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CHAPTER 11

The Use of the Psalms in Ethiopic Enoch

PRE-PUBLICATION DRAFT

Loren T. Stuckenbruck (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitä t Mü nchen)

A. Introduction

In the Gǝ‘ǝz manuscript tradition, the Canticles are closely wedded to the
Davidic Psalms. There are in fact more known manuscripts in existence that contain
the Psalms plus Canticles than any other single work or combination of works in
Gǝ‘ǝz. Moreover, in virtually all manuscripts containing both the Psalms and
Canticles, the Psalms precede the Canticles.
Before this constellation of writings meets us in the Ethiopian (i.e., EOTC)
context, each of the Canticles and each of the Psalms, both singly and collectively,
had its own transmission history that, in some cases, extends back to the early part
of the first millennium B.C.E. Originally composed in Hebrew, the Psalms, as they
were being collected and took shape during the centuries leading up to the Common
Era, had an integrity in their own right, and not only discretely so. Nevertheless, at a
relatively early stage, perhaps as early as the second century B.C.E., they were being
translated into Greek, with many individual Psalms supplied with new headings that
have survived in the Gǝ‘ǝz tradition. Apart from the mostly later Psalms manuscripts
themselves, the fragmentary Hebrew manuscripts among the Dead Sea Scrolls and
Greek compositions that would eventually be taken up in the Septuagint text
tradition provide, perhaps with the exception of Ben Sira (43:11–19, Pss. 104 and
147–148; 50:28, Ps. 1:1–2; 51:12, Ps. 136) and Tobit chapter 13, 1 our earliest
evidence that the Psalms were being collected before the turn of the Common Era. In
addition, such collections probably lie behind the numerous citations and allusions
to the Psalms found in the New Testament.2
1
Cf. Ruth Henderson, “A Scriptural Model for the Book of Tobit (Tobit 13.1–18),” JSP 17 (2017): 47 –
79.
2
This, however, does not pertain to the writings of either Philo or Josephus, in which very little
reception of the Psalms can be detected. On the reception of the Psalms in the Dead Sea literature,
especially the biblical manuscripts, see Peter W. Flint, The Dead Sea Psalms Scrolls & the Book of
Psalms, STDJ 13 (Leiden: Brill, 1997); idem, “Psalms and Psalters in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in The Bible
 The early Greek translation and the inclusion of many Psalms in the Dead Sea
Scrolls and New Testament aside, what evidence is there of an even earlier
reception of the Psalms? Surprisingly little. Within the Hebrew Bible, there are
several books that seem to draw on tradition also found in the Psalms, though this is
limited in scope: most notably, four books contain the acclamation “for he (the Lord)
is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (NSRV) 3 that in this form is found in a
number of Psalms (100:5; 106:1; 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1). 4 The focus of the present
discussion shall be on what arguably constitutes the earliest evidence outside the
Hebrew Bible for the reception of the Psalms. The Psalms may be said to have been
read and received within a portion of 1 Enoch that dates back to the 2nd century
B.C.E., namely, the Epistle of Enoch. Before considering a number of possible
examples, some preliminary comments shall orient readers of this chapter to what
is meant when we refer to “1 Enoch” or Ethiopic Enoch.
1 Enoch, which in the Gǝ‘ǝz manuscript tradition is divided into 108 chapters,
is not a single document, but is rather a collection of related materials composed
over a period of at least 400 years, that is, from the late fourth century B.C.E. until
the end of the first century C.E. Although Ethiopic manuscripts commonly divide the
work into five main books and two appendices, 1 Enoch ultimately veils a collection
and redaction of at least twenty originally separate pieces that, with a few
exceptions, are mostly associated with the patriarch Enoch who, being made to
speak from pre-diluvian and diluvian times, addresses the much later situations of
the actual authors writing in his name. Significantly, the Dead Sea Scrolls fragments
that relate to the text of 1 Enoch are almost all preserved in Aramaic, most likely the
language of original composition. Even when taking the sizeable fragmentary Greek
materials into account, we do well note that it is only in Gǝ‘ǝz that the work is
preserved in its entirety.5 Thus several parts of the text that transmit material from
antiquity can only be accessed through Gǝ‘ǝz manuscripts that date from the end of
the fourteenth century (so chs. 37—71; 83—84; and 108).
Coupled together with the longstanding appearance of the Psalms with the
Canticles in Ethiopic, the reception of Ethiopic Enoch (for which our earliest
manuscripts date to the end of the fourteenth century) and its use of the Psalms
(documented below in relation to the Epistle of Enoch) suggest that the reception of
the Canticles might also be presupposed. This inference may especially hold since

