Textual and Comparative Explorations in 1 and 2 Enoch - Ancient Scripture and Texts Series 1 - 2014

Textual and Comparative Explorations in 1 and 2 Enoch breathes fresh air into the scholarly field of Enoch studies. Samuel Zinner emphasizes the textual and theological dimensions of the feminine divine Lady Wisdom in 1 Enoch and how she resembles aspects of earlier indigenous conceptions of Mother Earth. The study presents evidence that 1 Enoch's and Daniel 7's Ancient of Days and Son of Man originated in Noah stories that predate both texts. Daniel 7 and the Parables of Enoch each reflects a combination of early and late traditions, which calls into question the standard consensus of simple Danielic dependence on the part of 1 Enoch. Zinner brings to light previously undocumented influences of 1 Enoch on texts such as the Book of Wisdom, the Gospel of the Hebrews, and the Shepherd of Hermas, and demonstrates the application of Enochic traits to the Qur'anic portraits of the prophet Ezra and the Virgin Mary. The study culminates in a literary journey through ancient Jewish and Judaic-Christian literary parallels to various Mormon texts dealing with the prophet Enoch.

Review: This is a glimpse of the future of Enoch studies. I could not put the book down. Zinner scrutinises the work of several scholars in the field and also draws on his own vast knowledge to set the Enoch texts in their wider context. He finds traces of them not only in the Bible, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, but also in Mandaean texts, the Qur'an, the Zohar and the Scriptures of the Latter-day Saints. Each essay is a gem. Margaret Barker, former President of the Society for Old Testament Study