2.2 Dating the Parables of Enoch
A wide variation of dates has been argued for
Par. En. R. H. Charles has argued for an early date of 94–79 bce,
1 interpreting the “kings and the mighty ones” as the later Maccabean princes. But as Jonas Greenfield and Michael Stone
2 and John J. Collins
3 argue, the allusions to the Parthians and Medes and the healing waters of Callirhoe suggest a date after 40 bce.
Józef T. Milik
4 argued for a date in the extreme opposite direction, around 270 bc, noting the absence of fragments of
Par. En. from Qumran. But on linguistic, logical and theological grounds, Greenfield and Stone and Knibb
5 have argued against such a late date. Theisohn also has shown the thoroughly Jewish character of the concept of the Son of Man,
6 contradicting Milik’s hypothesis of a Christian influence, as in the Sibylline Oracles. Milik’s argument has not been widely accepted.
Christopher L. Mearns
7 argued for a date prior to 40 ce, based on allusions to the
Testament of Abraham (
T. Ab.), recensions A and B, and messianic expectations in the New Testament, but his position seems to incur far too many assumptions. Against Mearns’ view, E. P. Sanders
8 has argued for a later date for
T. Ab. and has suggested that its allusions to the New Testament are the result of late redactional activity.
David Suter
9 at one time dated
Par. En. to the reign of Emperor Gaius (Caligula), 37–41 ce, assigning the major concern in
Par. En. about bloodshed to that era. J. C. Hindley
10 argued for a date in the early second century, identifying the allusions to the Parthians with Trajan’s Parthian campaigns in 113 ce. Knibb
11 at one time favored a late first-century or early second-century date, due to the absence of fragments from
Par. En. in Qumran, as well as for other reasons, although more recently he has indicated openness to an earlier date. Many have pointed out that the absence of
Par. En. in Qumran is most likely purely accidental. Therefore the allusions to bloodshed, the Parthians and the healing hot springs need to be more carefully examined,
12 to discover whether the earlier date for
Par. En. is defensible. This must now be taken up.
2.2.1 Four Elements to be considered
In seeking to narrow the date of
Par. En., four elements must be considered. These four elements arise out of the text of the
Par. En. and they bear on the context in which the
Par. En. came into existence. The four elements are:
- the identity of the kings and the mighty ones;
- the references to the blood of the righteous that has been shed;
- the threat of the Parthians and the Medes; and
- the reference to the healing hot springs
These four elements reveal social and historical realities, in a general way, and yet taken together are specific enough that they can narrow the possibilities.
Par. En. cannot be dated precisely, but these four elements do point in general to a particular period as the most likely date for
Par. En.
. . . < . . snip . . >
2.2.2 Results
The dating of
Par. En. then, can be narrowed by a consideration of these four elements: the kings and mighty ones, the bloodshed, the Parthians and Medes, and the hot springs. These elements reveal social and historical realities in a general way. And yet the realities discerned in these allusions narrow the possibilities for the dating of
Par. En. Herod perhaps even served as the model for
Par. En’s depiction of the kings and the mighty ones. Herod could be charged with idolatry, and bloodshed. He came to power in conjunction with the Parthian invasion in the middle of the century, and fell prey to intense, tragic, familial mistrust. He also sought relief in the hot springs, but ironically found none, and soon afterward died of his ailments (4 bce). While Herod might have been the model for the author, he was only a model, since the author betrays no details that are specific enough to link these descriptions directly and only to Herod. Thus, these four elements are helpful in narrowing the dating of
Par. En.,
suggesting that Par. En. was written in the late first century bce or early first century ce.
This dating was confirmed by a broad consensus of scholars at the Third Enoch Seminar in Camaldoli, Italy in June of 2005.
42 As Paolo Sacchi noted in his summary, “in sum, we may observe those scholars who have directly addressed the problem of dating the Parables all agree on a date around the time of Herod . . . given the impressive amount of evidence gathered in support of a pre-Christian origin of the document. The burden of proof has now shifted to those who disagree with the Herodian date. It is now their responsibility to provide evidence that would reopen the discussion”.
43
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Leslie W. Walck
The Son of Man in the Parables of Enoch and in Matthew, Jewish and Christian Texts in Contexts and Related Studies, London/New York, T&T Clark, 2011, pp.15-16.
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1 R.H. Charles, The Book of Enoch or I Enoch (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1912) liv-lv, 67.
...See also the summary of the positions in Christopher L. Mearns, “Dating the Similitudes of Enoch,” NTS 25 (1978–79) 360.
2 Jonas C. Greenfield, and Michael E. Stone, “The Enochic Pentateuch and the Date of the Similitudes,” HTR 70 (1977) 51–65.
3 John J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination (New York: Crossroad, 1984) 142f referring to Josephus, Ant. 17.6.5. §§171–73; J.W. 1.33.5 §§657–58.
4 J. T. Milik, The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumrân Cave 4 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976) 89–107.
5 Michael A. Knibb, “The Date of the Parables of Enoch: A Critical Review,” NTS 25 (1978–79), 344–59.
6 Theisohn, Der auserwählte Richter, 29–30, 99.
7 Christopher L. Mearns, “Dating the Similitudes of Enoch,” NTS 25 (1978–79), 360–69.
8 E. P. Sanders, “Testament of Abraham: A New Translation and Introduction,” 869–902;
...in J. H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Vol. 1, Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments. (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1983).
9 David Winston Suter, “The Measure of Redemption: The Similitudes of Enoch, Nonviolence, and National Integrity,” SBL 1983 Papers, 167–76.
10 J. C. Hindley, “Towards a Date for the Similitudes of Enoch,” NTS 14 (1968) 551–65.
11 Knibb, “The Date of the Parables of Enoch,” 344–59
12 See a more detailed review of these arguments in my original dissertation, The Son of Man in Matthew and the “Similitudes of Enoch.”
42 See the essays on dating the Parables in Gabriele Boccaccini, Enoch and the Messiah Son of Man (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2007) 415–496
43 Paolo Sacchi, “The 2005 Camaldoli Seminar on the Parables of Enoch: Summary and Prospects for Future Research,”
....in Boccaccini, Enoch and the Messiah Son of Man, 510–511.
Abstract
Depictions of the Son of Man in the Gospel of Matthew and in the
Parables of Enoch (
Par. En.) raise questions about their relationship. The meaning and origin of the term “Son of Man” are discussed, as well as the possible influence of Par. En. on Matthew.
Literary, Redaction, Sociological and Narrative criticisms are employed. Introductory questions of date, provenance and social setting are addressed for both Matthew and
Par. En. Dates as early as the early second century bce and as late as the late third century ce have been proposed for
Par. En., but a consensus seems to be growing for the late first century bce. Therefore Matthew could have known
Par. En. Sociological methodologies reveal that the author and audience of
Par. En. may have been members of an ousted ruling elite, opposed to the current administration, and yearning for a just reversal of fortunes.
Sets of characteristics of the Son of Man in
Par. En. and Matthew are carefully compared. Similarities in vocabulary as well as in the pattern of relationships prove to be intriguing, showing that Matthew and
Par. En., in contrast to other writings, share a unique conception of the judgment scene focused on the Son of Man as eschatological judge. This suggests quite strongly the shaping of Matthew’s concept in the direction of
Par. En.