and the Dead Sea Scrolls, vol. 1: Scripture and the Scrolls, edited by James H. Charlesworth (Waco:
Baylor University Press, 2006), 233–72; Matthias Brü tsch, Israels Psalmen in Qumran: Ein
textarchäologischer Beitrag zur Entstehung des Psalters, BWANT 193 (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2010);
and Eva Jain, Psalmen oder Psalter? Materielle Rekonstruktion und inhaltliche Untersuchung der
Psalmenhandschriften aus der Wüste Juda, STDJ 109 (Leiden: Brill, 2014).
3
1 Chr 16:34; 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3; Ezra 3:11; and Jer 33:11.
4
Without taking the additional affirmation “for he is good” into account, the list of texts is
considerably larger than those mentioned in the previous footnote: 1 Chr 16:41; 2 Chr 7:6; 20:21. The
Chronicles passages mentioned here, however, presuppose a knowledge of the fuller affirmation
about Israel’s God, as do Psalmic texts in which the phrase “for the Lord endures forever” also stands
alone (136:2–26; cf. 138:8). It is thus especially in 1 and 2 Chronicles, in which temple worship
conducted by Levites is described, that the influence of the Psalms lies in the background; cf. e.g., 1
Chr 15:16, 22; 16:4; and 2 Chr 7:6.
5
So e.g., Michael A. Knibb, The Ethiopic Book of Enoch, 2 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978).
the Canticles reinforce the reception of the Psalms within a Christian framework, a
framework that was likewise shaping the reading of Ethiopic Enoch.6 Within the
EOTC, Ethiopic Enoch circulates under the title Mäṣḥäfä Henok and, at least since the
mid-15th century, it has occupied a not insignificant place among this church
tradition’s “81” sacred scriptures.7
Thus far the use of scripture or sacred tradition in 1 Enoch beyond Genesis,
Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel has received only limited analysis. One
reason for this has to do with the way 1 Enoch, like many apocalyptically oriented
Jewish compositions, draws on earlier tradition: in no single instance is a “biblical”
text ever formally cited, that is, introduced by a quotation formula such as “as it is
written” or “for it/he said.” Instead, the analysis rests on being able to establish
allusionary references through a process of comparison that at times has to filter
out the influence of other passages that display similarities with the text.
Now it is known that the Book of Parables (1 En. chs. 37—71), one of the later
among these Enochic compositions that dates to just before or after the turn of the
Common Era, is known to have made use of the Psalms. The influence of the Psalms
in this part of 1 Enoch has recently been demonstrated by Pierpaolo Bertalotto. 8
Since it belongs to the latter part of 1 Enoch, the Book of Parables, nowhere actually
attested among the Dead Sea Scrolls and not preserved in any language other than
Gǝ‘ǝz, will not occupy the focus here. Instead we look to an earlier part of 1 Enoch,
namely the Epistle of Enoch in chapters 92—105, for which our earliest evidence in
both Aramaic and Greek, remains fragmentary, so that Gǝ‘ǝz remains determinative
in our analysis. The Epistle, though sometimes dated to the early part of the first
century B.C.E. may in fact have been composed earlier, during the several years
leading up to the Maccabean Revolt (beginning 167). If this is the case, the Epistle
contains some of our earliest evidence available to us for the reception of the Psalms
during the Second Temple period.
In what follows, I shall look at allusions to the Psalms in the Epistle with a
view to addressing the following issues: (a) the certitude and form of the allusion;
(b) the immediate source of the allusion, that is, whether the text (esp. the Ethiopic)
draws on the ancient text or accommodates it to the Psalms text circulating in the
6
It remains, of course, for further studies and recovery of manuscripts from before the fourteenth
century to establish such a case more concretely. On the Christian reception in Ethiopic of Ethiopic
Enoch, see Loren T. Stuckenbruck, “The Book of Enoch: Its Reception in Second Temple Jewish and in
Christian Tradition,” Early Christianity 4 (2013): 7–40 and Leslie Baynes, “Enoch and Jubilees in the
Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church,” A Teacher for All Generations: Essays in Honor of James C.
VanderKam, edited by Eric F. Mason et al., 2 vols., JSJ Supp 153 (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 2:799–818.
7
See again the bibliography of the previous footnote and Loren T. Stuckenbruck, “Was sind
‘apokryphe’ Schriften? Ein schillender Begriff,” Welt und Umwelt der Bibel 19/1 (2014): 41–43 and
“‘Ohne das Henochbuch kannst du kein Christ oder Jude sein’: Die heiligen Schriften in der
ä thiopisch-orthodoxen Kirche,” Welt und Umwelt der Bibel 20/3 (2015): 32–35. It should be
emphasized, however, that although Ethiopic Enoch is relatively well known in the EOTC today and is
more consistently being included in recently printed Bibles, the evidence available allows us only to
affirm that from at least the fifteenth century, it was mostly used among the religious elite (i.e., in
monasteries) rather than, unlike the Psalms and Canticles, being widely made immediately accessible
amongst the laity.
8
Pierpaolo Bertalotto, “The Enochic Son of Man, Psalm 45, and the Book of the Watchers,” JSP 19
(2010): 195–216.
Gǝ‘ǝz manuscript tradition; and (c) its function in the immediate and broader
literary context of the Epistle. From the vantage point of method, issue (b) is of
particular relevance and needs to be considered in the course of any analysis of an
allusion for which a parallel textual tradition for sacred text exists. Thus, while
allusions to the Psalms can also be detected in the Book of Parables and the Birth of
Noah (chs. 106-107, also composed during the second cent. B.C.E.), this study offers
the beginning of a more thoroughgoing consideration of how the Psalms functioned
alongside other sacred Ge‘ez texts as they were first being received.

B. Allusions to the Psalms in the Epistle of Enoch

In what follows, six passages in Ethiopic Enoch will be considered in the

order of their appearance: (1) 95:4 (to Ps. 119[118]:115) – 2nd woe-oracle; (2) 96:2
(to Ps. 104[103]:18) – consolation addressed to those who are righteous; (3) 96:8
(to Ps. 33:11) – 3rd woe-oracle; (4) 99:14 (to Ps. 118[117]:22) – 6th woe-oracle; (5)
100:1 (to Ps. 79[78]:3) – pronouncement of judgment against sinners; and (6) 101:8
(to Ps. 146[145]:6) – a description of divine activity against sinners through
creation. If it is determined that Ethiopic Enoch has used the Psalms and, in turn, if
the Epistle reflects the use of the Psalms as a living tradition, then it would not be
unreasonable if parts of the work could itself have been recited as well. Very little
work has been conducted thus far on the oral recitation of Ethiopic Enoch. In
particular, George W. E. Nickelsburg’s attempt to present the Epistle of Enoch as a
poetic work with stichs and balanced phrases in his translation and, indeed, the
artistry with which this part of Ethiopic Enoch has been invested (through
repetitions of phrases and use of parallel structures) enhances the plausibility of its
oral use, whether in communal reading or, possibly, singing.9

