Texts and Languages of the Similitudes of Enoch
The Similitudes of Enoch is the second section of the five-fold composite work of 1 Enoch and specifically comprises chapters 37-71 of the total work.1 It is fully preserved (i.e. in its fivefold arrangement) only in Ethiopic. R. Laurence is credited for translating and making 1 Enoch available to English speakers.2 There are numerous fragments of manuscripts (Isaac estimates forty3) in four different languages (viz. Aramaic, Ethiopic, Greek, and Latin).
Working backwards from the fully preserved Ethiopic manuscripts, 1 Enoch (hence, Similitudes of Enoch) appears to be a translation from Greek. Since there are numerous Greek manuscripts, scholars decipher that the Greek is also translation Greek from a Semitic original. There is scholarly debate as to which Semitic language is most likely. Some suggest Hebrew and others suggest Aramaic. Isaac's conclusion is that a major portion of the work is most likely Aramaic, but he also judges some portions most likely to be originally Hebrew. He, therefore, offers the solution that 1 Enoch resembles the book of Daniel in that it contains both Aramaic and Hebrew as the original languages of composition. He does not state, however, whether the Similitudes of Enoch consist of both of these languages.4
Notes
1The five divisions of 1 Enoch, (sometimes referred to as the Enochic Pentateuch) are the following: (1) The Book of Watchers, chapters 1-36; (2) The Similitudes, or Parables, of Enoch, chapters 37-71; (3) the Astronomical Book, or Book of Astronomical Writings, chapters 72-82; (4) the Book of Dreams/Visions, or Dream Visions, chapters 83-90; and (5) the Epistle of Enoch, chapters 91-105. It should be noted that some scholars (e.g. Milik) propose that the Similitudes, or Parables, of Enoch were interpolated through Christian recension. These scholars, led by Milik, propose that the Similitudes of Enoch replaced another work, namely the Book of Giants, in the Enochic Pentateuch. Cf. Birger A. Pearson, "Jewish Sources in Gnostic Literature," in Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period: Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Qumran Sectarian, Writings, Philo, Josephus, ed. Michael E. Stone (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984.): 451-52.
2J. J. Collins, "Enoch, Books of" Dictionary of New Testament Backgrounds, eds. Craig A. Evans and Stanley Porter (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000): 314.
3E. Isaac, "1 (Ethiopic Apocalypse of) Enoch," in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Apocalyptic Literature & Testaments. Vol. 1, ed. James H. Charlesworth (New York: Doubleday, 1983): 6.
4Ibid.
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