Patriarchs,” which is regarded as canonical by the Armenian Church, but
the references are for the most part not to be found in the text. It was
largely used by some of the early Christian writers, either with
acknowledgment or without. The monk George Syncellus, in the eighth
century, extracted portions to compose his Chronography. This fragment
in Syncellus was all that was known of the book in the West till the
last century. The Jews, though remembering the work, had lost it in
Hebrew; but it was alluded to by the Rabbis down to the thirteenth
century, and it is referred to in the Book Sohar, though the writer may
not have read the book of Enoch. Bruce, the African traveller, was the
first to bring it to Europe from Abyssinia in two MSS., in the year
1773. Much attention was not, however, paid to it till 1800, when De
Sacy in his “Magasin Encyclopédique,” under the title “Notice sur le
Livre d’Enoch,” gave some account of the work. In 1801, Professor
Laurence gave to the public an English translation, accompanied by some
critical remarks. Since then, the book has been carefully and
exegetically examined. The version we now have is Ethiopic.
The Book of Enoch consists of five divisions, or books, together with a
Prolegomena and an Epilegomena.
After the introduction (caps. 1-5), which describes the work as the
revelation of the seer Enoch concerning the future judgment and its
consequences, with warnings to the elect as to the signs; the _First_
part (caps. 6-16) opens with an account of the fall of the Angels, their
union with the daughters of men, and the generation of the Giants.
Connected with this, and divided from it by no superscription or sign of
change of subject, is an account of a journey made by Enoch, in the
company of the angels, over the earth and through the lower circles of
heaven, during which he is instructed in various mysteries hidden from
the knowledge of men, and a great deal of this wondrous information is
communicated to the reader.
This description of a journey, which is itself divided into two parts,
unquestionably belongs to the original book, and the historical portion,
narrating the procreation of the Giants, is an interpolation.
The _Second_ portion of the book (caps. 37-71), with its own special
superscription and introduction, is called “The Second History of
Wisdom.” It continues the history of the voyage. The first portion
contained the description of the mysterious places and things in the
earth and in the lower heaven; the second portion contains an account of
the mysteries of the highest heaven, the angel-world, the founding of
the kingdom of the Messias, and the signs of His coming.
The close of this portion contains prophecies of Noah’s Flood, and
accounts of the fall of the Angels, their evil life and their
punishment. The whole account of the Flood, which comes in without rhyme
or reason, is also a manifest interpolation.
The _Third_ portion (caps. 72-82), also under its own heading, is on
“The Revolution of the Lights of Heaven,” and describes the motions of
the planets, the duration of the seasons, and the number of the days of
the months, and the great winds of heaven. With this part the voyage of
Enoch closes.
The _Fourth_ part (caps. 83-91), which has no superscription, but which
is generally designated as “The Book of the Dream History,” contains the
visions shown Enoch in his youth, which, in a series of pictures, gives
the history of the world till the end of time. This part closes with
some words of advice from Enoch to his sons.
The _Fifth_ and last part (caps. 92-105) is “The Book of Exhortation,”
addressed by Enoch to his family against sin in all its forms, under all
its disguises, and concludes with an account of certain presages which
should announce the birth of Noah.
The Talmudic writers taught that Enoch at his translation became a chief
angel, and that his name became Metatron. In the Chaldee version of
Jonathan on the words of Genesis v. 24, it is said, “And Enoch served
before the Lord in truth, and was not among the inhabitants of the
earth, for he was translated above into the firmament, through the word
of the Lord; and He called him by the name of Metatron (the great
writer).” And in Rabbi Menachem’s Commentary on the Five Books of Moses,
it is written, “The Rabbi Ishmael relates that he spoke to the Metatron,
and he asked him why he was named with the name of his Creator and with
seventy names, and why he was greater than any prince, and higher than
any angel, and dearer than any servant, and more honoured than all the
host, and more excellent in greatness, in power, and dominion than all
the mighty ones. Then he answered and said, ‘Because I was Enoch, son of
Jared. This is what the holy, ever-blessed God wrought,—when the races
of the Flood (_i.e._ the sinners who lived at the time when the Flood
came) sinned, and did unrighteously in their works, and had said to God,
”Depart from us,“—He took me from that untoward generation into the
highest heaven, that I might be a witness against that generation. And
after the ever-blessed God had removed me that I should stand before the
throne of His Majesty, and before the wheels of His chariot, and
accomplish the requirements of the Most High, then my flesh became
flame, and my arteries fire, and my bones juniper ashes, and the light
of my eyelids became the flashing of lightning, and my eyeballs torches
of fire, and the hair of my head was a flame, and all my limbs were
fiery, burning wings, and my body became burning fire; and by my right
hand flames were cleft asunder; and from my left hand burnt fiery
torches; but around me blew a wind, and storm, and tempest; and before
and behind me was the voice of a mighty earthquake.’”