B.1. The Epistle: Its Macro-Structure and Argument

Before looking at these texts in detail, some preliminary remarks about the
Epistle are appropriate, especially since the nature and purpose of the work so
clearly impacts its use of biblical tradition.
In terms of form, the Epistle is unusual, not only in Jewish literature
composed during the Second Temple period but also within the internal literary
structure of 1 Enoch itself. Though it is casually refered to as “apocalyptic” literature,
it does not contain visionary or revelatory experiences in which such writings often
present themselves. The fictional writer “Enoch” nowhere engages in the activity of
“seeing,” and only once does the text lay claim to him having received revelation
(103:2–3). The term “epistle” is just as misleading, as the work bears no traces of a
letter form. The term itself derives from the Greek text at 1 Enoch 100:6, which
refers to Enoch’s instruction to the audience as “the words of this epistle”; and,
9
See George W. E. Nickelsburg and James C. VanderKam, 1 Enoch: A New Translation Based on the
Hermeneia Commentary (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 20122). While there is no doubt about the
reading of Ethiopic Enoch in formal contexts (as demonstrated by marginal headers found in
manuscripts for the book such as Tana 9=EMML 8292 and EMML 8400), it is less certain what can be
said about the texts having been sung.
following from this, the fifth century C.E. Greek Chester Beatty-Michigan Papyrus
adds “Epistle of Enoch” after the text of chapter 107, at the end of the Birth of Noah.
What we have instead comes closer to a series of prophetic indictments against the
wicked and assurances of divine justice for the righteous. The emphasis of these
pronouncements is placed less on reforming the present oppressive institutions of
the socio-religious and political order than on how people are held accountable after
death and at a time when eschatological judgment will be executed.
The structure of the work is as follows: the opening of the Epistle describes
the content to follow as material composed by Enoch for his son Methuselah (so the
Aramaic version to 92:1). This heading is followed by several introductory passages
(92:2–5, 93:11–14, 94:1–5), before the main body, which contains the allusions to
the Psalms, is taken up. The introductory passages include: (a) an exhortation to
Enoch’s “sons” that, if they engage in righteousness and peace, they have no reason
to be afraid (an exhortation found in many of the Canticles), because theirs will be
an eschatological reward while, on the other hand, “sin” will be destroyed forever
(92:2–5); (b) a theological reflection, given in the form of rhetorical questions, on
the incomparable and unfathomable wisdom of God within creation (93:11–14;
again something not infrequently found amongst the Canticles); and (c) a principled,
brief description of two ways – that is, paths of righteousness and wrongdoing – and
the ultimate consequences of leading the one or the other kind of life (94:1–5).

The main body of the Epistle (94:6-104:8) consists of three parts:

(1) Words of Woe against the Wicked. The first is shaped around a repetitive
series of six woe-oracles that are directed against “sinners.” Between and among
these oracles are further messages of denunciation against the wicked as well as
words of comfort and reassurance for those who are deemed righteous or faithful.
The wicked addressed in the woes are probably Jews who are accused of having
disseminated false teachings and thus are considered idolators (cf. esp. 98:9—99:2);
they are also held to account for oppressing and, indeed, enslaving those who are
loyal to God. The righteous, whom the writer regards as the legitimate heirs of the
Enochic revelation, are shut out from being able to exert any meaningful religious or
political influence on society. For them, an eschatological reward is certain.
(2) Appeal to Creation as an Agent of Woe. In the second part within the main
body the writer describes how even creation itself functions as a divine agent to
unmask the ultimate helplessness of sinners (100:7—102:3).
(3) Execution of Divine Justice in the Afterlife. In the third section (102:4—
104:8), the writer strikes up a fictive discourse, consisting of a series of short
speeches and views about divine justice in the afterlife. Here, the author is at pains
to dismiss the view of the sinners (especially that of those who are dead) that the
righteous have no advantage over them since their post-mortem state seems to be
no different than their own and since, at least, it is the wicked who could enjoy more
prosperity than the righteous during their earthly existence.
The conclusion of the Epistle at 104:9—105:2 returns to the themes that
opened that work, especially the contrast between truth and uprightness, on the one
hand, and falsehood and wickedness, on the other. Interestingly, in 104:10–11 the
writer complains against those who have misrepresented the Enoch tradition (i.e.,
either through false copying or bad translation). According to the Greek text at
104:11, this subversion of Enochic revelation is carried through by those who “write
in their own names.” At its conclusion, the text expresses the writer’s expectation
that, despite the sad state of things and widespread falsehood in the world, Enochic
wisdom will somehow be disseminated to “the children of the earth” (105:1-2).
Each of the allusions to the Psalms occurs in the main body of the Epistle and
presumably is placed in service of the work’s emphasis on denunciating the wicked
and encouraging the pious. How this precisely works in each instance can now be
explored below.

B.2.i. Psalm 119[118]:155 and 1 Enoch 95:4

The first allusion to the Psalms occurs near the beginning of the second
series of woe-oracles (1 En. 95:4–7) pronounced in the text against the wicked. The
text, which is only preserved in Gǝ‘ǝz, may be translated as follows:

Woe to those of you who pronounce curses in order that they will not
be loosed;
healing will be far from you because of your sins
(ወፈውስ : ርሑቅ : እምኔክሙ : በእንተ : ሓጢኣተ : ዚአክሙ).

The allusion, presented in italics, relates to Psalm 119[118]:155. According to the

standard early versions, the text is as follows:

Masoretic Tradition (MT) – Salvation is far from the wicked (h¡Do…wv◊y

My∞IoDv√rEm qwâøj∂r) for they do not seek your statutes.10
Septuagint (LXX)11 – Salvation is far from sinners (μακρὰ ν ἀ πὸ ἁ μαρτωλῶ ν
σωτηρία), for they do not seek your righteous decrees.
Gǝ‘ǝz12 – Far is salvation from sinners (ርሑቅ፡ሕይወት፡እምኃጥኣን፡እስመ፡ኢኅሠሡ፡
ኵነኔከ), for they do not seek your judgment.

