An Aramaic Witness for 1 Enoch 1:9

An Appendix to: "Enoch, the seventh from Adam"

One of the most noteworthy discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls was identifying pre-Christian Aramaic portions of 1 Enoch, including the passage of Enoch's eschatological prophecy in chapter 1 verse 9, the same prophecy that Jude recorded in his epistle in verses 14-15. These were found among the scrolls in Cave 4, see Figure 1.

Figure 1
Interior of Qumran Cave 4

Thus, we were finally able to move beyond the Ethiopian, Greek and Coptic manuscripts of 1 Enoch that post-dated Jude and peer into material as it would have appeared to Jude. These Cave 4 discoveries were published in 1976 by Josef Milik in The Books of Enoch, Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4. By far the most remarkable of these is the scroll fragment codified as 4Q204, and by Milik as 4QEn^c 1 i, for this shows a portion of text identified as 1 Enoch 1:9-2:3. Shown below is the relevant part of Plate IX from The Books of Enoch, and an enlarged view^[1] below that. Note lines 15-17:

(Enlarged view)

Below is a translation distinguished in bold type with the missing text tentatively restored:

[Look! He comes with] the myriads of His holy ones, [to execute judgement against all; and He will destroy all the wicked, and will convict all] flesh, with regard to [all their] works [of wickedness which they have committed in deed and in word, and with regard to all] the proud and hard [words which wicked sinners have spoken against Him.

While 4QEn^c 1 i only has twenty-six letters on three lines preserved for 1 Enoch 1:9, this was enough for Milik to appraise it as an Aramaic witness for 1 Enoch 1:9, and, significantly, to say regarding line 17: “The quotation from Jude is closer to the [Aramaic] original than the text of C [Cairo papyrus Greek parchment codex] and E [Ethiopic version].” (Page 186.) Thus, at the very least, Jude had this type of Aramaic text of 1 Enoch 1:9 available to him.

Now, as Jude and other contributors to the Christian Greek Scriptures did not quote this book unreservedly or give it the stamp of approval like they did with books in the Hebrew Canon, it appears they were selective in referring to 1 Enoch. What drove their powers of discernment to identify what was authentic and trustworthy was inspiration from holy spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:13-6) Thus, Jude did not include in his famous quote the anachronous reference to Mt. Sinai in 1 Enoch 1:4, as Enoch would not have known about that mountain.

In conclusion, these are exciting times of discovery and realization, and this is now the best time to study the issues presented here.

Footnote:

^[1] Enlarged view copied from: http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-284648.
See also the original here: http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-359527. Black-and-white version: http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/image/B-359528. Notice how illegible the writing is that has been enhanced though photography.