The Books of Enoch, Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4

En* I iv-v FIRST COPY i6i
of the destruction of the sons of the earth': see En^ i iii lo. The common archetype of C and
E was along approximately the following lines: ri (fxxjvri Kal -q Porj iirl (rr^v diToXeiav tcov vlcovy
TTJs yrjs (^dva^alvovTesy P'^XP^ TrvXcbv tov
ovpavov,
LI. lo-ii (En. 9: 3). After the inspection of the earth and the consultation among themselves
the four archangels speak to 'the holy ones', and finally the two archangels speak to God himself
(v. 4). The beginning of v. 3 is preserved in E only, apart from the introduction: 'and they
said (or else 'let us then say'; cf. 'say to them' in E") to the holy ones of heaven'; cf. iQ 19
2 1-2 {DJD i, p. 152).
L. II. C and E seem fairly close to the original text: (otC) evTvyxdvovaiv at i/jvxal tcov avncov
XeyovTcov {Kal XiyovTa
S and S'); S and S' paraphrase.
LI. 19-21 (En. 9: 6). The first part of the verse seems better preserved in S than in C E,
especially in the conservation of the poetical parallelism: . . . cm ttjs yfjs, . . . inl ttjs
^rjpds.
On the other hand, the second part of the verse was worked over in S, so it is closer to the
original in C E (except perhaps ol viol tcov dvOpcimcov of S instead of dvdpcoTToi of C E).
L. 20. Our small fragment explains an evident mistranslation by C, which was followed by E
(cf. Charles, i, p. 22 n. 15 and p. 23 n. 4). The meaning of the Aramaic text is 'and (*A^a'el)
made known the eternal mysteries which (were kept) in heaven, so that the (most) learned of the
sons of men could put them to execution'. It is an allusion to the crafts and sciences taught by
*A^a'el and executed by artisans, described in En. 8: i (see En^ i ii 26-9). The Aramaic phrase
[nB?2K ^^T ]M]2^^ ]7\[b n], which is a subordinate final clause, had been taken
by the Greek translator for a relative one; then the interpreter misread the participle
'those who know, experts, artisans', for the perfect 1S7T', hence his translation
eyvcocrav dviroi,
beg.
imTeSevovaiv
LI. 21-2 (En. 9: 7). At the beginning understand 'and (what) Semi-hazah (made)'. Cf. verse 6
Tcbv crvv avrco dpua ovtcov of C {yikwanen
tnislehu hibura E). A similar paraphrase of 'all his companions' in En. 10: 11 = En^ i iv 9:
expression occurs in 4QEnGiants* 5 5 (below, p. 176).
*illa
Tots XoLTTots ToTs