While the MT and LXX follow the same word order in the first phrase, the Gǝ‘ǝz
Psalm text departs from these versions by placing “from sinners” in the third
position and “salvation” in the second. The allusion in the Epistle departs from all
these versions by placing “healing,” the equivalent to “salvation,” in the first
position, as well as by referring to the wicked in the second person. 13 The Gǝ‘ǝz
10
Translations of the MT are adapted from the NRSV, translations from the LXX are my own, and the
translations of the texts of the Epistle are from Loren T. Stuckenbruck, 1 Enoch 91—108, CEJL (Berlin:
Walter de Gruyter, 2007).
11
Cited from ed. A. Rahlfs, Psalmi cum Odis, SVTG 10 (Gö ttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1931).
12
As I have not yet noticed any variants amongst Psalms manuscripts for the passages cited in the
present discussion, it remains possible here to follow the edition of Hiob Ludolf, Psalterium Davidis
aethiopice et latine (Frankfurt am Main: Jacquet, 1701).
13
The “healing,” referred to in the Epistle may stand in contrast with remedies for healing (called
“cutting of roots”) that in the Book of Watchers at 1 En. 8:3 derives from the rebellious angels. The
contrast, however, may only be apparent, as the “healing” mentioned here refers to the ultimate
Psalm is closer to the LXX than to the MT in its use of the term “sinners”; in turn, this
vocabulary also reflects the equivalent that the Enochic allusion presupposes
(“because of your sins”). As there is nothing in the allusion that is closer to the Gǝ‘ǝz
Psalm than to the LXX, it is likely that the allusion can be traced back to the LXX. In
this case, the phrase “from sinners” in the LXX has been interpreted by the longer
“from you because of your sins”; the one preposition within the first half of Psalm
119:115 has given rise, then, to two meanings: (1) the preposition “from” in the
sense found in MT and LXX and, also possible for the preposition with a Semitic
background, (2) to denote cause (“because of your sins”).
The first part of 1 Enoch 95:4 envisages the wicked as undertaking their
curses with a certain deliberateness. This intentionality on their part suggests, in
consideration of the literary context, that the force of their curses has become
irreversible. It is possible that here we have an allusion to the rebellious angels
myth in the Book of Watchers at 1 Enoch 6:4. Once their leader Shemihazah
articulates a plan to sire offspring through the women of the earth, the angels with
him bind themselves together with a curse (so the Gǝ‘ǝz text) to go through with the
deed without turning back.
By analogy, the sins of the wicked addressed in the Epistle have carried out
their deeds with such purpose and intention that there is no room for their
forgiveness or restitution. Accordingly, the focus in the Psalms text on “sinners” is
redrawn within the Epistle’s allusion to that text in order to emphasize the degree of
their guilt, much like the guilt carried by the fallen angels of earlier Enochic
tradition. The judgment pronounced upon them (“healing will be far”) underscores
the permanence of the plight that the wicked have gotten themselves into before
God. The particular emphasis on the weight of their misdeeds is echoed in
consequences for them described in the following three verses of the Epistle: “you
will be repaid according to your deeds” (v. 5); “you will be quickly destroyed” (v. 6);
and “you will be delivered over to and persecuted by iniquity, and its yoke will rest
heavy on you” (v. 7).
Psalm 119:155, then, has furnished the writer of the Epistle with language
that puts unbridgeable distance between the intentions of the wicked and the
betterment that they seek for themselves.14 The connections between verses 5-6 and
a later passage in 1 Enoch 99:11–12 suggest that the wicked addressed here consist

salvation of the righteous (in the afterlife), not to the remedial handling of illness. For an extended
discussion, see Stuckenbruck, 1 Enoch 91-108, 276–79. In any case, it should be remembered that
each of the writer’s pronouncements do not merely function as predictions. The woe-oracles of the
Epistle, to which the present passage belongs, function in and of themselves as testimony that the
author expects will be given in the eschatological court of judgment. In other words, the
pronouncements of healing and punishment in the work have an irreversible force that guarantees
these outcomes. See further Stuckenbruck, 1 Enoch 91—108, 193–97. In terms of how the healing
mentioned in the Epistle functions, there may be a functional analogy with the Canticles (recited
therapeutically; cf. Mersha Alehegne’s contribution to this volume), though the Epistle’s emphasis is
exclusively eschatological.
14
The phrase “far from” is found in a number of other texts (Qoh 7:23; Isa 46:12; Prov 13:19(LXX);
11Q5 xviii 13; cf. also the verbal phrases in Prov 4:24 and Sir 30:23); however, the terms “healing”
(as an equivalent to “salvation”) and “sins” (in corresponding to “sinners”) render the allusion to Ps
119:115 certain.
of other Jews who cultivate their own form of (false) religiosity at the expense of
others.

B.2.ii. Psalm 104[103]:18 and 1 Enoch 96:2

In contrast to the previous allusion in 1 Enoch 95:4, the one here occurs
within a message of consolation directed at the righteous (96:1–3). After assuring
the pious that the sinners (who trouble them) will be quickly destroyed and that
they will wield authority over them (96:1), the text in the next two verses goes on to
state that:

(2) ... on the day of the tribulation of sinners,

your children will arise and ascend as eagles,
and your nest will be higher than (that) of the birds of prey.
And you will climb upwards and enter into the caves of the earth,
and into the clefts of the cliff forever like the coney from before the wicked.
(ወተዓርጉ፡ወትበውኡ፡በንድለታተ፡ምድር
ወበንቅዓታተ፡ኰኵሕ፡ለዓለም፡ከመ፡ጊሔ፡እምቅድመ፡አማፅያን)
And they will groan because of you and weep like sirens.
(3) You, however, who have suffered: do not fear;
for you will have healing (cf. 95:4 above),
and a bright light will shine upon you,
and you will hear a sound of rest from heaven.

