Contemporary Study of the First Enoch: Review of Three Monographs

Abstract

The study of the First Book of Enoch, one of the most famous, major and ancient Old Testament apocrypha, is one of the dynamic areas of modern biblical studies, although not as rapidly developing as the study of the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments. After the publication of the article «Enoch’s first book» in the Russian Orthodox Encyclopedia in 2008, there continued a controversy around the theory of Gabriele Boccacini, some points of view of textual scholars were clarified, the topic of «heavenly twins» in mystical Judaism was analyzed on the basis of various sources, and there was generalized significant material from secondary sources on Enoch. In this review, these trends are traced on the basis of three monographs written by recognized experts in the field of the study of Old Testament apocryphal literature: Knibb M. A. Essays on the Book of Enoch and Other Early Jewish Texts and Traditions; Heger P.Challenges to Conventional Opinions on Qumran and Enoch Issues; Reeves J. C., Reed A. Y. Enoch from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.