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Apocryphal Literature | 1 APOCRYPHAL LITERATURE Apocryphal Literature | 1 APOCRYPHAL LITERATURE Properly speaking, this consists of the so-called Old Testament pseudepigrapha. The Old Testament books called “apocryphal” by Protestants and “deuterocanonical” by Roman Catholics were until recently included in the biblical canon of the Coptic church. Only at the beginning of the twentieth century and by order of CYRIL V (1874-1927) were the following books removed from the canon: Tobit, Judith, the complement of Esther, the Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, the Epistle of Jeremiah, Baruch, the complement of Daniel (Susanna and the Three Youths in the Fire) and 1, 2, and 3 Maccabees. These books are normally included in the Coptic versions of the Bible. The term apokriphon or the more usual apografon had already acquired a pejorative meaning in the 39th Festal Letter of Saint ATHANASIUS, in which the Old Testament Apocrypha of Enoch, Isaiah, and Moses are condemned as heretical. Originally, the Greek word meant simply hidden or secret (cf. 4 Esd. 16:45-48). The condemnation of the Apocrypha, caused no doubt by the extensive use made of them, put a stop to their diffusion in orthodox circles, particularly in the Coptic church. In spite of this, a surprising number of Coptic apocryphal manuscripts have come down to us. They share the following general characteristics: their dates of composition are late as compared to Greek and Aramaic texts, for the most part being translations from Greek; to a greater or lesser degree they show the effects of Christian reworking; they are normally working originating in, or strongly influenced by, Egyptian Judaism; and they frequently take up motifs and expressions from the ancient Egyptian religion. In several ways, the Coptic tradition adds significantly to our knowledge of the Old Testament Apocrypha in general. At times it is the only, or the oldest, witness to apocryphal works quoted in early times; or because it is independent of the known Greek or other traditions, it helps to explain the history of the tradition of certain books. In general, it adds elements Downloaded from Coptic-Wiki.org Apocryphal Literature | 2 from particular traditions that enrich those already known from other literatures. In order to emphasize these aspects, the Coptic Old Testament Apocrypha are here considered together with the other Old Testament Apocrypha, grouped according to their genre. Literature of Enoch Enoch, the father of Methuselah, “walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Gn. 5:24). He was taken up into heaven and there received the revelation of the divine mysteries concerning the people of Israel and the end of the world, thus becoming the most important representative of the apocalyptical revelations. His age, 365 years, gave rise to astronomical and chronological speculations. Thus, from the third century B.C. there appear apocalyptic and astronomical traditions and writings attributed to this patriarch. The book called 1 Enoch or the Ethiopic Enoch gathers these traditions, some of which were composed originally in Aramaic, as is shown by the fragments of eleven Aramaic manuscripts identified among the Dead Sea Scrolls (Milik, 1976). The collection was translated into Greek and from Greek into Ethiopic toward the year 500, in which version alone the entire collection is preserved (Charles, 1906). It can be divided into five sections, which differ in contents and proceed from different periods: 1. The Book of Watchers (1-36) relates the fall of the angels and the corruption of mankind (Gn. 6:5-6) and describes the journeys of Enoch to hell and to paradise. It is a product of the period before 175 C. 2. The Parables of Enoch (37-71) that announce the coming of the great judgment are in three parts called parables or This section is not found in the Qumran fragments, and there is some discussion as to whether the date of composition is pre- Christian. 3. The Astronomical Book (72-82) promulgates the ancient priestly calendar of 364 days and is prior to 175 C. Downloaded from Coptic-Wiki.org Apocryphal Literature | 3 4. The Book of Dreams (83-90) contains a vision of the flood and another vision of the history of the world until the Maccabean period, during which this section was 5. The Epistle of Enoch (91-108) contains an exhortation to faith, steadfastness, and joy and the Apocalypse of the Weeks, in which the history of the world is described in ten periods, from the creation to the end of the The Greek version of 1 Enoch was known in Egypt, as is shown by the fragments cited by M. Black (1970). But there was also a Sahidic Coptic version of at least the last section of the book, as can be seen from a fragment found in 1937 in ANTINOOPOLIS (Istituto Papirologico “G. Vitelli,” Florence, Coptica