^[42]

History

Second Temple period

The 1976 publication by Milik^[38] of the results of the paleographic dating of the Enochic fragments found in Qumran made a breakthrough. According to this scholar, who studied the original scrolls for many years, the oldest fragments of the Book of Watchers are dated 200–150 BC. Since the Book of Watchers shows evidence of multiple stages of composition, it is probable that this work was extant already in the 3rd century BC.^[43] The same can be said about the Astronomical Book.
It was no longer possible to claim that the core of the Book of Enoch was composed in the wake of the Maccabean Revolt as a reaction to Hellenization^[44]:93. Scholars thus had to look for the origins of the Qumranic sections of 1 Enoch in the previous historical period, and the comparison with traditional material of such a time showed that these sections do not draw exclusively on categories and ideas prominent in the Hebrew Bible. Some scholars speak even of an "Enochic Judaism" from which the writers of Qumran scrolls were descended.^[45] Margaret Barker argues, "Enoch is the writing of a very conservative group whose roots go right back to the time of the First Temple".^[46] The main peculiar aspects of the Enochic Judaism are the following:

• the idea of the origin of the evil caused by the fallen angels, who came on the earth to unite with human women. These fallen angels are considered ultimately responsible for the spread of evil and impurity on the earth^[44]:90;
• the absence in 1 Enoch of formal parallels to the specific laws and commandments found in the Mosaic Torah and of references to issues like Shabbat observance or the rite of circumcision. The Sinaitic covenant and Torah are not of central importance in the Book of Enoch^[47]:50–51;
• the concept of "End of Days" as the time of final judgment that takes the place of promised earthly rewards^[44]:92;
• the rejection of the Second Temple's sacrifices considered impure: according to Enoch 89:73, the Jews, when returned from the exile, "reared up that tower (the temple) and they began again to place a table before the tower, but all the bread on it was polluted and not pure";
• a solar calendar in opposition to the moon-based calendar used in the Second Temple (a very important aspect for the determination of the dates of religious feasts);
• an interest in the angelic world that involves life after death.^[48]

Most Qumran fragments are relatively early, with none written from the last period of the Qumranic experience. Thus, it is probable that the Qumran community gradually lost interest in the Book of Enoch.^[49]
The relation between 1 Enoch and the Essenes was noted even before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.^[50] While there is consensus to consider the sections of the Book of Enoch found in Qumran as texts used by the Essenes, the same is not so clear for the Enochic texts not found in Qumran (mainly the Book of Parables): it was proposed^[51] to consider these parts as expression of the mainstream, but not-Qumranic, essenic movement. The main peculiar aspects of the not-Qumranic units of 1 Enoch are the following:

• a Messiah called "Son of Man", with divine attributes, generated before the creation, who will act directly in the final judgment and sit on a throne of glory (1 Enoch 46:1–4, 48:2–7, 69:26–29)^{[11]:562–563}
• the sinners usually seen as the wealthy ones and the just as the oppressed (a theme we find also in the Psalms of Solomon).

Early influence

Classical Rabbinic literature is characterized by near silence concerning Enoch. It seems plausible that Rabbinic polemics against Enochic texts and traditions might have led to the loss of these books to Rabbinic Judaism.^[52]
The Book of Enoch plays an important role in the history of Jewish mysticism: the great scholar Gershom Scholem wrote, "The main subjects of the later Merkabah mysticism already occupy a central position in the older esoteric literature, best represented by the Book of Enoch."^[53] Particular attention is paid to the detailed description of the throne of God included in chapter 14 of 1 Enoch.
For the quotation from the Book of Watchers in the Christian Letter of Jude, see section: Canonicity.
There is little doubt that 1 Enoch was influential in molding New Testament doctrines about the Messiah, the Son of Man, the messianic kingdom, demonology, the resurrection, and eschatology^[3]:10. The limits of the influence of 1 Enoch are discussed at length by R.H. Charles^[54] E Isaac,^[3] and G.W. Nickelsburg ^[55] in their respective translations and commentaries. It is possible that the earlier sections of 1 Enoch had direct textual and content influence on many Biblical apocrypha, such as Jubilees, 2 Baruch, 2 Esdras, Apocalypse of Abraham and 2 Enoch, though even in these cases, the connection is typically more branches of a common trunk than direct development.^[56]
The Greek text was known to, and quoted, both positively and negatively, by many Church Fathers: references can be found in Justin Martyr, Minucius Felix, Irenaeus, Origen, Cyprian, Hippolytus, Commodianus, Lactantius and Cassian^[57]:430, although these references come exclusively from the first five chapters of 1 Enoch. After Cassian and before the modern "rediscovery", some excerpts are given in the Byzantine Empire by the 8th-century monk George Syncellus in his chronography, and in the 9th century, it is listed as an apocryphon of the New Testament by Patriarch Nicephorus.^[58]

Rediscovery

Sir Walter Raleigh, in his History of the World (written in 1616 while imprisoned in the Tower of London), makes the curious assertion that part of the Book of Enoch "which contained the course of the stars, their names and motions" had been discovered in Saba in the 1st century and was thus available to Origen and Tertullian. He attributes this information to Origen,^[59] though no such statement is found anywhere in extant versions of Origen.^[60]
Outside of Ethiopia, the text of the Book of Enoch was considered lost until the beginning of the 17th century, when it was confidently asserted that the book was found in an Ethiopic (Ge'ez) language translation there, and Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc bought a book that was claimed to be identical to the one quoted by the Epistle of Jude and the Church Fathers. Hiob Ludolf, the great Ethiopic scholar of the 17th and 18th centuries, soon claimed it to be a forgery produced by Abba Bahaila Michael.^[61]
Better success was achieved by the famous Scottish traveller James Bruce, who, in 1773, returned to Europe from six years in Abyssinia with three copies of a Ge'ez version.^[62] One is preserved in the Bodleian Library, another was presented to the royal library of France, while the third was kept by Bruce. The copies remained unused until the 19th century; Silvestre de Sacy, in "Notices sur le livre d'Enoch",^[63] included extracts of the books with Latin translations (Enoch chapters 1, 2, 5–16, 22, and 32). From this a German translation was made by Rink in 1801.
The first English translation of the Bodleian/Ethiopic manuscript was published in 1821 by Richard Laurence, titled The Book of Enoch, the prophet: an apocryphal production, supposed to have been lost for ages; but discovered at the close of the last century in Abyssinia; now first translated from an Ethiopic manuscript in the Bodleian Library. Oxford, 1821. Revised editions appeared in 1833, 1838, and 1842.
In 1838, Laurence also released the first Ethiopic text of 1 Enoch published in the West, under the title: Libri Enoch Prophetae Versio Aethiopica. The text, divided into 105 chapters, was soon considered unreliable as it was the transcription of a single Ethiopic manuscript.^[64]
In 1833, Professor Andreas Gottlieb Hoffmann of the University of Jena released a German translation, based on Laurence's work, called Das Buch Henoch in vollständiger Uebersetzung, mit fortlaufendem Kommentar, ausführlicher Einleitung und erläuternden Excursen. Two other translations came out around the same time: one in 1836 called Enoch Restitutus, or an Attempt (Rev. Edward Murray) and one in 1840 called Prophetae veteres Pseudepigraphi, partim ex Abyssinico vel Hebraico sermonibus Latine bersi (A. F. Gfrörer). However, both are considered to be poor—the 1836 translation most of all—and is discussed in Hoffmann.^[65]
The first critical edition, based on five manuscripts, appeared in 1851 as Liber Henoch, Aethiopice, ad quinque codicum fidem editus, cum variis lectionibus, by August Dillmann. It was followed in 1853 by a German translation of the book by the same author with commentary titled Das Buch Henoch, übersetzt und erklärt. It was considered the standard edition of 1 Enoch until the work of Charles.
The generation of Enoch scholarship from 1890 to World War I was dominated by Robert Henry Charles. His 1893 translation and commentary of the Ethiopic text already represented an important advancement, as it was based on ten additional manuscripts. In 1906 R.H. Charles published a new critical edition of the Ethiopic text, using 23 Ethiopic manuscripts and all available sources at his time. The English translation of the reconstructed text appeared in 1912, and the same year in his collection of The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament.
The publication, in the early 1950s, of the first Aramaic fragments of 1 Enoch among the Dead Sea Scrolls profoundly changed the study of the document, as it provided evidence of its antiquity and original text. The official edition of all Enoch fragments appeared in 1976, by Jozef Milik.
In 1978 a new edition of the Ethiopic text was edited by Michael Knibb, with an English translation, while a new commentary appeared in 1985 by Matthew Black. The renewed interest in 1 Enoch spawned a number of other translations: in Hebrew (A. Kahana, 1956), Danish (Hammershaimb, 1956), Italian (Fusella, 1981), Spanish (1982), French (Caquot, 1984) and other modern languages.
In 2001 George W.E. Nickelsburg published the first volume of a comprehensive commentary on 1 Enoch in the Hermeneia series.^[47] Since the year 2000, the Enoch seminar has devoted several meetings to the Enoch literature and has become the center of a lively debate concerning the hypothesis that the Enoch literature attests the presence of an autonomous non-Mosaic tradition of dissent in Second Temple Judaism.