The promise of healing in verse 3 alludes to the text in 95:4 discussed above, to
which it stands in direct contrast; as such, it reflects a continuation of the allusion to
Psalm 119. The italicized text in verse 2, however, may reflect the influence of
another passage from the Psalms, namely 104[103]:18. The MT, LXX, and Gǝ‘ǝz texts
for the Psalm verse are as follows:

MT – The high mountains (are) for the goats, (the) rocks a refuge for the coneys.
My`I…nApVv`Al h¶RsVjAm My#IoDlVsŒ My¡IlEo◊¥yAl MyIhOb◊…
gAhœ MyâîrDh
LXX – The high mountains (are) for the deer, (the) rocks a refuge for the coneys.
ὄ ρη τὰ ὑ ψηλὰ ταῖς ἐλᾶ φοις, πέτρα καταφυγὴ τοῖς χοιρογρυλλίοις
Gǝ‘ǝz – The high mountains are for the deer, and the rocks a refuge for the coneys.
አድባር፡ነዋኃት፡ለሀየላት፡ወጾላዓት፡ምጒያዮን፡ለግሔያት

There is no real difference in content between the Gǝ‘ǝz and the LXX and, in turn,
between both these texts and MT. However, with the adjective “high” placed in the
second position, the word order of the Gǝ‘ǝz corresponds to that of the LXX rather
than to that of MT. In its mention of the coney (though in the collective singular) and
the notion of refuge (though without specifying the idea with the word itself), 1
Enoch 96:2 alludes to the Psalmic text, and perhaps also to one in Proverbs 30:26,
according to which “coneys” (plural) place “their home in rocks.” The Enochic text’s
emphasis on the righteous finding refuge from the wicked suggests a particular
affinity with the Psalmic text. Despite the allusion, the Epistle does not suggest any
methodical reworking of the Psalm, but rather draws on the image of the coney (in
the collective singular) having climbed to a place of protection to get out of harm’s
way.
Between the first and second part of 1 Enoch 96:2, then, the metaphor shifts
from flying to climbing, with security no longer found in the height itself, but in the
concealed places and secluded areas among mountainous rocks. The prepositional
phrase “from before the wicked” refers back to the aforementioned “birds of prey”;
this phrase is no allusion to Psalm 104:17, in which the birds pose no threat but
rather are said to be provided for by God who lets them build nests in the cedars of
Lebanon.15
As no obvious reliance in the Epistle at 96:2 on the text of the Psalm can be
detected, the prospect for establishing the presence of an allusion depends mostly
on positing an inference that in this case remains plausible. If Psalm 104:18 does
provide at least one of the intertexts for the Epistle, it functions to support the
categorical gap the writer forges between the righteous who will somehow find
protection and the sinners who will not.

B.2.iii. Psalm 34[33]:12[13] and 1 Enoch 96:8

The third series of woe-oracles against sinners in the Epistle (96:4-8)

concludes with the following denunciation:

Woe to you, O strong ones, who with strength oppress the righteous until the
day of your destructions arrives. In those days many and good days will come
upon the righteous ones (ይመጽእ፡ለጻድቃን፡መዋዕል፡ብዙኃት፡ወኄራት) in the day
of your judgment.

Somewhat surprisingly, the phrase “many and good days” has no known exact
parallel in the Hebrew Bible or in known Second Temple Jewish literature. The
adjectives “many” and “good” refer together to the length (though in what context
remains unclear) and quality of life that the righteous may expect. In the Epistle the
wicked are only rarely addressed with the designation “rich ones” (cf. 94:8);
nevertheless, they are consistently described as having wealth (94:7–8; 96:4; 97:8–
9; 103:5–6), having unjustly acquired it at the expense of others (96:7; 97:8–10;
103:5), and as engaging in socio-political repression, whether directly or by
association (95:7; 96:5, 7; 99:13, 15; 100:7; cf. 103:9–15). Here, they are referred to
as “strong ones,” a designation that underscores their socially advantaged position
over against the righteous.
The righteous, on the other hand, are never called “poor,” though they are
clearly assumed to be without wealth and, as such, vulnerable to the whims and
strategies of the socio-economic elite. In response to this, the Epistle anticipates a
divine judgment that marks a reversal of present circumstances. This judgment is to

15
For the location of birds of prey in the mountains, see Isa 18:6.
involve both punishment and reward, neither of which will take place in the context
of the present world order, but rather in the eschaton, a time that for many of the
wicked and pious alike will occur after death (cf. 103:1–8). As in a number of other
passages of the Epistle (94:6–7; 95:6–7; 96:6; 97:10; 98:9; 99:16; cf. 96:5 and 99:2),
such a reversal is precisely what the text in 96:8 emphasizes: the advantages
enjoyed now by the wicked will be transferred to the righteous, who in the present
state of things will suffer oppression until the final judgment.
The tradition that comes closest to the present text can be found in Psalm
34[33]. After emphasizing that those seeking the Lord “will not lack anything good,”
the MT, LXX, and Gǝ‘ǝz,respectively, read as follows:

MT – Who is the man who desires life, who loves to see good days?
bwáøf twñøa√rIl My#ImÎyŒ b¶EhOa My¡I¥yAj X∞EpDjRh vyIaDhœ_y`Im
LXX – Who is the person who wants life, who loves to see good days?
τίς ἐστιν ἄ νθρωπος ὁ θέλων ζωὴ ν ἀ γαπῶ ν ἡ μέρας ἰδεῖν ἀ γαθά ς;
Gǝ‘ǝz – Who is the person who desires life and who love to see beautiful days?
መኑ፡ውእቱ፡ብእሲ፡ዘይፈቅዱ፡ሐይወ፡ወያፍቅር፡ይርእይ፡መዋዕለ፡ሠናያተ

The Psalm text focuses on the quality of days that the righteous who seek God can
expect. To the extent that the Enochic text presupposes an awareness of the biblical
tradition, the addition of “many”16 shifts the focus to include length of time (cf.
“length of days” in Deut 30:20, both MT and LXX; Gǝ‘ǝz, “so that your days will be
long”).
An additional shift has to do with the speaker. In the Psalm the speaker is
formally given as David (cf. Ps 34:1), who acts as a sage instructing his “children.”
The question posed in the Psalm is rhetorical; it emphasizes the ideal outcome for
those being instructed. In the Epistle, however, the speaker is the writer “Enoch,”
who is addressing the wicked in the second person, while, in the third person,
announcing what he believes will happen to the righteous. Language from the Psalm
thus functions for the Enochic writer as a means to reinforce his emphasis about the
different fates coming to the righteous and the wicked.