Antinoë, 9), dating from the sixth or seventh century, and containing 1 Enoch 93:3-8 (Donadoni, 1960). A comparison of this Coptic text with the Aramaic texts on the subject shows that it is a very faithful version, the readings of which are to be preferred to those of the Ethiopic version, with which it differs in places. The Coptic version is of help in reconstructing the Greek version (cf. Milik, 1976, pp. 81-82). The few surviving Coptic manuscripts suggest that although 1 Enoch was known in the Coptic church, it was not widely available. No Coptic manuscript has been discovered of 2 Enoch, or Slavonic Enoch, or Book of the Secrets of Enoch, seemingly composed in Greek in the ninth or tenth century, but transmitted only in sixteenth- or seventeenth-century Slav manuscripts. Nor are there Coptic manuscripts of 3 Enoch, or Hebrew Enoch, a mystical apocalypse from the medieval period in the opinion of G. G. Scholem. However, H. Odeberg (1973) considers it to date from the second or third century A.D. and suggests that the traditions concerning Enoch-Metraton circulated in Egypt, and were taken over by some Gnostic groups there. This would parallel with the books of Jehu (c. Schmidt, 1892). In Christian circles in Egypt the figure of Enoch was important in the history of many Jewish traditions (see the Pierpont Morgan Fragments of Downloaded from Coptic-Wiki.org Apocryphal Literature | 4 a Coptic Enoch Apocryphon, Coptic Theological Texts 3, fols. 1-9, found in Hou, ed. W. E. Crum, 1913; A. Pierson in Nickelsburg, ed., 1976; Latin trans. Garitte in Milik, 1976, pp. 100-103). These fragments are extremely deteriorated and consist of very poor quality papyrus in a codex of several quires. The order of the folios is a matter of debate. In Pearson’s arrangement, the text relates in the first place how the Lord received Enoch into heaven where he saw “the mysteries that are hidden in the aeons of the Light.” We next find Enoch in a mountain, where an angel of God (possibly Michael) appears to him and instructs him in the mysteries of the Holy Trinity and the task that he, Enoch, will have in the judgment. Then Enoch’s sister, a prophetess (perhaps Sibylla), appears and informs him that he will be taken up into heaven in the same way as Elijah and Tabitha. Finally the judgment is described. The special character of this Enoch Apocryphon is based upon the older Jewish apocryphal literature. The ascension and exaltation of Enoch is similar to that shown in the Parables of Enoch and 3 Enoch. His task in the judgment is to act as a scribe of the sins and good deeds of the just, which are then weighed in the balance, and this connects with the Testament of Abraham and other apocryphal works. It might well have been composed in Egypt in the fifth century A.D. There are also the Sahidic fragments found at Aswan in 1909 containing meager remnants of an Apocryphon apparently devoted to Enoch (Cairo Museum, n. 48085, ed. Munier, 1923, pp. 212-15, n. 3.; Latin trans. Garitte in Milik, 1976, pp. 103-104). In these fragments, the role of Enoch as scribe of righteousness is emphasized in a way that is parallel to, though independent of, thePierpont Morgan fragments. These characteristics of the figure of Enoch appear in other Coptic works, including those of a liturgical nature (cf. C. D. G. Müller, 1962, p. 73; E. A. W. Budge, pp. 345- 46, 909; I. Ballestri and H. Hyvernat, Vol. 43, p. 236). Downloaded from Coptic-Wiki.org Apocryphal Literature | 5 Testaments of the Patriarchs In Judaism the “testament” is a well-known literary genre: in a speech uttered before his death, a famous person transfers his spiritual or material legacy to his children or his followers. Examples of this genre can be found in the Old Testament (Dt. 33; Gn. 49) and in the New Testament (Jn. 13-17). The apocryphal literature developed this genre, producing many works that received the name of testaments. The most representative of these is the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, relating the testament of each of the twelve sons of Jacob. Each testament contains a prediction about the future of the tribe or of Israel and illustrates a particular virtue or vice, exhorting emulation of the virtuous conduct of the patriarch. The present form of the collection of Testament 12 has been transmitted in Greek, and is clearly Christian. There is still debate about whether it is a second-century B.C. work written in Hebrew and translated into Greek and interpolated by Christian authors, or whether it is a second-century A.D. work written in Greek by a Christian using existing Jewish material. Among the scrolls of Qumran have been found fragments of various testaments in Aramaic—Levi, Kohat, Amran—and of one in Hebrew—Naphtali, the text of which differs from that of Testament 12 (cf.
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