Ge'ez origin theory

Wossenie Yifru (1990) holds that Ge'ez is the language of the original from which the Greek and Aramaic copies were made, pointing out that it is the only language in which the complete text has yet been found.^[66]

The Book of the Watchers

This first section of the Book of Enoch describes the fall of the Watchers, the angels who fathered the Nephilim (cf. the b^ene Elohim, Genesis 6:1–2) and narrates the travels of Enoch in the heavens. This section is said to have been composed in the fourth or 3rd century BC according to Western scholars.^[67]

Content

• I–V. Parable of Enoch on the Future Lot of the Wicked and the Righteous.
• VI–XI. The Fall of the Angels: the Demoralization of Mankind: the Intercession of the Angels on behalf of Mankind. The Dooms pronounced by God on the Angels of the Messianic Kingdom.
• XII–XVI. Dream-Vision of Enoch: his Intercession for Azazel and the fallen angels: and his Announcement of their first and final Doom.
• XVII–XXXVI. Enoch's Journeys through the Earth and Sheol:
• XVII–XIX. The First Journey.
• XX. Names and Functions of the Seven Archangels.
• XXI. Preliminary and final Place of Punishment of the fallen Angels (stars).
• XXII. Sheol or the Underworld.
• XXIII. The fire that deals with the Luminaries of Heaven.
• XXIV–XXV. The Seven Mountains in the North-West and the Tree of Life.
• XXVI. Jerusalem and the Mountains, Ravines, and Streams.
• XXVII. The Purpose of the Accursed Valley.
• XXVIII–XXXIII. Further Journey to the East.
• XXXIV–XXXV. Enoch's Journey to the North.
• XXXVI. The Journey to the South.

Description

The introduction to the Book of Enoch tells us that Enoch is "a just man, whose eyes were opened by God so that he saw a vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the sons of God showed to me, and from them I heard everything, and I knew what I saw, but [these things that I saw will] not [come to pass] for this generation, but for a generation that has yet to come."
It discusses God coming to Earth on Mount Sinai with His hosts to pass judgement on mankind. It also tells us about the luminaries rising and setting in the order and in their own time and never change.

"Observe and see how (in the winter) all the trees seem as though they had withered and shed all their leaves, except fourteen trees, which do not lose their foliage but retain the old foliage from two to three years till the new comes."

How all things are ordained by God and take place in his own time. The sinners shall perish and the great and the good shall live on in light, joy and peace.

"And all His works go on thus from year to year for ever, and all the tasks which they accomplish for Him, and their tasks change not, but according as God hath ordained so is it done."

The first section of the book depicts the interaction of the fallen angels with mankind; Sêmîazâz compels the other 199 fallen angels to take human wives to "beget us children".

"And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.'. Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it."

The names of the leaders are given as "Samyaza (Shemyazaz), their leader, Araqiel, Râmêêl, Kokabiel, Tamiel, Ramiel, Dânêl, Chazaqiel, Baraqiel, Asael, Armaros, Batariel, Bezaliel, Ananiel, Zaqiel, Shamsiel, Satariel, Turiel, Yomiel, Sariel."
This results in the creation of the Nephilim (Genesis) or Anakim/Anak (Giants) as they are described in the book:

"And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three hundred ells:^[68] Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood."

It also discusses the teaching of humans by the fallen angels chiefly Azâzêl:

"And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl, taught astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun, and Sariêl the course of the moon."

Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel appeal to God to judge the inhabitants of the world and the fallen angels. Uriel is then sent by God to tell Noah of the coming cataclysm and what he needs to do.

"Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spoke, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him: Go to Noah and tell him in my name "Hide thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. And now instruct him that he may escape and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world."

God commands Raphael to imprison Azâzêl:

"the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azâzêl hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dûdâêl (God's Kettle/Crucible/Cauldron), and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azâzêl: to him ascribe all sin."

God gave Gabriel instructions concerning the Nephilim and the imprisonment of the fallen angels:

"And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the biters and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle"

Some,^{[citation needed]} including R.H. Charles, suggest that 'biters' should read 'bastards' but the name is so unusual that some^{[citation needed]} believe that the implication that's made by the reading of 'biters' is more or less correct.
The Lord commands Michael to bind the fallen angels.

"And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjâzâ and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. 12. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated. 13. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: (and) to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations."

Book of Parables

Presumed by western scholars to be written during 1st century BC or very beginning of 1st century AD.^[69]
No fragments of chapters 37–71 (Book of Parables) were found at Qumran. This led J.T. Milik in 1976,^[38] in line with many scholars of the 19th century as Lucke (1832), Hofman (1852), Wiesse (1856) and Phillippe (1868), to believe that those chapters were written in later Christian times by a Jewish Christian to enhance Christian beliefs with Enoch's authoritative name.
However, J.H. Charlesworth summarized^[70] the current scholarly consensus, saying: "It became obvious that Milik had not proved his position, as Fitzmyer pointed out as soon as The Book of Enoch had been published. Repeatedly the specialists on I Enoch have come out in favor of the Jewish nature and its first century CE origin, and probable pre-70 date. The list of specialists on I Enoch arguing for this position has become overwhelmingly impressive: Isaac, Nickelsburg, Stone, Knibb, Anderson, Black, VanderKam, Greenfield and Sutter. The consensus communis is unparalleled in almost any other area of research; no specialists now argue that I Enoch 37–71 is a Christian and postdates the first century." .
The Book of Parables appears to be based on the Book of Watchers, but presents a later development of the idea of final judgement and eschatology, concerned not only with the destiny of the fallen angels but also of the evil kings of the earth. The Book of Parables uses the expression "Son of Man" for the eschatological protagonist, who is also called “Righteous One,” “Chosen One,” and “Messiah”, and narrates his pre-existence and his sitting on the throne of glory in the final judgment. See also Article Son of Man.

Content

XXXVIII–XLIV. The First Parable.

• XXXVIII. The Coming Judgement of the Wicked.
• XXXIX. The Abode of the Righteous and the Elect One: the Praises of the Blessed.
• XL-XLI. 2. The Four Archangels.
• XLI. 3–9. Astronomical Secrets.
• XLII. The Dwelling-places of Wisdom and of Unrighteousness.
• XLIII–XLIV. Astronomical Secrets.

XLV–LVII. The Second Parable.

