The Books of Enoch, Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4

En8 I iii SEVENTH COPY 263
L. 23. I translate the third epithet of the patriarch, as expressed by E, sehuh makuanSna
(Es"^; other manuscripts wamakuanena) kwellu meder, in this way: *the praiseworthy judge of
all the earth'. En? i ii preserves only [. . .] ''IS [nj'TlDI, *and the chosen one from among
the sons [...]', which has to be completed by such an expression as []^^*'^^i7 XS7nK],
*[of the earth to judge their deeds]'. The E translation of TTlD by sebuh instead of the
usual hiruy (cf. En. i: i, etc.) remains obscure. Compare, however. En. 8: i where XlOovs
eKXeKTovs has been rendered by ^eben kibur waheruyy ^honoured and chosen stones'.
The judiciary role of the patriarch transferred to Paradise, a role analogous to that of God
and the angels, is clearly expressed in Jub. 4: 23: *And he was taken from amongst the children
of men, and we conducted him into the Garden of Eden in majesty and honour, and behold
there he writes down the condemnation and judgement of the world, and all the wickedness of
the children of men.' For Enoch as celestial scribe, keeper of the Book of Life, and judge of
all men in Coptic and Byzantine literature, see pp. 103-7; analogous role in the Jewish
Medieval Cabbala, see pp. 127-31.
Ll. 23-4. I read [**n]13!l ["'IS^], as a necessary continuation of 'Methuselah and his
brothers' of line 22. Cf. *to Methuselah thy son . . . and to all his sons' in En. 81:5 (*thy sons'
81: 6); 'to thee (sc. Methuselah) and to thy sons . . . that they may give to their sons, of
generations (to come)' 82: 2.—In E *to all my children', which anticipates the direct speech of
Enoch starting in v. 2 (line 25).
In the following phrase E inverts the two expressions *for (...) those who live on the dry land
(yabes Es, mM^r all other manuscripts)' and *and for future generations'. The clause
SS7nX *'3n*' defines the phrase S*'^nX K***!!^; the repetition of the preposition before
the expression in apposition is known elsewhere; cf., e.g.,
XT^S?^ ^XD*1^ in En®
I xxii 5 (En. 22: 6).
Ll. 25-6 (En. 92: 2). This verse is not sufficiently clear in E, in particular for the meaning of
'times' and of 'days'; cf. En« i xxii 2-3 (En. 22: 4).
L. 25. SDI&nS corresponds to normal Aramaic Xfinnil, 'shame', from the verb nn3, 'to be
ashamed, distressed'. The Shin for the original consonant t is regular in Old Aramaic texts and
frequent in Imperial Aramaic, but rather exceptional in later dialects. Other Aramaic texts of
Qumrin have the usual orthography of these words, e.g. KUnnDI (noun) and nnn3Xl
(Aphel) in 4QTestLevi^ 5 ii 18 and 19.—[or pDnnni, pDimi p]flX: E only 'your spirit'.
4QEn« 1 iii-En. 92: 5-93: 4 (PL XXII)
[ ] - 4
15
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