B.2.iv. Psalm 118[117]:22 and 1 Enoch 99:14

The next allusion to the Psalms occurs within the sixth woe-series of the
Epistle (1 En. 99:11-15). In this case, the texts to be considered for comparison differ
from the foregoing instances in that the Enochic text is not only preserved in Gǝ‘ǝz,
but also in the Greek Chester Beatty-Michigan papyrus. The allusion (given in italics
below) occurs in 99:14:

Gǝ‘ǝz – Woe to you (2nd person) who reject the foundation (stone) (አሌ፡ለክሙ፡እለ፡
ይሜምኑ፡መሰረተ) and eternal inheritance of their fathers and who pursue the spirit of
error, for you will not have rest.
16
The NRSV translation for Ps 34:13 with “many” days (instead of “good”) has no immediate textual
basis.
Greek – Woe to those (3rd person) who despise the foun[da]tion (οὐ αὶ οἱ
ἐξουθενοῦ ντες τὴ ν θεμ[ελί]ωσιν) and the inheritance [of] their [fa]thers which is
from eternity, [for] a spirit of error will pursue you; there is no rest for you.

The language of Psalm 118[117]:22 comes to the notion of rejecting a “foundation”;

though the term “foundation” does not occur, the term “stone,” implied as serving as
foundation for a building, does. The versions read as follows:

MT – A stone the builders hated has become the head of the corner.
h`D…nIÚp vaêørVl h#Dt◊yDhŒ My¡Inwø;bAh …wâsSaDm NRbRa
LXX – A stone that the builders despised, this has become the head of the corner.
λίθον, ὃ ν ἀ πεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦ ντες, οὗ τος ἐγενή θη εἰς κεφαλὴ ν γωνίας
Gǝ‘ǝz – A stone that the builders despised, it has become the head of the corner.
እብን፡ዘመነንዋ፡ነደቅት፡ይእቲ፡ኮነት፡ውስተ፡ርእሰ፡ማዕዘንት

A comparison of these versions demonstrates that the Gǝ‘ǝz text of the Psalm is
based more on the Greek than on the Hebrew version. This is suggested perhaps not
only by the correspondence of the verb used (though a derivation from the Heb.
remains semantically possible) but also, and especially, by the use of the emphatic
demonstrative pronoun (Grk. “this”; Gǝ‘ǝz “that”) absent in MT. In any case, the
Epistle, as the Gǝ‘ǝz Psalm, uses the term መነነ (“despise, reject”). Of course, it is
possible that the Epistle could reflect a rendering of a Greek verb that happens to
correspond with the Gǝ‘ǝz translation of a different Greek verb found in the LXX.
However, it is likewise possible to propose that the Gǝ‘ǝz text of the Epistle has been
accommodated in the present text to the wording used in the Gǝ‘ǝz Psalm, especially
as the Greek verb in Chester Beatty-Michigan papyrus (ἐξουθενέω) is not taken from
the verb used in the LXX (ἀ ποδοκιμά ζω).
What does the influence of Psalm 118[117]:22 mean for the passage? This
sixth series of woe-oracles focuses on the maltreatment by the wicked of their
“neighbors” (cf. 1 En. 99:11, 15), thus picking up on language found in an earlier
accusation in 95:5 (they take revenge on their neighbors by carrying out evil). The
wicked are thus charged with breaching their covenant obligation to “love your
neighbor as yourself” as found in Leviticus 19:18. The activities for which the
wicked are held responsible are further described in this passage of the Epistle in
two ways: (1) they engage in murder (99:15) and therefore should suffer the same
by lex talionis (99:11, 16) and (2) they are reprehensibly involved with building,
whether metaphorically so or not (99:12-14). The references to building with “sin”
in 94:7 and to the use of “silver and gold” there, as well as here to the “hard labor” of
others in 99:13 suggest that the complaint includes construction on the part of the
wicked that is alleged to be at the expense of their “neighbors.” In the background, of
course, is the passage in Jeremiah 22:13, according to which wrongdoers build their
houses “with unrighteousness” and make “neighbors work for nothing.”
The term “foundation,” which in the context of building connotes a stone,
does not occur in Jeremiah 22, so that the Psalm functions as the more immediate
intertext at the beginning of 99:14 and, in the passage as a whole, functions as a co-
intertext with Leviticus 19:18 and Jeremiah 22:13. “Foundation,” though itself
referring to an indispensable part of a building, applies in the Epistle to something
beyond the mere erection of a physical structure. Here, the metaphorical image of
“stone” in Psalm 118 has no doubt contributed to the particular emphasis of the
Epistle: that which is essential to faithful religiosity is despised by the wicked; what
they have disdained is in fact the very foundation of loyalty to God itself. Both in the
way they have treated others and in their belittling, if not rejection of the basis for
piety, the activities of the wicked have, according to the writer, cut them off
altogether from any real claim to being faithful to the covenant.
For the Epistle, then, Psalm 118 furnishes language to underscore the
irrevocability of the activities attributed to the wicked. Since they have acted
contrary to the covenant through the way they treat their “neighbors,” there is by
implication no room left for them to repent.

B.2.v. Psalm 79[78]:3 and 1 Enoch 100:1

In addition to the many concise formulations concerning the ultimate fate of

the wicked, especially in the woe-oracles, two passages of the Epistle offer a more
sustained sketch of what will happen during the time leading up to eschatological
judgment: 99:3–5 and 100:1–4. Whereas the punishments anticipated for the
wicked in 1 Enoch 99:3–5 are presented as the divine response to prayers of the
righteous (turmoil amongst nations and between mothers and their offspring), the
text of 100:1–4 provides further elaboration that includes ruptures in other sorts of
social ties such as relationships between father and son, between brothers, and
between neighbors. The result of such breakdowns of social structure, especially
between those who live in interdependence and proximity to one another, is death.
In fact, 100:1–3 sustains imagery involving murder and bloodshed that, however
unjust, reflect the momentum of events that culminate in the final, eschatological
reckoning.
In 100:1 and 3 the Epistle draws on graphic blood imagery to stress how
much society will become increasingly violent before the final judgment shall be
executed to set things right. In particular it is the second part of verse 1 that may
present us with an allusion to one of the Psalms:

Gǝ‘ǝz – And in those days, in one place fathers will be struck down together with
their sons, and brothers with their neighbor, and they will fall into death until a
stream flows from their blood (እስከ፡ይውኅዝ፡(ከመ)17፡ተከዚ፡እምደመ፡ዚአሆሙ).
Greek (fragmentary and incomplete) – “b]lood.”