• XLV. The Lot of the Apostates: the New Heaven and the New Earth.
• XLVI. The Head of Days and the Son of Man.
• XLVII. The Prayer of the Righteous for Vengeance and their Joy at its coming.
• XLVIII. The Fount of Righteousness: the Son of Man -the Stay of the Righteous: Judgement of the Kings and the Mighty.
• XLIX. The Power and Wisdom of the Elect One.
• L. The Glorification and Victory of the Righteous: the Repentance of the Gentiles.
• LI. The Resurrection of the Dead, and the Separation by the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.
• LII. The Six Metal Mountains and the Elect One.
• LIII–LIV. The Valley of Judgement: the Angels of Punishment: the Communities of the Elect One.
• LIV.7.–LV.2. Noachic Fragment on the first World Judgement.
• LV.3.–LVI.4. Final Judgement of Azazel, the Watchers and their children.
• LVI.5–8. Last Struggle of the Heathen Powers against Israel.
• LVII. The Return from the Dispersion.

LVIII–LXXI. The Third Parable.

• LVIII. The Blessedness of the Saints.
• LIX. The Lights and the Thunder.
• [Book Of Noah fragments]
• LX. Quaking of the Heaven: Behemoth and Leviathan: the Elements.
• LXI. Angels go off to measure Paradise: the Judgement of the Righteous by the Elect One: the Praise of the Elect One and of God.
• LXII. Judgement of the Kings and the Mighty: Blessedness of the Righteous.
• LXIII. The unavailing Repentance of the Kings and the Mighty.
• LXIV. Vision of the Fallen Angels in the Place of Punishment.
• LXV. Enoch foretells to Noah the Deluge and his own Preservation.
• LXVI. The Angels of the Waters bidden to hold them in Check.
• LXVII. God's Promise to Noah: Places of Punishment of the Angels and of the Kings.
• LXVIII. Michael and Raphael astonished at the Severity of the Judgement.
• LXIX. The Names and Functions of the (fallen Angels and) Satans: the secret Oath.
• LXX. The Final Translation of Enoch.
• LXXI. Two earlier Visions of Enoch.

The Astronomical Book

Main article: Enoch calendar

Correspondence of weekly day in the Qumran year^[71]

	Months 1,4,7,10					Months 2,5,8,11					Months 3,6,9,12
Wed	1	8	15	22	29		6	13	20	27		4	11	18	25
Thurs	2	9	16	23	30		7	14	21	28		5	12	19	26
Fri	3	10	17	24		1	8	15	22	29		6	13	20	27
Sat	4	11	18	25		2	9	16	23	30		7	14	21	28
Sun	5	12	19	26		3	10	17	24		1	8	15	22	29
Mon	6	13	20	27		4	11	18	25		2	9	16	23	30
Tues	7	14	21	28		5	12	19	26		3	10	17	24	31

Four fragmentary editions of the Astronomical Book were found at Qumran, 4Q208-211.^[72] 4Q208 and 4Q209 have been dated to the beginning of the 2nd century BC, providing a terminus ante quem for the Astronomical Book of the 3rd century BC.^[73] The fragments found in Qumran also include material not contained in the later versions of the Book of Enoch.^[71][73][74]
This book contains descriptions of the movement of heavenly bodies and of the firmament, as a knowledge revealed to Enoch in his trips to Heaven guided by Uriel, and it describes a Solar calendar that was later described also in the Book of Jubilees which was used by the Dead Sea sect. The use of this calendar made it impossible to celebrate the festivals simultaneously with the Temple of Jerusalem.
The year was composed from 364 days, divided in 4 equal seasons of 91 days each. Each season was composed of three equal months of 30 days, plus an extra day at the end of the third month. The whole year was thus composed of exactly 52 weeks, and every calendar day occurred always on the same day of the week. Each year and each season started always on Wednesday, which was the fourth day of the creation narrated in Genesis, the day when the lights in the sky, the seasons, the days and the years were created.^[71]:94–95 It is not known how they used to reconcile this calendar with the tropical year of 365.24 days (at least seven suggestions have been made), and it is not even sure if they felt the need to adjust it.^{[71]:125–140}

Content

• LXXII. The Sun.
• LXXIII. The Moon and its Phases.
• LXXIV. The Lunar Year.
• LXXVI. The Twelve Winds and their Portals.
• LXXVII. The Four Quarters of the World: the Seven Mountains, the Seven Rivers, Seven Great Islands.
• LXXVIII. The Sun and Moon: the Waxing and Waning of the Moon.
• LXXIX–LXXX.1. Recapitulation of several of the Laws.
• LXXX.2–8. Perversion of Nature and the heavenly Bodies due to the Sin of Men.
• LXXXI. The Heavenly Tablets and the Mission of Enoch.
• LXXXII. Charge given to Enoch: the four Intercalary days: the Stars which lead the Seasons and the Months.

The Dream Visions

The Book of Dream Visions, containing a vision of a history of Israel all the way down to what the majority have interpreted as the Maccabean Revolt, is dated by most to Maccabean times (about 163–142 BC). According to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church it was written before the Flood.

Content

LXXXIII–LXXXIV. First Dream-Vision on the Deluge. LXXXV–XC. Second Dream-Vision of Enoch: the History of the World to the Founding of the Messianic Kingdom.

• LXXXVI. The Fall of the Angels and the Demoralization of Mankind.
• LXXXVII. The Advent of the Seven Archangels.
• LXXXVIII. The Punishment of the Fallen Angels by the Archangels.
• LXXXIX.1–9. The Deluge and the Deliverance of Noah.
• LXXXIX.10–27. From the Death of Noah to the Exodus.
• LXXXIX.28–40. Israel in the Desert, the Giving of the Law, the Entrance into Canaan.
• LXXXIX.41–50. From the Time of the Judges to the Building of the Temple.
• LXXXIX.51–67. The Two Kingdoms of Israel and Judah to the Destruction of Jerusalem.
• LXXXIX.68–71. First Period of the Angelic Rulers – from the Destruction of Jerusalem to the Return from Captivity.
• LXXXIX.72–77. Second Period – from the Time of Cyrus to that of Alexander the Great.
• XC.1–5. Third Period – from Alexander the Great to the Graeco-Syrian Domination.
• XC.6–12. Fourth Period Graeco-Syrian Domination to the Maccabean Revolt (debated).
• XC.13–19. The last Assault of the Gentiles on the Jews (where vv. 13–15 and 16–18 are doublets).
• XC.20–27. Judgement of the Fallen Angels, the Shepherds, and the Apostates.
• XC.28–42. The New Jerusalem, the Conversion of the surviving Gentiles, the Resurrection of the Righteous, the Messiah. Enoch awakes and weeps.

Animals in the second Dream-Vision

The second Dream-Vision in this section of the Book of Enoch is an allegorical account of the history of Israel, that uses animals to represent human beings and human beings to represent angels.
One of several hypothetical reconstructions of the meanings in the dream is as follows based on the works of R. H. Charles and G. H. Schodde:

• White color for moral purity; Black color for sin and contamination of the fallen angels; Red the color for blood reference to his martydom
• White bull is Adam; Female heifer is Eve; Red calf is Abel; * Black calf is Cain; White calf is Seth;
• White bull / man is Noah; White bull is Shem; Red bull is Ham, son of Noah; Black bull is Japheth; Lord of the sheep is God; Fallen star is either Samyaza or Azazel; Elephants are Giants; Camels are Nephilim; Asses are Elioud;
• Sheep are the faithful; Rams are leaders; Herds are the tribes of Israel; Wild Asses are Ishmael, and his descendants including the Midianites; Wild Boars are Esau and his descendants, Edom and Amalek; Bears (Hyenas/Wolves in Ethiopic) are the Egyptians; Dogs are Philistines; Tigers are Arimathea; Hyenas are Assyrians; Ravens (Crows) are Seleucids (Syrians); Kites are Ptolemies; Eagles are possibly Macedonians; Foxes are Ammonites and Moabites;

Description

There are a great many links between the first book and this one, including the outline of the story and the imprisonment of the leaders and destruction of the Nephilim. The dream includes sections relating to the book of Watchers:

"And those seventy shepherds were judged and found guilty, and they were cast into that fiery abyss. And I saw at that time how a like abyss was opened in the midst of the earth, full of fire, and they brought those blinded sheep." – The fall of the evil ones

"And all the oxen feared them and were affrighted at them, and began to bite with their teeth and to devour, and to gore with their horns. And they began, moreover, to devour those oxen; and behold all the children of the earth began to tremble and quake before them and to flee from them." – The creation of the Nephilim et al.