The Rabbi Ishmael gives further particulars which are enshrined in the
great Jalkut Rubeni.[157]
The Rabbi Ishmael, according to this book, received in addition these
particulars from the lips of Enoch. He was carried to heaven in a
chariot of fire by horses of fire; and when he entered into the presence
of God, the Sacred Beasts, the Seraphim, the Osannim, the Cherubim, the
wheels of the chariot, and all the fiery ministers recoiled five
thousand three hundred and eighty miles at the smell of him, and cried
aloud, “What a stink is come among us from one born of a woman! Why is
one who has eaten of white wheat admitted into heaven?”
Then the Almighty answered and said, “My servants, Cherubim and
Seraphim, do not be grieved, for all my sons have rejected my
sovereignty and adore idols, this man alone excepted; and in reward I
exalt him to principality over the angels in heaven.” When Enoch heard
this he was glad, for he had been a simple shoemaker on earth; but this
had he done, at every stitch he had said, “The name of God and His
Majesty be praised.”
The height of Enoch when a chief angel was very great. It would take a
man five hundred years to walk from his heel to the crown of his head.
And the ladder which Jacob saw in vision was the ladder of
Metatron.[158] The same authority, above quoted, the Rabbi Ishmael, is
reported to have had the exact measure of Enoch from his own lips; it
was seven hundred thousand times thousand miles in length and in
breadth.[159]
The account in the Targum of Palestine is simply this. “Enoch served in
the truth before the Lord; and behold, he was not with the sojourners of
the earth; for he was withdrawn, and he ascended to the firmament by the
Word before the Lord, and his name was called Metatron, the Great
Saphra.”[160]
Whether the Annakos, or Nannakos of whom Suidas wrote, is to be
identified with Enoch, I do not venture to decide. Suidas says that
Nannak was an aged king before Deucalion (Noah), and that, foreseeing
the Deluge, he called all his subjects together into the temple to pray
the gods with many tears to remit the evil.[161] And Stephanos, the
Byzantine lexicographer, says that Annakos lived at Iconium in Phrygia,
and that to weep for Annak, became a proverb.
Footnote 154:
I give the Arabic legend. The account in Jasher is different. Enoch
retired from the world, and showed himself only at rare intervals,
when he gave advice to all who came to hear his wisdom. He was taken
up to heaven in a whirlwind, in a chariot with horses of fire.
(Yaschar, pp. 1094-1096.)
Footnote 155:
Tabari, i. c. xxxv.
Footnote 156:
Dillmann, Das Buch Enoch; Leipzig, 1853. Ewald, in his “Geschichte der
Volks Israel” (iii. 2, pp. 397-401), attributes it to the year 130
B.C.
Footnote 157:
Fol. 26, col. 2.
Footnote 158:
Jalkut Rubeni, fol. 27, col. 4.
Footnote 159:
Ibid., fol. 107, col. i.
Footnote 160:
Targums, ed. Etheridge, i. p. 175.
Footnote 161:
Suidas, Lexic. s. v. Nannacos.
XI.
THE GIANTS.
The Giants, say the Cabbalists, arose thus.
Aza and Azael, two angels of God, complained to the Most High at the
creation of man, and said, “Why hast Thou made man who will anger Thee?”
But God answered, “And you, O angels, if you were in the lower world,
you, too, would sin.” And He sent them on earth, and then they fell, as
says the Book of Genesis, “_And it came to pass that the sons of God saw
the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of
all which they chose._” After they had sinned, they were given bodies of
flesh; for an angel who spends seven days on earth becomes opaque and
substantial. And when they had been clothed with flesh and with a
corrupt nature, then they spake the word “Shem hamphorasch,” and sought
to regain their former place, but could not; and were cast out into
mountains, there to dwell. From these angels descend the sons of the
giants and the Anakim, and from their seed also spring the devils.[162]
The Rabbi Eliezer says that the giants sprang from the union of the
angels with the daughters of Cain, who walked about in immodest clothing
and cast their eyes around with bold glances. And the book Zeena-ureena,
in the Parascha Chykkath, says that Og sprang from this connection, and
that Sammael, the angel, was the parent of Og, but that Sihon was the
son of the same angel who deceived the wife of Ham when she was about to
enter the ark.[163]
The account in the Book of Enoch is as follows:—
“Hear and fear not, Enoch, thou righteous man, and writer of
righteousness, come hither and hear my words: Go speak unto the Watchers
of Heaven, and say unto them, Ye shall pray for men and not men for you.