The parallel text in Psalm 79[78]:3 is extant as follows among the primary versions
and Gǝ‘ǝz tradition:

MT – They have poured out blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there is no

17
The addition of ከመ (“as”) by a number of manuscripts, which is probably secondary, renders the
following sense: “until it flows as a river from their blood.”
one to bury.
r`Ebwøq Ny∞Ea◊w MÊ#DlDv…wr`Vy twôøby„Ib`Vs Mˆy#A;mA;k —
M°Dm∂d …wWkVpDv
LXX – They poured out their blood as water round about Jerusalem, and there was
no one to bury.
ἐξέχεαν τὸ αἷμα αὐ τῶ ν ὡ ς ὕ δωρ κύ κλῳ ᾽Ιερουσαλή μ, καὶ οὐ κ ἦ ν ὁ θά πτων
Gǝ‘ǝz – They poured out their blood as water round about Jerusalem, and they
lacked someone to bury them.
ከዐዉ፡ደሞሙ፡ከመ፡ማይ፡ዐውዳ፡ለኢየሩሳሌም፡ወኀጥኡ፡ዘይቀብሮሙ

The Gǝ‘ǝz text agrees with both MT and LXX throughout the verse. While more often
than not, the biblical allusions in the Gǝ‘ǝz texts correspond to the Greek translation
tradition, in this case a specific derivation from the extant Greek cannot be
discerned. However, it is also possible that the final two words of the G ǝ‘ǝz text
could be translated “and those who buried them sinned”. In that event, something
traceable back to the negative particle Ny∞Ea in the Hebrew could at some stage
have been read as ‫“( ָאֶון‬wickedness,” “iniquity”), eventually resulting in what we
have in the Gǝ‘ǝz textual tradition (the reading of which is stable). This reading of
the Hebrew text as an explanation for the Gǝ‘ǝz is unlikely, since the primary
meaning of the verb fits well with the meaning “they lacked”. It is another matter,
however, if we consider the allusion to this text in the Epistle at 100:1, especially if it
is regarded as an allusion to the Gǝ‘ǝz version. It is possible that the Psalm in Gǝ‘ǝz
is being read in the Gǝ‘ǝz text of the Epistle as a reference to those who have
“sinned”. This possibility may be suggested by considering the emphasis on sinners
in the immediate context (1 En. 100:2-4); the text explicitly connects the horrific
events to come with “sin” and “sinners”: “a sinner will not be able to withhold his
hand from his brother” (100:2); “and a horse will wade up to its chest in the blood of
sinners” (100:3); and those who gave “aid to sin” will be gathered and there will be
“a great judgment among the sinners” (100:4). Here the reliance, if any, does not so
much go back to the Psalm itself (as an allusion that occurred during the Second
Temple period), but rather reflects a reading that presupposes the Psalm in
Ethiopic.
The imagery of blood flowing as a stream in the Epistle is closer to the Psalm
text (“as water”) than, for example, to that of Isaiah 34:3 (“mountains shall flow
from their blood”). Without being combined with “flowing” and in a very different
(cultic) context, blood is also compared with water in Deuteronomy 12:16 and
15:23. Josephus, in the late first century C.E., takes up similar language when
describing the extent of the slaughter of the Moabites in Antiquities 9.39 (“the river
flowed with their blood”) and in his War at 6.406 when depicting the killing of many
Jews by the Romans, who “flooded the entire city (of Jerusalem) with blood.” In the
latter text, especially with the location of Jerusalem in view, Josephus was surely
drawing on Psalm 79:3 as well.
In Psalm 79 the perpetrators of the bloodletting are the nations as they
conquer Jerusalem and her people. In the Epistle, by contrast, the subject is not
specified, though assumed to be those who are wicked (which in the work does not
exclude other Jews).18 One difference between the best reconstructable text for
100:1 and the Psalm is the absence of “as” in the former. It is therefore significant
that in a number of manuscripts (Tana 9/EMML 8292, EMML 2080 mg, BM 485a, Abb
352), especially those that reflect an early reading taken up in the later,
standardizing recension of 1 Enoch (i.e., almost all Eth. II mss.), add “as” to the text.
This addition may well be the result of a prior recognition that the Epistle at this
point is drawing on Psalm 79:3. The later Gǝ‘ǝz recension of the Epistle thus
accommodates the text to the Psalm, perhaps as it has been received in the form of
its translation from the Greek.

B.2.vi. Psalm 146[145]:6 and 1 Enoch 101:8

Each of the uses of the Psalms as an intertext described thus far serves to
draw a clear line between the righteous and the wicked. Though within the larger
context of the Epistle the present case is no exception, it functions more immediately
to underscore a claim about the natural order as being nothing less than the
creation of God. To be sure, the larger emphasis of the passage in 1 Enoch 101:1–9 is
to accuse sinners of not fearing God (v. 9). However, the portrait of creation and
how people respond to natural dangers thereof works in the other direction: sailors
and sea-fearers, when threatened with their safety by turbulent sea conditions,
respond appropriately by showing fear (vv. 4–5). This is precisely what the wicked
do not do; they remain unaffected by the argument that even in the tangible dangers
the reality of divine judgment can be discerned: “Are not the captains of the ships
fearful of the sea? But sinners do not fear the Most High.” The direct connection
between the activity of God and the natural order, including the dangers it may
bring, is underscored by the clear allusion to Psalm 146[145]:6; the Epistle reads as
follows:

Gǝ‘ǝz – Has he (God) not made heaven and earth and everything that is in them?
አኮኑ፡ውእቱ፡ገብረ፡ሰማየ፡ወምድረ፡ወኵሎ፡ዘሀሎ፡ውስቴቶሙ
Greek (incomplete) – … earth] and everything that is in them?