86:4, 87:3, 88:2, and 89:6 all describe the types of Nephilim that are created during the times described in The Book of Watchers, though this doesn't mean that the authors of both books are the same. Similar references exist in Jubilees 7:21–22.
The book describes their release from the Ark along with three bulls white, red and black which are Shem, Ham, and Japeth in 90:9. It also covers the death of Noah described as the white bull and the creation of many nations:

"And they began to bring forth beasts of the field and birds, so that there arose different genera: lions, tigers, wolves, dogs, hyenas, wild boars, foxes, squirrels, swine, falcons, vultures, kites, eagles, and ravens" 90:10

It then describes the story of Moses and Aaron (90:13–15) including the miracle of the river splitting in two for them to pass, and the creation of the stone commandments. Eventually arriving at a "pleasant and glorious land" (90:40) where attacked by dogs (Philistines), foxes (Ammonites, Moabites) and wild boars (Esau).

"And that sheep whose eyes were opened saw that ram, which was amongst the sheep, till it †forsook its glory† and began to butt those sheep, and trampled upon them, and behaved itself unseemly. 45. And the Lord of the sheep sent the lamb to another lamb and raised it to being a ram and leader of the sheep instead of that ram which had †forsaken its glory†." – David replacing Saul as leader of Israel

The creation of Solomon's temple it also describes the house which may be the tabernacle "And that house became great and broad, and it was built for those sheep: (and) a tower lofty and great was built on the house for the Lord of the sheep, and that house was low, but the tower was elevated and lofty, and the Lord of the sheep stood on that tower and they offered a full table before Him". This interpretation is accepted by Dillmann p 262, Vernes p 89, and Schodde p. 107. It also describes the escape of Elijah the prophet, In 1 Kings 17:2–24 he is fed by 'ravens' so if Kings uses a similar analogy he may have been fed by the Seleucids.

"saw the Lord of the sheep how He wrought much slaughter amongst them in their herds until those sheep invited that slaughter and betrayed His place."

This describes the various tribes of Israel 'inviting' in other nations 'betraying his place' i.e. the land promised to their ancestors by God.
This part of the book can be taken to be the kingdom splitting into the northern and southern tribes. That is Israel and Judah eventually leading to Israel falling to the Assyrians in 721 BC and Judah falling to the Babylonians a little over a century later 587 BC.

"And He gave them over into the hands of the lions and tigers, and wolves and hyenas, and into the hand of the foxes, and to all the wild beasts, and those wild beasts began to tear in pieces those sheep." – God abandons Israel for they have abandoned him.

There is also mention in fifty nine of seventy shepherds with their own seasons; there seems to be some debate on the meaning of this section some suggesting that it's a reference to the 70 appointed times in 25:11, 9:2, 1:12. Another interpretation is the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24. However the general interpretation is that these are simply Angels. This section of the book and later near the end describes the appointment by God of the 70 angels to protect the Israelites from enduring too much harm from the 'beasts and birds'. The later section (110:14) describes how the 70 angels are judged for causing more harm to Israel than he desired finding them guilty and are "cast into an abyss, full of fire and flaming, and full of pillars of fire."

"And the lions and tigers eat and devoured the greater part of those sheep, and the wild boars eat along with them; and they burnt that tower and demolished that house." The sacking of Solomon's temple and the tabernacle in Jerusalem by the Babylonians as they take Judah in 587 BC/586 BC exiling the remaining Jews.

"And forthwith I saw how the shepherds pastured for twelve hours, and behold three of those sheep turned back and came and entered and began to build up all that had fallen down of that house;"

"Cyrus allowed Sheshbazzar, a prince from the tribe of Judah, to bring the Jews from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Jews were allowed to return with the Temple vessels that the Babylonians had taken. Construction of the Second Temple began." – History of ancient Israel and Judah the temple is finished being built in 515 BC.

The first part of this next section of the book seems, according to Western scholars, to clearly describe the Maccabean revolt of 167 BC against the Seleucids. The following two quotes have been altered from their original form to make the hypothetical meanings of the animal names clear.

"And I saw in the vision how the (Seleucids) flew upon those (faithful) and took one of those lambs, and dashed the sheep in pieces and devoured them. And I saw till horns grew upon those lambs, and the (Seleucids) cast down their horns; and I saw till there sprouted a great horn of one of those (faithful), and their eyes were opened. And it looked at them and their eyes opened, and it cried to the sheep, and the rams saw it and all ran to it. And notwithstanding all this those (Macedonians) and vultures and (Seleucids) and (Ptolemies) still kept tearing the sheep and swooping down upon them and devouring them: still the sheep remained silent, but the rams lamented and cried out. And those (Seleucids) fought and battled with it and sought to lay low its horn, but they had no power over it." 109:8–12

"All the (Macedonians) and vultures and (Seleucids) and (Ptolemies) were gathered together, and there came with them all the sheep of the field, yea, they all came together, and helped each other to break that horn of the ram." 110:16

According to this theory, the first sentence is most likely the death of High Priest Onias III who is murdered which is described in 1 Maccabees 3:33–35 (dies c. 171 BC). The 'great horn' clearly is not Mattathias the initiator of the rebellion as he dies a natural death as described in 1 Maccabees 2:49. It is also not Alexander the Great as the great horn is interpreted as a warrior who has fought the Macedonians, Seleucids and Ptolemies. Judas Maccabeus (167 BC–160 BC) has fought all three of these, with a large number of winning battles against the Seleucids over a large period of time "they had no power over it". He is also described as "one great horn among six others on the head of a lamb" possibly pertaining to his five brothers and Mattathias. If you^[who?] take this in context of the history from Maccabeus time Dillman Chrest Aethiop says verse 13 can find its explanation in 1 Maccabees iii 7; vi. 52; v.; 2 Maccabees vi. 8 sqq., 13, 14; 1 Maccabees vii 41, 42 and 2 Maccabees x v, 8 sqq. The evidence does seem to suggest that this is in fact the life and times of Judas Maccabeus. He is eventually killed by the Seleucids at the Battle of Elasa where he faced "twenty thousand foot soldiers and two thousand cavalry". At one time it was believed this passage possibly belonged to John Hyrcanus; the only reason for this was the time between Alexander the Great and John Maccabeus was too short. However it has been asserted that evidence shows this section does indeed discuss Maccabeus.
It then describes:

"And I saw till a great sword was given to the sheep, and the sheep proceeded against all the beasts of the field to slay them, and all the beasts and the birds of the heaven fled before their face."

This might be simply the "power of God", God was with them to avenge the death. It may also be perhaps Jonathan Apphus taking over command of the rebels to battle on after Judas death. Other possible appearances are John Hyrcanus (Hyrcanus I) (Hasmonean dynasty) "And all that had been destroyed and dispersed, and all the beasts of the field, and all the birds of the heaven, assembled in that house, and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced with great joy because they were all good and had returned to His house." Possibly describing John's reign a time of great peace and prosperity. Certain scholars also claim Alexander Jannaeus of Judaea is alluded to in this book.
The end of the book describes the new Jerusalem, culminating in the birth of a Messiah:

"And I saw that a white bull was born, with large horns and all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air feared him and made petition to him all the time. 38. And I saw till all their generations were transformed, and they all became white bulls; and the first among them became a lamb, and that lamb became a great animal and had great black horns on its head; and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced over it and over all the oxen."

