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

Sert. II] Intmducthn 67
C. Date. Prom a full review of the evidence, -wliicli is given
and discussed in the notes on 38^, it appears that the Itings and
the mighty so often denounced in the Parables are the later
Maccabean princes and their Sadducean supporters — the later
Maccabean princes, on the one hand, and not the earlier ; for the
blood of the righteous was not shed, as the writer complains (47i> ^> *),
before 95 B.C. : the later Maccabean princes, on the other hand,
and not the Herodians; for (1) the Sadducees were not supporters
of the latter, and (2) Rome was not as yet known to the writer as
one of the great world-powers— a fact which necessitates an earlier
date than 64 b. c, when Rome interposed authoritatively in the
affairs of Judaea. Thus the date of the Parables could not have
been earlier than 94 B.C. or later than 64 B.C. But it is possible
to define the date more precisely. As the Pharisees enjoyed un-
broken power and prosperity under Alexandra 79-70 B. c, the
Parables must be assigned either to the years 94-79 or 70-64.
Finally, if we consider that 56^-573 " is an interpolation, and that
this passage must have been written before 64 b. c, the Parables
might reasonably be referred to the years 94-79. See also Gen,
In trod.
D. The Problem and its Solution. Seeing that God is a just
God, how comes it that wickedness is throned in high places and
that righteousness is oppressed ? Is there no end to the prosperity
and power of unbelieving rulers, and no recompense of reward
for the suffering righteous ? The author (in the genuine portions)
finds the answer in a comprehensive view of the world's history :
only by tracing evil to its source can the present wrongness of things
be understood, and only by pursuing the world's history to its final
issues can its present inequalities be justified. The author has
no interest save for the moral and spiritual worlds, and this is
manifest even in the divine names ' Lord of Spirits ',
' Head of
' Days ', Most High '. Whole hierarchies of angelic beings appear in
g]^io-:2_
pjjg view is strongly apocalyptic, and follows closely in the
wake of Daniel. The origin of sin is traced one stage further back
than in 1-36. The first authors of sin were the Satans, the
adversaries of man, 40' (note). The Watchers fell through becoming
subject to these, and leading mankind astray, 54®. Punishment
was at once meted out to the Watchers, and they were confined in
a deep abyss, 64', to await the final judgement, 54" 55^ 64. la
the meantime sin flourishes in the world : sinners deny the name
of the Lord of Spirits, 38^ 41^, and of His Anointed, 48"; the
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