Why have ye forsaken the high and holy and eternal heaven, and have
joined yourselves to women, and polluted yourselves with the daughters
of men, and have taken to you wives, and have become the fathers of a
giant race? Ye, who were spiritual, holy, and enjoying eternal life,
have corrupted yourselves with women, and have become parents of
children with flesh and blood; lusting after the blood of men, ye have
brought forth flesh and blood, like those who are mortal and perishable.
Because men die, therefore did I give unto them wives, that they might
have sons, and perpetuate their generation. But ye are spiritual and in
the enjoyment of eternal life. Therefore gave I not to you wives, for
heaven is the abode of the spirits. And now the giants, who are born of
flesh and blood, shall become evil spirits, and their dwelling shall be
on the earth. Bad beings shall proceed from them. Because they have been
generated from above, from the holy Watchers have they received their
origin, therefore shall they be evil spirits on the earth, and evil
spirits shall they be called. And the spirits of the giants, which mount
upon the clouds, will fail and be cast down, and do violence, and cause
ruin on the earth and injury; they shall not eat, they shall not thirst,
and they shall be invisible.”[164]
Among the Oriental Christians it is said, that Adam having related to
the children of Seth the delights of Paradise, several of them desired
to recover the lost possession. They retired to Mount Hermon and dwelt
there in the fear of the Lord; living in great austerity, in hope that
their penitence would recover Eden. But the Canaanites dwelt round them
on all sides, and the sons of Seth, becoming tired of celibacy, took the
daughters of the Canaanites to wife, and to them were born the
giants.[165]
Others say that the posterity of the patriarch Seth were those called
the “Sons of God,” because they lived on Mount Hermon in familiar
discourse with the angels. On this mountain they fed only on the fruit
of the earth, and their sole oath was, “By the blood of Abel.”[166]
Among the giants was Surkrag, of whom we have already related a few
particulars. He was not of the race of men, nor of the posterity of
Adam. According to the Mussulman account he was commander of the armies
of Soliman Tchaghi, who reigned over the earth before the time of Gian
ben Gian, who succeeded him and reigned seven thousand years. The whole
earth was then in the power of the Jins. Gian ben Gian erected the
pyramids of Egypt.
Surkrag obeyed God, and followed the true religion, and would not suffer
his subject Jins to insult or maltreat the descendants of Adam. He
reigned on Mount Kaf, and allied himself, according to Persian
authorities, with Kaïumarth, the first king of the world, whom some
Persian writers identify with Adam, but others suppose to be the son of
Mahalaleel, and cotemporary with Enoch. Ferdusi, the author of the
Schah-Nâmeh, speaks of him as the first who wore a crown and sat on a
throne, and imposed a tribute on his subjects. He says that this monarch
lived a thousand years, and reigned five hundred and fifty years. He was
the first to teach men to build houses.
But if Kaïumarth was the first man to reign, he was the first also to
weary of it; for he abdicated his sovereignty and retired into his
former abode, a cave, after having surrendered his authority to his son
Siamek. Siamek having been killed, Kaïumarth re-ascended his throne to
revenge his death. After having recovered the body of his son, he buried
him with great honours, and kindled over his grave a great fire, which
was kept perpetually burning, and this originated the worship of fire
among the people of Iran.
Kaïumarth overcame the giant Semendoun, who had a hundred arms; his son,
Huschenk, also overcame a giant who had three heads, mounted on an
animal with twelve legs. This animal, named Rakhsche, was found by him
in the Dog Isle, or the New Continent, and was born of the union of a
crocodile and an hippopotamus, and it fed on the flesh of serpents.