Still another interpretation, which has just as much as credibility, is that the last chapters of this section simply refer to infamous battle of Armageddon, where all of the nations of the world march against Israel; this interpretation is supported by the War Scroll, which describes what this epic battle may be like, according to the group(s) that existed at Qumran.

The Epistle of Enoch

Some scholars propose a date somewhere between the 170 BC and the 1st century BC.
This section can be studied as formed by five sub-sections,^[75] mixed by the final redactor:

• Apocalypse of Weeks (93:1–10 91:11–17): this sub-section, dated usually the first half of 2nd century BC, narrates the history of the world using a ten periods (said "weeks") scheme, of which seven regard the past and three the future events (the final judgment). The climax is in the seventh part of the tenth week where new heaven shall appear and there will be many weeks without number for ever, and all shall be in goodness and righteousness.
• Exhortation (91:1–10 91:18–19) this short list of exhortations to follow the righteousness said by Enoch to his son Methuselah looks like to be a bridge to next sub-section.
• Epistle (92:1–5 93:11–105:2): the first part of the epistle sketches the wisdom of the Lord, final reward of the justs and the punishment of the evils, and the two separated paths of righteousness and unrighteousness. Then we have six oracles against the sinners, the witness of the whole creation against them and the assurance of the fate after death. According Boccaccini^{[51]:131–138} the epistle is composed by two layers: a "proto-epistle", with a theology near the deterministic viewpoint of the Qumran group, and a slightly later part (94:4–104:6) that points out the personal responsibility of the single, describing often the sinners as the wealthy ones and the justs as the oppressed (a theme we find also in the Book of Parables).
• Birth of Noah (106–107): this part appears in Qumran fragments separated from the previous text by a blank line, thus looking like an appendix. It narrates of the deluge and of Noah who is born already with the appearance of an angel. Probably this text derives, as other small portions of 1 Enoch, from an originally separated book (see Book of Noah), but was arranged by the redactor as direct speech of Enoch himself.
• Conclusion (108): this second appendix was not found in Qumram and is considered to be work of the final redactor. It highlights the "generation of light" in opposition to the sinners destined to the darkness.

Content

XCII, XCI.1–10, 18–19. Enoch's Book of Admonition for his Children.

• XCI.1–10, 18–19. Enoch's Admonition to his Children.
• XCIII, XCI.12–17. The Apocalypse of Weeks.
• XCI.12–17. The Last Three Weeks.
• XCIV.1–5. Admonitions to the Righteous.
• XCIV.6–11. Woes for the Sinners.
• XCV. Enoch's Grief: fresh Woes against the Sinners.
• XCVI. Grounds of Hopefulness for the Righteous: Woes for the Wicked.
• XCVII. The Evils in Store for Sinners and the Possessors of Unrighteous Wealth.
• XCVIII. Self-indulgence of Sinners: Sin originated by Man: all Sin recorded in Heaven: Woes for the Sinners.
• XCIX. Woes pronounced on the Godless, the Lawbreakers: evil Plight of Sinners in The Last Days: further Woes.
• C. The Sinners destroy each other: Judgement of the Fallen Angels: the Safety of the Righteous: further Woes for the Sinners.
• CI. Exhortation to the fear of God: all Nature fears Him but not the Sinners.
• CII. Terrors of the Day of Judgement: the adverse Fortunes of the Righteous on the Earth.
• CIII. Different Destinies of the Righteous and the Sinners: fresh Objections of the Sinners.
• CIV. Assurances given to the Righteous: Admonitions to Sinners and the Falsifiers of the Words of Uprightness.
• CV. God and the Messiah to dwell with Man.
• CVI–CVII. (first appendix) Birth of Noah.
• CVIII. (second appendix) Conclusion.

Names of the fallen angels

Some of the fallen angels that are given in 1 Enoch have other names such as Rameel ('morning of God'), who becomes Azazel and is also called Gadriel ('wall of God') in Chapter 69. Another example is that Araqiel ('Earth of God') becomes Aretstikapha ('world of distortion') in Chapter 69.
"Azaz" as in Azazel means strength, so the name Azazel can refer to strength of God. But the sense in which it is used most-probably means impudent (showing strength towards) which comes out as arrogant to God. This is also a key point to his being Satan in modern thought.
Nathaniel Schmidt states "the names of the angels apparently refer to their condition and functions before the fall," and lists the likely meaning of the angels names in the book of Enoch, noting that "the great majority of them are Aramaic."^[76]
The suffix of the names 'el' means 'God' (List of names referring to El) which is used in the names of high ranking angels. The Archangels all include this such as Uriel (Flame of God) or Michael "who is like God?". Another is given as Gadrel, who is said to have tempted Eve; Schmidt lists the name as meaning "the helper of God."[76

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ETHIOPIAN CHURCH

By Professor Sergew Habele Selassie

1. PRE-CHRISTIAN TIMES

Traditional Sources
According to traditional sources, paganism as well as Judaism were practiced side by side in Ethiopia before the introduction of Christianity. Both were the result of contact with Middle Eastern countries through commercial channels. It believed that at an early stage of Ethiopian history, the worship of the serpent was widespread and the Ethiopians offered sacrifices to it. This is confirmed to some extent by archaeological evidence found at Axum: on one of the stelae at Axum an engraving of serpent is still visible today. Though the worship of serpent was spread through almost all the countries of Middle East, we have reason to believe that this cult was introduced directly to Ethiopia from Persia. The description in Avesta, the sacred book of Persia, concerning the worship of serpent, is identical with the tradition found in Ethiopia.

Archaeological Sources
The Sabaean migrants who crossed the Red Sea in the first millennium B.C and settled in Ethiopia brought with them their own religion. They were polytheists, and worshipped different gods of heaven, the earth and the sea. Almouqah (Elmouqah), for example, was the principal god of the south Arabian pantheon, and was retained as such in Ethiopia. Other Sabaean gods, like Astar (Astarte), corresponding to Aphrodite and Venus of the Greek and Roman world, sin the moon god shams the sun god, were widely worshipped in Ethiopia. Later, with the introduction of Greek culture into Ethiopia, worship of the Greek pantheon became widespread. In the well-known Greek inscription, left at Adulis by an anonymous Ethiopia Emperor, mention is made of Zeus, Poseidon and Aries. On the reverse of the monument appear engravings of another Greek god and demi-god, Hermes and Hercules, Aries was in fact the personal god of the Ethiopian Emperors of the pre-Christian ear, as shown in the frequent references made to him in epigraphic inscriptions.

After the third century, with the development of more purely Ethiopian civilization, Ethiopic names evolved for the gods then worshipped. This can be observed in the pre-Christian Ge’ez inscriptions of Emperor Ezana, where Ethiopic names replace the Sabaean or Greek names. Mahrem corresponds to Aries, Baher to Poseidon, and seamy to the Sabaean god Almouqah.

Temples, altars and statues were dedicated to gods. In Yeha there is a well-preserved temple dedicated to Almouqah. This temple was created before fifth century; it is rectangular in form with a double wall and single door. A similar temple to the same god existed at Hawlti-Melazo, near Axum, but it is now in ruins. A temple dedicated to Aries is found in Axum itself. Altars to the gods were also erected in various places. For example, at Kaskasse about eight kilometers northeast of Matara, there is an altar with a Sabaean dedicatory inscription to god sin, engraved with the symbols of the crescent and disc. There are also many altars bearing dedications in Sabaean to Almouqah. After his victory over the Beja people on the northern frontier of his domain, the Emperor Ezana erected status in gold silver and bronze to the god Aries.

