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The Contemporary Renaissance of Enoch Studies, and the Enoch Seminar

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The Contemporary Renaissance of Enoch Studies, and the Enoch Seminar INTRODUCTION: THE CONTEMPORARY RENAISSANCE OF ENOCH STUDIES, AND THE ENOCH SEMINAR In the winter 2000, a group of specialists in Enoch literature began cor- responding via e-mail and decided to meet the following year in Flor- ence, Italy (many of them for the very rst time, face to face) not to present papers but to discuss in a seminar format the results of their research. George Nickelsburg had just completed the manuscript of the rst volume of his monumental commentary on 1 Enoch (1 Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Chapters 1–36; 81–108, Hermeneia; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001). Several other specialists, in the United States, Europe, and Israel, were studying the same material as evidence for a distinct stream of apocalyptic thought in Second Temple Juda- ism. Working autonomously these scholars had opened new, convergent paths in the understanding of the Enoch literature. The time was ripe for them to share their experiences. It took the technological innovation of the electronic mail, however, to make it possible for them to com- municate and organize a meeting in just a few months. By the summer 2000, the Enoch Seminar was of\cially born. The Experience of the First Enoch Seminars The rst meeting of the Enoch Seminar was held in Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy (19–23 June 2001) at the Villa Corsi-Salviati, home of the University of Michigan in Italy, and focused on “The Origins of Enochic Judaism”. The meeting promoted the “rediscovery” of Enochic Judaism and the study of ancient Enoch literature as evidence for an ancient movement of dissent within Second Temple Judaism. Thirty-ve international specialists were in attendance. The second Enoch Seminar convened in Venice, Italy (1–4 July 2003) and was devoted to “Enoch and Qumran Origins.” The fty-three participants explored the complex and largely neglected relationship between the Qumran community and the Jewish group(s) behind the Enoch literature. The meeting was followed by a conference on Jew- ish and Christian messianism in collaboration with the Italian Biblical Association (BIBLIA). viii gabriele boccaccini The third Enoch Seminar met at the Monastery of Camaldoli, in the mountains near Florence, Italy (6–10 June 2005) and was devoted to the study of the Book of the Parables (or Similitudes) of Enoch and to the problem of the Messiah “Son of Man.” In the summer of 2007 a fourth meeting is scheduled, once again at Camaldoli, and will focus on the merging on Enochic and Mosaic traditions in the Book of Jubilees. While dealing with a highly specialized topic (the Enoch literature), we soon realized that in the process we were accomplishing much more than expected. Since its rst gathering the Enoch Seminar has evolved into a sort of informal yet regular biennial meeting for scholars who around the world are interested in the study of Second Temple Juda- ism and Christian Origins. In a scholarship that is still largely divided according to canonical boundaries, the study of Enoch has given us the opportunity to break out of the “canons” of our specializations and the boundaries of our methodologies and has forced us to listen attentively to other specializations and other approaches. Enoch has proven to be an effective tool for tearing down long-standing walls of segregation. He is in fact an inter-canonical, inter-disciplinary character par excellence and as such requires an inter-canonical, inter-disciplinary approach by specialists of both Judaic and Christian Studies. The presence of Enoch texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the literary and ideological connec- tions with Old and New Testament documents, and the countless rami- cations of Enochic ideas for the diverse Judaisms of the Second Temple period, including the Jesus movement, and later on in both Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism, make the study of Enoch literature a signicant concern for any specialist in ancient Judaism and Christian origins. It is this “spirit” of sharing and dialogue that has made the experience of the Enoch Seminars so intriguing and keeps us looking forward to many more sessions to come, and to a vast range of topics to cover, from “Enoch and Lady Wisdom” to “Enoch and Christian Origins” and “Enoch and First Century Apocalypticism.” The Present Volume While the Enoch Seminar provides some opportunity for meeting and discussion, its success has been prompted by the growth, in these last years, of a renewed interest in Enoch literature that has materialized in the writing of numerous books, articles, reviews and dissertations. .
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