Having mastered this beast, Huschenk overcame the Mahisers, which have
heads of fish and are of great ferocity. After having extended his
conquests to the extremities of the earth, Huschenk was crushed to death
by a mass of rock which the giants, his mortal enemies, hurled against
him.[167]
According to Tabari, Huschenk was the son of Kaïumarth, who was the son
of Mahalaleel. He was the first man to cut down trees and to make
boards, and fashion them into doors to close the entrance to houses. He
also discovered many precious stones, such as the topaz and the jacinth.
He reigned four hundred years.[168]
He was succeeded by Tahmourath, who taught men to saddle and bridle
horses; he was also the first man to write in Persian characters; he
figures as a great hero in Iranian fable. According to the story in
Persia, he was carried by the Simorg to the mountain of Kaf. Now the
Simorg is a wondrous bird, speaking all languages, and eminently
religious.
According to the Kaherman Nâmeh, the bird Simorg, being asked its age,
replied, “This world has been seven times peopled, and seven times made
void of living beings. The generation of Adam, in which we now are, will
last seven thousand years, which form a cycle, and I have seen twelve of
these revolutions. How many more I shall see is unknown to me.”
The same book informs us that the Simorg was a great friend of the race
of Adam, and a great enemy to the demons and Jins. He knew Adam
personally, and had done obeisance to him, and enjoyed the same religion
as our first fathers. He foretold to Tahmourath all that was to take
place in the world, and plucking from his bosom some feathers, he
presented them to him, and from that time all great captains and men of
war wear feather crests.
Tahmourath having been transported by the bird to the mountains of Kaf,
he assisted the Peris, who were at war with the Jins. Argenk, the giant,
finding that the Peris were gaining the mastery, with the assistance of
Tahmourath, sent an embassy desiring peace; but the ambassador, Imlain,
abandoned the party of the Jins and assisted Tahmourath to obtain
complete mastery in the mountains of Kaf, and to overcome not only the
giant Argenk, but also Demrusch, a far more terrible monster. Demrusch
lived in a cavern guarding a vast treasure, which he had amassed in
Persia and India. He had also carried off the Peri Mergian. Tahmourath
slew Demrusch and released Mergian.
According to the Persian story, Tahmourath was the first to cultivate
rice, and to nourish silk-worms in the province of Tabristan.[169]
To return to Tabari.
Djemschid was the brother of Tahmourath; he was the first man to forge
arms, and he is probably to be identified with Tubal-cain. He introduced
also the use of pigments, and he discovered pearls, and also to dig for
lime, vermilion, and quicksilver; he likewise compounded scents, and
cultivated flowers. He divided all men into four classes,—soldiers,
scribes, agriculturists, and artisans. At the head of all he placed the
learned, that they might guide the affairs of men, and set them their
tasks and instruct them in what they were to do.
Then Djemschid asked the wise men, “What must a king do to secure his
throne?”
They answered, “He must reign in equity.”
Consequently, Djemschid instituted justice; and he sat the first day of
every month with his wise men, and ministered righteous judgments. For
seven hundred years he continued this practice; and in all that time no
rebellion broke out, no afflictions troubled him, nor was his reign in
any way menaced.
One day, whilst Djemschid was taking his siesta alone in his chamber,
Eblis entered by the window, and Djemschid asked, “Who art thou?” Now he
thought he was one of those who waited without till he should come forth
to administer justice. Eblis entered into conversation with Djemschid,
and said, “I am an angel, and I have descended from heaven to give thee
counsel.”
“What counsel dost thou offer?” asked the king.
Eblis replied, “Tell me, who art thou?”
He answered, “I am one of the sons of Adam.”
“Thou mistakest,” said the Evil One: “thou art not a man. Consider,
since thou hast reigned, has anything failed thee? Hast thou suffered
any affliction, any loss, any revolt? If thou wert a son of Adam, sorrow
would be thy lot. Nay, verily, thou art a god!”
“And what sign canst thou show me of my divinity?”
“I am an angel. Mortal man cannot behold an angel, and live.”
Then he vanished. Djemschid fell into the snare of pride.
Next day he caused a great fire to be lighted, and he called together
all men and said to them, “I am a god, worship me; I created heaven
above and earth beneath; and those that refuse to adore me shall be
consumed in the fire.”
Then from fear of him many obeyed; and the same hour revolt broke out.
There was a man named Beyourasp who stirred up the people, and led a
great army against Djemschid, and overcame him, and took from him his
kingdom, and sawed the king asunder from the head to the feet.[170]
Footnote 162:
Nischmath Chajim, fol. 116, col. i.