Monotheism
Information about the introduction of Judaism into Ethiopia is found in the kebre Negest, (The Glory of the king). The visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon in Jerusalem is recounted there. On her return to Ethiopia she had born him a son, whom she named Menelik. When Menelik grew up he visited his father in Jerusalem, and came home accompanied by many Israelites, the sons of Levites and bringing with him the Ark of the Covenant, which he had obtained by subterfuge. From then on, Judaism was practiced in Ethiopia. It is side by some authorities that the Falasha tribes of northern Ethiopia, who practice a form of Judaism to this day, are descendants of the Israelites. The form of Judaism professed in apparently a development of a pre-Talmudic type of worship.

2. THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY

St. Frumentius and the Conversion of Ezana c. 330 A.D

Although Christianity became the official religion of the Aksumite kingdom in the fourth century, the religion had been known in Ethiopia since a much earlier time. In the Acts of the Apostles, VIII: 26-40, we are told of a certain Eunuch, the treasures of Queen Candace of Ethiopia, who went to Jerusalem to worship the God of Israel. There he met Philip the Deacon and was baptized by him. Ethiopian tradition asserts that he returned home and evangelized the people. In his Homily on Pentecost, St. John Chrysostom mentions that the Ethiopians were present in the Holy City on the day of Pentecost. Later, when the Apostles went out to preach the Gospel, Matthew was allotted the task of carrying the good news to Ethiopia, where he suffered martyrdom. Ethiopian sources, such as the Synaxarium, make no mention of this, however; on the contrary, Ethiopians believe that received Christianity without shedding apostolic blood. Nevertheless, Christianity without certainly known in Ethiopia before the time of Frumentius, being the faith practiced by many of the merchants from the Roman Empire Settled in the Aksumite region. In important cities, such as Axum and Adulis, these Christian merchants had their prayer houses and openly practiced their religion.

The introduction of Christianity as the state religion of Ethiopia came about not as the result of organized evangelical activity from outside the country, but because it was the desire of the king. The story of the conversation of the Axumites has come down to us in the work of the contemporary Church historian, Rufinus (d 410 A.D). Meropius, a philosopher from Tyre, set out to visit India accompanied by two young relatives, Frumentius and Aedesius, Apparently they followed the usual itinerary of the time along the Africa coast of the Red Sea. In the course of their journey they run short of provisions and put in at a port of the African coast. The local inhabitants, however, were hostile to Roman citizens, as they massacred Meropius and all aboard the ship, sparing only the two boys, who were taken to the king. They soon gained his interest and won his confidence. The younger, Aedesius, he made his cup-bearer, while the elder, Frumentius, who showed signs of wisdom and maturity, become his treasurer and secretary. The king died early, leaving his wife with an infant son as heir to the throne. Now the dying king had given Frumentius and Aedesius leave to return to their own country if they so wished, but the Queen-Mother who was left as Regent, begged them to remain to help her administer the kingdom until her son should grow up. The young men agreed, and stayed to carry out the task faithfully.

The thought of Frumentius then began to turn towards matters of faith. He sought out Christians among the Roman merchants settled at Axum, and encouraged them to establish meeting-places for prayer, helping then in every way he could, according them favours and benefits, and gradually spreading the seed of Christianity among the people. The young king himself became a convert. When he was old enough to rule the country alone, Frumentius and Aedesius asked him for permission to leave Axum. Aedesius returned home to Tyre, but Frumentius went to Alexandria and laid the whole affair before the newly- appointed patriarch, Athanasius, begging him to appoint a bishop to minister to the needs of the growing Christian community at Axum. The patriarch summoned a council of priests to consider the matter. It was agreed that Frumentius himself should be consecrated as the first Bishop of Axum. Thus he returned to propagate the faith in the land he knew so well so well. Although Rufinus does not specify the name of the country to which Frumentius went, other sources are more specific in this respect. A letter from the Emperor Constantius, written in 356 A.D to his “precious brothers”, Aezana and Saezana, rulers of Axum, concerns the Bishop Frumentius. Furthermore, the inscriptions and coins of the Emperor Ezana testify to his adoption of Christianity. In his earlier inscriptions he styles himself “Son of unconquered Mahrem”, but in the inscription after his victory over Nubia the employed anew terminology, speaking of “the Lord of heaven and earth”, and describing how he had destroyed the “images in their temples”, thus affirming his dissociation from paganism. A recently discovered Greek inscription belonging to Ezana leaves no doubt on this matter. It begins: “in the faith of God and the power of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost”. Likewise, the coins minted in the early part of Ezana’s reign bear the pagan symbol of the crescent and disc, while those minted in the later part of his reign bear the sign of the cross.

The introduction of Christianity as the state religion marked a turning point in Ethiopia history. Christianity does not constitute a purely religious phenomenon on the country, but plays an integral role in all aspects of national life. The Church is not only a religious institution, but has for many centuries been the repository of the cultural, political and social life of the people. The true feeling of the people who first received Christianity seems to have been expressed in the names they bestowed upon Frumentius, which are Abba Salama. Kassate Berhan, “Father of peace and Revealer of light”. It is interesting to note that Ezana and Saezana appear to have baptized with names also signifying illumination – Abreha (He illuminated) and Atsbeha (He brought the dawn).

In Ethiopia, the diffusion of Christianity did not follow the same pattern as in the Graeco-Roman world, where Christianity was confined to the lower levels of society for three centuries, and utterly rejected by the ruling classes. Only at the beginning of the fourth century did it begin to gain a few converts among members of the imperial family. In Ethiopia the converse was true. Christianity was introduced first in to the royal court, and from there gradually penetrated among the common people. Likewise, in the Roman Empire, the Apostles and later the Church fathers were actively engaged in the evangelization of the people; in Ethiopia, Christianity was voluntarily adopted.

The birth of Ethiopian Church took place at a time when the Arian heresy was at its peak. When Frumentius was consecrated, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, under the leadership of Athanasius, “the Column of Orthodoxy”, was the stronghold of the Nicene faith against Arianism. Constantius expelled Athanasius, however and installed an Arian, George of Cappadocia, in his place. The first ecumenical Council, where Arius was condemned as a heretic, took place in 325, Shortly before the establishment of the Ethiopian church, but the decision of the Council was nevertheless regarded as binding, and Ethiopia stood by Athanasius, and the Nicene Faith. In vain, Constantius, the son of Constantine the Great, tried to bring Ethiopia onto the heresy of Arius. It was for this reason that he addressed the orthodox group of any support, and ensures international recognition of Arianism. A certain Theophilus, a priest from Socotra, highly respected for his impeccable moral character, was entrusted with this mission to Axum, but he was apparently not even allowed to enter Aksumite territory. His mission failed, and Frumentius remained in Axum, to continue the teaching which he had learnt from Athanasius. The Ethiopian church holds Athanasius in special veneration. He was canonized as a saint, and his work, The Life of Saint Anthony, was translated into Ethiopic. One of the fourteen Anaphora’s of the Ethiopian Church is attributed to Athanasius. The 318 Father who participated in the First Ecumenical Council are also specially venerated, and another Anaphora of the Liturgy bears their name, as the Anaphora of the Three Hundred Fathers.



THE EXPANSION AND CONSOLIDATION OF CHRISTIANITY C. 350 TO 650 A.D.

