The book of Enoch : translated from Professor Dillmann's Ethiopic ...

Sect. IV.] Chapter XC. 18-24. 2 55
opened them before the Lord of the sheep. 21. And the
Lord called those seven first white ones and commanded that
they should bring before Him, beginning- with the first star
which led the way, all the stars whose privy members were like
those of horses, and they brought them all before Him. 22.
And He spake to that man who wrote before Him who was
one of the seven white ones, and said unto him : " Take those
seventy shepherds to whom I delivered the sheep, and who
taking them on their own authority slew more than I com-
manded them." 23. And behold they were all bound, I
saw, and they all stood before Him. 24. And the judg-
the sealed books before the Lord of the sheep/ Further, the
Lord of the sheep does not Himself read the books. Cf. lxxxix.
71, 72, 76, 77 ; xc. 14, 17. Din. ' He took all the sealed books.'
21. Seven. G frflX. M has a conflate reading, but supports
the text. This verse is most corrupt, and requires emendation.
First of all I have accepted Dln.'s correction of Xy°ii XlKtb into
(iittt. Next, from G we see that confusion is introduced
through the repetition of a clause. This repetition is concealed
through variations in the later MSS., but it is clear in G. Thus
the clause ' the firist star which led the way ' appears the second
time in later MSS. as ' the first star which fell first/ but in G
as 'the first star which went before,' i. e. led the way, H(D&h;
$£av instead of HW&'Pi ty&OD. I have accordingly omitted
this clause on its second occurrence as an interpolation. In the
earlier part of the verse I have followed Din., £y°ftfc tyg^fri
X^Mrfl against G .P^frflk AWHl. 22. Seven white ones.
'Seven ' wanting in G. Doubtful whether 'six' or 'seven' in M.
Seventy. Wanting in G. On their own authority slew more than
I commanded them. G gives unintelligibly «H*rt*; •flH'f : •H'rt;
htt: AHH« are wanting in G, which therefore
in lxxxiii-xc. 21. Seven first the Psalter, pp. 281, 282, 323-327,
white ones. This order of seven 334-337 ; Schenkel's Bibel-Lex. under
archangels is derived from the Zoroas- Engel. Star : see lxxxvi-lxxxviii.
trian Amshaspands. They are spoken 22. The seventy angels who had
of in Tobit xii. 15: cf. Kev. i. 4; iv. charge of Israel are judged along
5 ; viii. 2, 6. See Cheyne, Origin of with the fallen watchers. 24.