What is formulated as a rhetorical question that expects a positive answer in the

Epistle is presented as an affirmative statement in Psalm 146[145]:6, the text of
which in the versions reads:

MT – (the Lord God) who made heaven and earth, the sea and everything that is in
them...
‫ָּבם רֲאֶׁש ָּכל ְוֶאת ַהָּים ֶא ת ָוָאֶר ץ ַמ ִיםָׁש הֶׂש ֹע‬
LXX – ... who made heaven and earth, the sea and everything that is in them...
τὸ ν ποιή σαντα τὸ ν οὐ ρανὸ ν καὶ τὴ ν γῆ ν, τὴ ν θά λασσαν καὶ πά ντα τὰ ἐν αὐ τοῖς
Gǝ‘ǝz – … who made heaven and earth, the sea and everything that is in it…
ዘገብረ፡ሰማየ፡ወምድረ፡ባሕረ፡ወኵሎ፡ዘውስቴታ

18
Cf. Stuckenbruck, 1 Enoch 91—108, 211–215 (“Date and Social Setting”).
A comparison of the versions to the Psalms shows a close correspondence, with one
exception: the singular pronoun at the end of the phrase, which only occurs in the
Gǝ‘ǝz. Whereas “everything” in the Gǝ‘ǝz text refers more immediately to what is in
the sea, both the MT and LXX make clearer with “in them” that “everything” includes
creatures in both heaven and earth. In this detail the allusion in 1 Enoch 101:8
corresponds to the MT and LXX over against the form of the text in the Gǝ‘ǝz
tradition. This difference from the Gǝ‘ǝz text for the Psalm suggests that the Greek
Vorlage was closer to, if not exactly the same as the LXX tradition.
There is, however, a difference between the text of the Epistle and that of the
biblical Psalm: the allusion to Psalm 146 in the Epistle does not mention “the sea” at
all. This is odd, since the surrounding passage of 101:1–9 (esp. vv. 4–7, 9) is
dominated by imagery relating to what happens in the sea, even to fish whose
existence therein is entirely dependent on God (v. 7). We may surmise that the
writer’s extensive use of sea imagery presupposes a Psalmic text in which the term
“sea” is actually included. Though it is left out in the allusion to Psalm 146 in 1 Enoch
101:8, the incorporation of sea imagery in the surrounding context demonstrates
that the writer is drawing on this aspect of Psalm 146 as well..

C. Conclusions

In the foregoing discussion, the comparisons suggest that a number of issues

have to be taken into account when thinking about how an ancient work such as the
Epistle in 1 Enoch, which is only completely preserved in Gǝ‘ǝz, makes use of sacred
tradition, especially if that sacred tradition is also widely circulating in Gǝ‘ǝz. As
already noted above, in the Enochic Epistle, we have to do with arguably one of the
earliest sources for the reception of the Psalms, a reception that may be assigned to
the early to mid-second century B.C.E. The analysis above makes it possible to draw
two conclusions.
First, the form and content of the Gǝ‘ǝz allusions to the Psalms confirm that
they go back at least to the time when a translation from Greek was prepared. It is
also apparent that the allusions reflect a textual tradition that is closer to the
Septuagint Psalms than to that of the Masoretic Tradition (see e.g., section B.2.i).
Very little can be said with confidence about the time 1 Enoch began to be received
in Gǝ‘ǝz. It is not improbable, however, that the translation from Greek into Gǝ‘ǝz of
1 Enoch occurred during the fourth or fifth century at the latest. 19 Though the date
for the translation of the Psalms itself is uncertain, the inscriptional evidence from

19
There is every reason to agree with George W. E. Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book
of 1 Enoch Chapters 1—36; 81—108 (ed. Klaus Baltzer, Hermeneia; Minneapolis: Fortress press,
2001), 104–108, that the inclusion of 1 Enoch among the sacred writings translated from Greek into
Gǝ‘ǝz happened before its exclusion from canonical scripture was secured in the West. Its importance
at an early stage of Christianity in Ethiopia was supported, according to Nickelsburg, by three factors
that may be inferred: (1) missionaries brought the book from an environment that had cherished it;
(2) “its worldview spoke to the Ethiopians’ worldview”; and (3) “Ethiopian Christianity lacked the
theological and intellectual counterforces that led to the book’s rejection in Mediterranean
Christianity” (here p. 108). Cf. further Stuckenbruck, “The Book of Enoch: Its Reception in Second
Temple Jewish and in Christian Tradition,” 20–24 (bibl. in n. 5).
the mid-sixth century C.E. demonstrates that it had certainly occurred by then. 20 As
far as the Greek Vorlage for the allusions to the Psalms in the Epistle is concerned,
evidence in one case (cf. B.2.iv) suggests that it did not necessarily correspond to the
“LXX” textual tradition known today.
Second, an analysis of how the Psalms have been received in the Epistle has
to consider not only authorial interpretive activity during the Second Temple
period, but also the possibility that one or more of the allusions reflect or
accommodate the Psalmic text as it is being circulated during the middle of the
second millennium C.E. We have seen above, for example, that latter possibility
cannot be excluded in relation to two of the allusions to Psalm 118:22 in 1 Enoch
99:14 and to Psalm 79:2 in 1 Enoch 100:1. Such examples underscore that the issue
of reception of biblical tradition in an ancient work like 1 Enoch not only sheds light
on ancient intertextuality, but also reflects a dynamic of adjustment and
accommodation that, in turn, attests a living tradition in which the interactiveness of
texts continues. The Psalms in Gǝ‘ǝz, then, are both the product of an early
translation from the Greek – a translation that goes back at least to the early sixth
century – and they represent a tradition that acquired an integrity of its own, to
such an extent that it could have an impact at a secondary level on how other
literature interfaced with the text. The result of the discussion does not, to be sure,
provide grounds to make any generalization. Each allusion or citation of the Psalms
(or any other sacred composition), whether in 1 Enoch or other literature copied
and transmitted within the EOTC manuscript tradition, would have to be examined
separately to explore the extent to which such is the case.

20
See e.g., Serguei A. Frantsouzoff, “Gǝ’ǝz inscriptions in South Arabia,” EAE 3:162–63.