Evangelistic Activities

According to the chronological lists of the Ethiopian bishops, Frumentius was succeeded by the Bishop Minas. He was apparently of Egyptian origin. From this time onward began the peculiar Alexandrian jurisdiction over Ethiopian Church, which was to last for sixteen hundred years. Throughout this period Ethiopians were not considered to be eligible for consecration as bishops. Minas left certain literary works concerning his missionary activities but the major contribution in the missionary field was that of the nine Saints. They came to Axum about 480, and well received by the emperor Ella Amida and by the inhabitants of the city. The most outstanding figures among the Nine Saints were Za-Mikael Aregawi, Pantalewon, Afse, and Garima or Isaac (Yeshaq). As their names indicate, they came from different parts of the Eastern Roman Empire, such as Constantinople and Syria. They were all adherents of the same doctrine, however it seems that they left the countries of their origin because of religious differences; they were anti-Chalcedonian, and thus were persecuted by the roman emperor, who was an ardent supporter of the Chalcedonian doctrines. They went first to Egypt, and lived some years at the monastery founded by Pachomius, before proceeding to Ethiopia. In Axum they studied the language and became familiar with the people and customs. After this preparation they set out in different directions to proselytize and to introduce monastic institutions. Only two of them, Abba Libanos and Abba Pantalewon, remained near Axum itself, the others went further east of the capital and founded hermitages in the old pagan centres. Za-Mikael went to Debra Damo where the worship of the serpent had long flourished. He succeeded in eradicating the cult, and founded a monastery there. Abba Pantalewon transformed a pagan temple into a church. Abba Afse went to Yeha, the renowned Sabaean center, and likewise transformed the famous temple there into a church. The Afse went to Yeha, the renowned Sabaean center, and likewise transformed the famous temple there into church. The efforts of the Nine Saints to wipe out paganism did not result in their persecution, as had happened in the Roman Empire, since in Axum they had the protection and support of the sovereign.

The Nine Saints also contributed greatly to the development of the Ge’ez liturgy and literature. They introduced terms and vocabulary into Ge’ez, such as Haymanote, Religion, qasis, priest, and ta’ot, idols. But their major contribution was undoubtedly their great work of Biblical translation into Ge’ez. The work of translation had begun in part during the time of Frumentius, at that time only a few of the basic Books for worship, such as passages of the psalms, had been translated as revealed in contemporary inscriptions. The Nine Saints undertook the massive task of translating the whole Bible. Since they were familiar with both Syriac and Greek, they used a Syrio-Greek text for this purpose. Most probably each of the Nine Saints translated one portion of the Bible. This is why the Ethiopic version reveals considerable differences in style from one Book to another. The Ethiopic version is one of the earliest Bible translations, and as such it is great importance in textual criticism and in establishing the original text.

The Nine Saints also translated a number of basic religious works into Ge’ez. These are of both doctrinal and literary content. Under the title of Qerllos (Cyril) were translated dogmatical treatises and homilies of the Church Fathers, in particular the work known as de Recta Fide by St.Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria. On this book which was translated from the Greek text, is based the teaching of the Ethiopian Church. Other works translated at this period include The Ascetic Rules of Pachomius, which still today regulate the monastic life of Ethiopia, and the Life of Saint Anthony by St, Athanasius, which is still widely read in Ethiopian Church circles.

Music and Art
The coming of the Nine Saints inaugurated a new era in the liturgical life of the Ethiopian Church and in cultural development in general. Music and art Flourished. To Yared, an Aksumite scholar of the time, is attributed the creation of Ethiopian church music. He was a disciple of the nine saints, probably of Aregawi, and composed music in three modes, which is still used in the Ethiopian church. The hymnary attributed to him is rich in inspiration and expression: perhaps it is one of the best of its kind in the orient. The influence of the nine saints extended also to art and architecture. The ruins of basilicas found in the ancient cities of Axum, Adulis and Hawlti may show a resemblance to Syriac churches. Of Aregawi at Debra Damo is the oldest existing example of Christian architecture in Ethiopia, and traces of this influence can be seen in it.

Church Organization

After the expansion of Christianity there was at least four dioceses in Ethiopia, each headed by a bishop. The chief of these was obviously the metropolitan of Axum. The second most important diocese was Adulis; it was through this ancient port that Christianity was first introduced to Ethiopian. As we have already mentioned, all the bishops were of Egyptian origin. They were closely associated both dogmatically and judicially with the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria. The latter sent Egyptian bishops to Ethiopia whenever necessary until the rise of Islam. To perpetuate his Egyptian suzerainty over the Ethiopian church, it became necessary to adduce legal justification. The Egyptians therefore inserted the forty-second Pseudo-Canon of the Council of Nicea, prohibiting the Ethiopians from occupying hierarchical positions. The authenticity of this Article was highly suspect to the Ethiopian clergy, but was nevertheless respected until the thirteenth century, when a new wave of independence arose. Once again it become necessary for the Egyptians, who did not wish to relinquish their prerogative, to renew the prohibition, and the same Article was inserted in the Fetha Negest, the politico- religious code under which the country was governed for more than six hundred years. Thus, an Egyptian bishop always remained at the head of the Ethiopian Church from its foundation up to the second half of the present century. This is a unique phenomenon in the history of the Christian Church.

Copied from.
Written by Professor Sergew Hable Sellassie and Professor Tadesse Tamerat
“THE CHURCH OF ETHIOPIA A PANORAMA OF HISTORY AND SPIRITUAL LIFE”
Addis Ababa –December 1970. A publication of the EOTC

The Bible

The Holy Scriptures are one of the two great foundations of the faith and here is what our church holds and teaches concerning it. The word of God is not contained in the Bible alone, it is to be found in tradition as well. The Sacred Scriptures are the written word of God who is the author of the Old and New Testaments containing nothing but perfect truth in faith and morals. But God’s word is not contained only in them, there is an unwritten word of God also, which we call apostolic tradition. We receive the one and other with equal veneration.

The canon of the Ethiopic Bible differs both in the Old and New Testament from that of any other churches.
List all books. As a whole, books written in the Geez language and on parchment are numerous. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has 46 books of the Old Testament and 35 books of the New Testament that will bring the total of canonized books of the Bible to 81.

These are the following

A. The Holy Books of the Old Testament

1. Genesis
2. Exodus
3. Leviticus
4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy
6. Joshua
7. Judges
8. Ruth
9. I and II Samuel
10. I and II Kings
11. I Chronicles
12. II Chronicles
13. Jublee
14. Enoch
15. Ezra and Nehemia
16. Ezra (2nd) and Ezra Sutuel
17. Tobit
18. Judith
19. Esther
20. I Maccabees
21. II and III Maccabees
22. Job
23. Psalms
24. Proverbs
25. Tegsats (Reproof)
26. Metsihafe Tibeb (the books of wisdom)
27. Ecclesiastes
28. The Song of Songs
29. Isaiah
30. Jeremiah
31. Ezekiel
32. Daniel
33. Hosea
34. Amos
35. Micah
36. Joel
37. Obadiah
38. Jonah
39. Nahum
40. Habakkuk
41. Zephaniah
42. Haggai
43. Zechariah
44. Malachi
45. Book of Joshua the son of Sirac
46. The Book of Josephas the Son of Bengorion

B. The holy books of the New Testament

1. Matthew
2. Mark
3. Luke
4. John
5. The Acts
6. Romans
7. I Corinthians
8. II Corinthians
9. Galatians
10. Ephesians
11. Philippians
12. Colossians
13. I Thessalonians
14. II Thessalonians
15. I Timothy
16. II Timothy
17. Titus
18. Philemon
19. Hebrews
20. I Peter
21. II Peter
22. I John
23. II John
24. III John
25. James
26. Jude
27. Revelation
28. Sirate Tsion (the book of order)
29. Tizaz (the book of Herald)
30. Gitsew
31. Abtilis
32. The I book of Dominos
33. The II book of Dominos
34. The book of Clement
35. Didascalia

The Ethiopic version of the Old and New Testament was made from the Septuagint. It includes the book of Enoch, Baruch, and the third and fourth Esdras. In the international Bible studies there are certain books belonging to the class usually designated pseudepigraphic. The whole Christendom and whole-learned world owes a debt of gratitude to the church of Ethiopia for the preservation of those documents.

