Overshadowed By Enoch's Greatness: "Two Tablets" Traditions From the Book of Giants To Palaea Historica

Abstract

ancient time was traditionally ascribed to Enoch, 2 who in various Enochic traditions is portrayed as an expert in cosmological, astronomical and calendarical secrets.Another important detail in Josephus' account is that the "two stelae" passage appears in Jewish Antiquities immediately before the story about the Giants.In 1:73 Josephus tells us that "many angels of God now consorted with women and beget sons who were overbearing and disdainful of every virtue, such confidence had they in their strength; in fact the deeds that tradition ascribes to them resemble the audacious exploits told by the Greeks of the giants." 3J.VanderKam remarks that the author of Jewish Antiquities does not connect this "Enochic-sounding" tale with the seventh patriarch; "rather, he makes Noah preach to them-unsuccessfully." 4 He further suggests that "it is not impossible that Josephus took his information from a source such as 1 Enoch 6-11, which mentions Noah but not Enoch." 5It appears that the suggestions of scholars about the connection between the "two stelae" narrative and some Enochic materials are valid and deserve further investigation.Besides Josephus' writings, 6 the two tablets/stelae tradition 7 appears in many other sources, including the Armenian History of the Forefathers and the Armenian Abel, the Latin Life of Adam and Eve, various Christian Chronographers, a fragment from Greek Palaea Historica, and some other materials. 8 Even a brief review of these documents shows that the "two stelae" narrative contains traces of the Enochic traditions.The purpose of this chapter is to investigate these associations between the "two stelae" tradition and Enochic tradition. I. "Shadows" of the Enochic RolesJosephus' account of the two stelae specifically credited the architects of the antediluvian pillars (in Josephus' case, the Sethites 9 ) with the discovery of the science of astronomy.It was noted earlier that this reference alludes to the seventh antediluvian patriarch, who, according to the Astronomical Book, first received such knowledge from the archangel Uriel during his celestial tour.A closer look at Josephus' passage and other textual evidence associated with the "two stelae" traditions shows that the discovery of astronomy is not the only Enochic achievement that appears to be borrowed in the variety of these stories.It seems that the employment of different Enochic roles is not a rare feature of these traditions.This section of our research will seek therefore to uncover the hidden "shadows" of the Enochic roles that were implicitly preserved in the various "two stelae" narratives.

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