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

82 The Booh of Enoch [Sect. II
Then a dwelling-place was assigned her in the heavens.
2. Wisdom went forth to make her dwelling among the children
of men^
And fomid no dwelling-place
Wisdom returned to her place^
And took her seat among the angels.
3. And unrighteousness went forth from her chambers :
Whom she sought not she found^
And dwelt with them^
As rain in a desert
And dew on a thirsty land.
XLIII—XLIV, Adronomical Secrets,
XLIII. 1. And I saw other lightnings and the stars of heaven,
and I saw how He called them all by their names and they
hearkened uuto Him. 3. And I saw how they are weighed in
a righteous balance according to their proportions of light :
:
(I saw)
the width of their spaces and the day of their appearing, and how
their revolution produces lightning :
of connexion with its present context
where in the present book of Enoch it
should stand, I do not know. 1, 2.
The praise of wisdom was a favourite
theme. Wisdom was regarded as hav-
ing her dwelling-place in heaven, 84'
Job 28'2-». -2^ Baruch 8" Sir. U* ;
and as coming to earth and desir-
ing to make her abode with men, Prov.
lao.qq. 8 91-10 gir. 24'; but as men
refused to receive her, cf. 1 En. 94°,
she returned to heaven. But in the
Messianic times she will retuni, and
will be poured out as water in abun-
dance, 49^ ; and the thirsty will drink
to the full of wisdom, 48^ ; she will be
bestowed on the elect, 5* 91^°; cf. 2
Bar. 44" 4 Ezra 8"^ ; and the spirit of
Wisdom will abide in the Messiah the
Elect One, 49'. We are reminded in
some measure here of the Prologue of
St. John. Went forth (a, /3-
ahcdcvtv), ahccx'c&me', 3. The
:
and (I saw) their revolution
different welcome which the wicked
give to unrighteousness intensifies
their guilt in respect to wisdom. They
received not wisdom when she came
unto them ;
but they took home unto
themselves unrighteousness though she
Bought them not.
XLItl, XLIV. These chapters
belong to the same class as 41'~*.
Though in my first edition I treated
these sections on natural phenomena as
interpolations I no longer do so.
Their
presence, however, frequently deranges
the context. On the other hand we
see from Job, Sirach, and Wisdom that
the wise in Israel were interested alike
in ethical and cosmic questions.
XLIII. 1. Called them all by
their names : cf. Ps. liT Is. 40"
Bar. 3'*. 2. Weighed in a right-
eous balanc3. On the conscious
existence attributed to the stars see
41". How- their revolution pro-