Among these books is the book of Enoch which throws so much light on Jewish thought on various points during the centuries immediately preceding the Christian era. The book of Jubilee (Kufale, i.e. Division) otherwise known as the Little Genesis has also been preserved entire only in the Ethiopic version. The preservation of yet one more book in its entity, namely, the Ascension of Isaiah, is to be remembered to the credit of the Ethiopic Church.

But books, which should be considered for higher education and could be prepared carefully in order to suit modern thinking, are the following.

1. Theological books such as the following

- Haymanote Abew or the Faith of the Fathers in which other writings of the Apostolic Fathers and also of the Eastern Orthodox Church fathers are to be found.
- Works of St. Cyril and many other writers.
- The exegesis of the letter to the Hebrews by St. John Chrysostom.
- The pastoral work of St. John Chrysostom.
- Severious of Asmunage – a collection of twelve exegetical works, which prove the teaching concerning God.
- A book that proves the existence of God Hilawae – Melekote
- The book of Hawi, which proves the teaching concerning God.
- Book of the mystery by Abba Georgis containing arguments and evidence about the mysteries.
- Religious documentary book by Jacob of Elbaredia.
- The true faith (written during the reign of Zera Yacob)
- The five pillars of the Sacraments (as Catechism).

M E I L A D

2. Books that have the orders of the church

- The liturgical book with the 14 Anaphora
- Ghitsacwa –Lectionaries or a list of annual reading of the scriptures during the liturgical service and other prayer hours.
- The book of the Sacrament of Matrimony (Metsehafe Teklil)
- The book of Baptism
- The book of Ordination
- The book of Covenant
- The prayer book for the dead
- The prayer book of the Incense
- The book of Canon
- The prayer book of purification

3. Books on Church administration and on counseling

- A big book on the Synod of the Apostles in four parts
- The Didache and Abthulis
- The book on the Synod of Nicea
- The book on the Synod of Galatia
- The book on the Synod of Antioch
- The book on the Synod of Lethokia
- The book on the Synod of Kerthica
- The book on the Synod of Esrskousia
- The book on the Synod of Srethia
- The book of Fetha Negast
- Spiritual Medicine (Fewse Menfsawi)
- Exegesis on the meeting of clergy (Tikbe Kahenat)

4. Scared books

Most of these books are written in sections or parts for bindings, these are

- The old & The New Testaments
- The Books of the scholars of the Church
- Metsehafe Menequsat (book of the Monks)

5. Hymn books, mostly by St. Yared
- Digua
- Thesome Digua
- Mieraf
- Zimare
- Mewasiet
- Zik
- Mezmur
- Liturgy (Kedasie)
- Saatat (of ABBA Giorgis)

6. Books on Calendar

- Book of Abushakir
- Sid, the Son of Batrik
- Mark son of Kenbar
- Leader of Blind – by Demetros
- Mathematics concerning calendar by the Monastery of Bizen

7. Historical Books

- First writing on Zion
- Biography (Gedle) of Lalibela
- History of the Kings of Axum
- History of the Kings of Zagwe
- On the treasure of the kings
- On the honor of the Kings
- Tefut
- Biography (Gedle) of Tekla Haimanot
- George the son of Amid
- History of Alexander
- Works of the brothers – Part II
- Books on preaching

8. Compositions (works) on the virgins (celibates)

- Writings (compositions) on the woman who anointed Jesus
- Compositions (writings) on the Samaritan woman
- Writings on the birth of Christ
- Writings on Epiphany
- Writings on the Resurrection etc.

9. Writings that describe the biography of the martyrs

Biography and works of St. George
“ “ “ St. Kopnious
“ “ “ St. Irenaeus
“ “ “ St. Gelwdewos
“ “ “ Forty soldiers of Heaven

10. Different philosophical books

- Wogris the Wise (philosopher)
- Angare Felasfa (collections from philosophers)
- Thoughts and commentary of Zera Yacob of Axum

11. Books on the tradition and culture of the country

- On old age and adolescence
- Customs and traditions of Ethiopia

12. Books on nature and science

- Books on nature and science Part II and I
- Aximaros
- Phisalgos on animals and others

13. Books, which show writings of compositions

- The composition or writing of one of the criminals (outlaws), who was hanged with Jesus
- On the Miracles of St. Mary and many other apocryphal books are to be found.

14. Ancient grammatical books

There are very many grammatical books written by different people and found at different places in the world. The above noted are but a very few examples from among the different books numbered by the thousands that the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church has. In the past, at present and even in the future either in the church or at the schools what the church uses for educational services was and will not be outside of these books.

In the past, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church had not much opportunity to expand and propagate the above, noted doctrine and orders of the church inside and outside the nation; this is because of the different circumstances prevailing in the surroundings of the country. Because of the advent of European Colonialism upon its neighboring African countries and the great monetary support that other religious groups received to convert Africans. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church had no other choice but to defend on and preserve all here Christian legacy. Henceforth, she was unable to raise her apostolic voice louder among her African brothers and sisters. Nevertheless, the sense of freedom that the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church maintained for centuries being, the torch of freedom to all Africa has enabled Africans to be aware of their freedom.

In this 20th century, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church is conducting many apostolic missions – that is organizing church councils and founding clergy training programs within the country; and carrying on her apostolic missionary activities.

CANON LAW
The canons, regulations of Christian instruction and worship of the Ethiopian Church, are contained in the Sinodos and Didascalia, two compilations of ancient church canons, dating from the second period of Ethiopic literature. These canons are closely associated with the New Testament.

The Sinodos, classed as part of Ethiopic New Testament, is composed of various elements: Constitutions of Apostles, the Statutes of the Apostles, the Canons of the Apostles, the canons of Various councils-Nicaea, Gangra, Sardica, Antioch, New-Caesarca, Aneyra, Laodienea – and various theological and pastoml treatises. Eight books make up the Sinodos. Sinodos is the Corpus juris Ecclesiastic of the Church. The various discourses and treaties included in this Corpus are:

1. An exposition of the dialogue ascribed to St. John Chrysostom.
2. On the Essence of the Holy Trinity.
3. On the fear of God.
4. On the ancient people and a refutation of the Jews.
5. A discourse of St. Gregory of Armenia against the Jews.
6. Hortatory discourse to believers who desire to walk in the paths of wisdom and knowledge.
7. Hortatory discourse to believers who desire to walk in the paths of wisdom and knowledge.
8. The discourse of the Nicene Fathers on the Holy Trinity.
9. The penitential canons of our Lord to Peter.

The Didascalia a document well known in the Christian Church originally composed in Greek probably in the middle of the third century, a discourse on Church life and society. The whole work was afterwards, somewhere in the fourth century, incorporated in the Apostolic Constitutions. It has Latin, Arabic and Syriac versions, which differ among themselves and from the Ethiopic version with regard to the subject matter. The Ethiopia Didascalia contains the first seven books of the Apostolic Constitutions and it represents a form intermediate between the shorter Syriac Didascalia and the complete work of Apostolic Constitutions.

Briefly the contents of the document are: Questions of morality, the duty of studying the Scriptures and observance of the Seventh Commandment, mutual duties of husband and wife, offices and duties of Christian ministers; the duties of widows; the method of baptism, laymen not to baptize; vows of virginity; the duties of the faithful towards the martyrs; observance of Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy week and method of calculating the date of Easter; warning against heresy; respect to be shown to the faithful departed; prayers to be used on specified and unspecified occasions.

“Glory be to the Almighty God,” Amen.

Source

A short history, faith and order of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, published by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church Holy Synod, Addis Ababa 1983.

Edited by Aymero W and Joachim M., The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, published by the Ethiopian Orthodox mission, Addis Ababa 1970.