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

Sect. IT] Chapters LV. l—LVI. 5 109
2. And I asked the angel of peace who went with mOj saying
' To whom are these who hold the scourges going ? ' 3. And
he said unto me :
'To their elect and beloved ones that they may
be cast into the chasm of the abyss of the valley.
4. And then that valley shall be filled with their elect and
belovedj
And the days of their lives shall be at an end,
And the days of their leading astray shall not thenceforward
be reckoned.
LVI. 5-8. Last: struggle of heathen Poivers against Israel.
5. And in those days the angels shall return
Andhurl themselves to theeastupontheParthians and Medes:
held ((/2, /3). > mtu. Scourges and
{g). > qt, 0. mu read ' and '- 2.
These who (g, t^). m^i'ieread 'these',
' $-n who '. Scourges (gr). > a-ff, 0.
3. Chasm of. > q. 4. And i". > q.
lifot thenceforward bo reckoned,
i. e. be at an end.
5
—
LVII. S". We
liave here another section of the ' Elect
One' source (see Introd. p. 65), or
rather a fresh source partially adapted
to the ' Elect One ' source. It depicts
the last struggle of the heathen powers
against the Messianic kingdom estab-
lished in Jerusalem. Such a concep-
tion is quite in place in 83-90 91-104,
hut is difficult to reconcile with the
ruling ideas in 37-70. A Messiah
who was only a man with his seat at
Jerusalem might well be conceived of
as assailed by the Gentile powers. But
this is impossible in the case of a superhuman
Messiah, who, possessing universal
dominion and attended by
legions of angels, holds universal assize,
and, supported by the actual presence
of the Almighty, destroys all his
enemies with the breath of his mouth.
Hence this section forms a harsh break
in the context. Moreover, the Para-
bles deal only in general terms : no
names are mentioned as here, nor is
any definite information given as a
means of determining their date or the
persons against whom they are directed.
Finally, the seat of the kingdom on the
Advent of the Messiah will not be
Jerusalem merely as is here implied,
but a transformed heaven and earth.
This section may be dated with some
probability. The description is pro-
phetical, and is merely a reproduction
of the coming strife of Gog and Magog
against Israel. The latter names are
replaced by those of the Medes and
Parthians, who are the only great world
powers from whom the interpolator be-
lieves great danger may be apprehended.
Syria had ceased to be formidable from
100 B.C. onward, and Home had not
intervened in Jewish affairs practically
till 64 B. c. The date therefore of this
section must be earlier than 64 B.C. If
it belonged originally to the Elect One
source, then it serves to determine its
date. 5. In Ezek. 38"-" it is said
that God will stir up the Gentiles ;
but
here in keeping with the views of a
later time this business is assigned to
the angels; cf. Dan. 10", so, 21 121.
Eeturn (31/1^5). m^tu, ' assemble '-
The Parthians and Medes. These
are the chief nations in the league
: