The Books of Enoch, Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4

SEVENTH COPY 253
of the Greek version of the Testament of Levi, which forms part of the
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. I assume none the less, disregarding
Christian interpolations, that some kind of treatment of the seventy Weeks
and of the jubilees was already to be found in the Aramaic original of this
Levitical document.
It seems probable to me that the original text contained a fairly detailed
description of the seventy Weeks, and not simply a reference such as we find
in the Greek Test. Levi 16: i. What is obvious is that the author of this
priestly work was interested only in the history of the Sons of Aaron, and
paid scant attention to the history of the people of Israel, and even less to
the history of other nations. Similarly in the Apocalypse of Jubilees he characterizes
these eras only by reference to eminent Jewish priests, who are in
any case diflScult to identify (17: 2-7). In sharp contrast to the current
interpretation of this chapter, I do not see here the remains of two apocalypses,
one of jubilees and one of Weeks (17: lo-ii). It seems obvious to
me that verses 8 to 11 describe the sole and last jubilee, namely the seventh.
In the 5th week of years of this jubilee the author places the restoration of the
Temple in the Persian era (v. 10). The 7th and last week of the 7th jubilee
will be marked by the climax of the corruption of the Aaronic priesthood,
which will bring about the intervention of God, who 'will cause a new priest
to arise' (18: 2). This division of the sacred history into seven ages echoes the
Apocalypse of Weeks in the Epistle of Enoch (5th section of the Ethiopic
Enoch), where the Biblical history is distributed among seven Weeks, whilst
the three following Weeks already belong to the eschatological era. We
shall never know how the author of the Aramaic Testament dealt with the
final era, since chapter 18 has undergone very extensive Christian adaptation.
The theme of the seventy Weeks was taken up on his own account by the
author of the Book of Daniel (Dan. 9: 24-7), who, concerned to give it a
Biblical reference, linked it up with a prophecy of Jeremiah (Jer. 25: 11-12
and 29: 10). He dates the beginning of this cycle from Cyrus' decree of
liberation in 538, and detects signs of the end of time in events which are
contemporaneous with himself: the death of the high priest Onias (Dan.
9: 25 and II: 22; 2 Mace. 4: 30-8), which opens the 70th and last week of
years, the middle of which is marked by the cessation of the legitimate sacrifice
and the installation of the Abomination of Desolation in December 167
(Dan. 9: 27; cf. 7: 25; 8: 11-14; 11: 31; 12: 11-12; i Mace, i: 54; 4: 52;
2 Mace. 1: 9; 6: 2; 10: 5). Reference to the murder of Onias is also made by
the author of the Book of Dreams (En. 90: 8).