the-book-of-enoch-r-h-charles - Fallen Angels

Sect. 1] Clta:pters XXV. 7~ XXVII. 1 55
2. And there I saw a holy mountain, ""and"" underneath the moun-
tain to the east there was a stream and it flowed towards the
south. 3. And I saw towards the east another mountain
higher than this, and between them a deep and narrow ravine :
in it also ran a stream ''underneath^ the mountain. 4. And to
the west thereof there was another mountain, lower than the
former and of small elevation, and a ravine '"deep and dry""
between them :
and
another deep and dry i-avine was at the
extremities of the three '^mountains^. 5. And all the ravines
were deep ""and narrow^, (being formed) of hard rock, and trees
were not planted upon them. 6. And I marvelled ""at the
rocks, and I marvelled"" at the ravine, yea, I marvelled vei-y much.
TAe Purpose of the Accursed Valley.
XXVII. I. Then said I: 'For what object is this blessed land,
which is entirely filled with trees, and this accursed valley
Since, however, the trees here spoken
of are again referred to in 27' 7^ . . .
TT\-^p7]^ SevSpcuv, we coneluLle tliat the
clause 'in which there were trees'
is original and that ' of a dismembered
tree ' is a disturbing gloss, which intro-
duces symbolical meanings into a non-
metaphorical passage. Abiding. G^
E /ievovaas = \^K>'p, C'f. Jer. Targ.
on Gen 3 N"n \b^H3 D"p. 2. A
holy mountain, i. e. Zion. And *°.
So E. > G^. A stream, i. e. the
brook of Siloah. Flowed (E = rfiv
(lidiv uxc). G* corruptly reads Svaiv,
3. Another mountain, i.e. the Mount
of Olives. Between them (E). G^
' between it '. Kavine, i. e. the valley
of the Kedron
A stream, i. e.
or of Jehoshaphat.
the brook Kedroi'.
Underneath (G^). ' E towards ' or
perhaps 'alongside'. 4. Another
mountain, i. e. the Mount of Offence.
A ravine, i. e. the valley of Hinnom
f.t the point where the three
mountains meet. Deep and dry
'
(G^). E underneath it '.
(G^). > E. Description
Mountains
is accurate.
5. And narrow (E). >Gs. 6.
The valley of Hinnom. At the rocks,
and I marvelledE.> G^ through hmt.
XXVII. 1. Then (E). Qs 'and'.
Blessed land. See 26' n. And this
accursed valley between (E). G^ =
' and (why is) this valley accursed '.
But G^ has probably lo=t ^ before
K(KaTr]pan(VTi and E is right. The
valley of Hinnom or Gehenna had
three meanings in the 0. T. 1° It
was used merely in a topographi-
cal sense as the boundary between
Judah and Benjamin, Jos. 15' 18'°
2" It was used in a religious signifi-
cance as implying a place of idolatrous
and inhuman sacrifices'. Cf. 2 Kings 16^
2 Chron. 2&3 Jer. I", &c. 3° It signi-
fied the place of punishment for rebel-
lious and apostate Jews in the presence
of the righteous; cf. Is. 66" (50") Jer.
7'* Dan. 12^. In Apocalyptic the idea
underwent further development. 1°
Thus it was conceived as a place of
corporal and spiritual punishment for
apostate Jews in the presence of the
righteous for ever : cf. 27^- ' 90^8. ".
.