Footnote 163:
Eisenmenger, i. p. 380.
Footnote 164:
Das Buch Henoch, von Dillmann, Leipz. 1853, c. xv. p. 9.
Footnote 165:
Abulfaraj, p. 6.
Footnote 166:
Eutych., Patriarcha Alex., Annales ab Orbe Condito, Arabice et Lat.,
ed. Selden; London, 1642, i. p. 19.
Footnote 167:
D’Herbelot, s. v. Surkrag and Kaïumarth.
Footnote 168:
Tabari, c. xxxvii.
Footnote 169:
D’Herbelot, s. v. Tahmourath.
Footnote 170:
Tabari, caps. xxxix. xl.
XII.
LAMECH.
“_Methusael begat Lamech. And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name
of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. And Adah bare
Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have
cattle. And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such
as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an
instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of
Tubal-cain was Naamah. And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah,
Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have
slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. If Cain shall be
avenged seven-fold, truly Lamech seventy and seven-fold._”[171]
The speech of Lamech points to a tradition unrecorded in the Sacred
Text, with which the Israelites were probably well acquainted, and which
therefore did not need repetition; or else, there has been a paragraph
dropped out of the original text. The speech is sufficiently mysterious
to raise our curiosity. Whom had Lamech slain? and why should Lamech be
avenged?
The Targums throw no light on the passage, merely paraphrasing it,
without supplying the key to the speech of Lamech.[172] But Rabbinic
tradition is unanimous on its signification. The book Jasher says that
in those days men did not love to have children, therefore they gave
their wives drink to make them sterile. Zillah had taken this drink, and
she was barren till in her old age she bare Tubal-cain and Naamah. Now
Lamech became blind in his old age, and he was led about by the boy
Tubal-cain. Tubal-cain saw Cain in the distance, and supposing from the
horn on his forehead that he was a beast, he said to his father, “Span
thy bow and shoot!” Then the old man discharged his arrow, and Cain fell
dead.
But when he ascertained that he had slain his great ancestor, he smote
his hands together, and in so doing, by accident struck his son and
killed him. Therefore his wives were wroth and would have no
communication with him. But he appeased them with the words recorded in
Genesis.[173] The same story is told in the book of the “Combat of
Adam.”
Some Jewish writers adopt a tradition that Tubal-cain was not slain, but
was severely injured by his father; according to some, he was lamed.
Connecting this tradition with his name, a striking analogy springs up
between him and the Vulcan of classic antiquity, and the Völundr of
Norse mythology. Both were lame, both were forgers of iron, and the
names Vulcan and Völundr bear some affinity to Tubal-cain; for, cutting
off Tu, we have Balcain or Vulcan. A very learned and exhaustive
monograph on Völundr has been written by MM. Depping and Michel.[174]
Tubal is said by Tabari to have discovered the art of fermenting the
juice of the grape, as well as that of music. Eblis deceived the young
man, who was full of gaiety, and taught him many things, amongst others
how to make wine. Tubal took grapes and crushed them, and made must, and
let it grow bitter. Then he took it and put it in a glass jug. He made
flutes, lutes, cymbals, and drums. When he began to drink the wine he
had made, he jumped and danced. All the sons of Cain looked on, and,
pleased with his merriment, they also drank and played on the
instruments Tubal had made.[175]
Naamah, the sister of Tubal-cain, became the wife of the devil Schomron,
by whom she became the mother of Asmodeus.[176]
Footnote 171:
Gen. iv. 18-24.
Footnote 172:
Targums, ed. Etheridge, i. p. 173.
Footnote 173:
Yaschar, tr. Drach, p. 1092; the same in Midrash Jalkut, c. 38;
Midrash, Par. Bereschith, fol. 2; Rabbi Raschi on Genesis; &c. &c.
Footnote 174:
Véland le Forgeron; Paris, 1833. There is an English translation by
Wright.
Footnote 175:
Tabari, i. c. xxi.
Footnote 176:
Eisenmenger, ii. p. 416.
XIII.
METHUSELAH.
It is related that an angel appeared to Methuselah, who was then aged
five hundred years, and lived in the open air, and advised him to build
a house. The Patriarch asked how long he had to live. “About five
hundred years more,” answered the angel. “Then,” said Methuselah, “it is
not worth taking the trouble for so short a time.”[177]