List,
Aside from the "star" terminology so far discussed, would
anyone care to comment about the use of "star" as found in
the Parables of Enoch?
1 Enoch, Chapter 43: 1 And I saw other lightnings and the
stars of heaven, and I saw how He called them all by their 2
names and they hearkened unto Him. And I saw how they are
weighed in a righteous balance according to their
proportions of light: (I saw) the width of their spaces and
the day of their appearing, and how their revolution
produces lightning: and (I saw) their revolution according
to the 3 number of the angels, and (how) they keep faith
with each other. And I asked the angel who went 4 with me
who showed me what was hidden: 'What are these?' And he said
to me: 'The Lord of Spirits hath showed thee their parabolic
meaning (lit. 'their parable'): these are the names of the
holy who dwell on the earth and believe in the name of the
Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.' Chapter 44: Also another
phenomenon I saw in regard to the lightnings: how some of
the stars arise and become lightnings and cannot part with
their new form.
{this is a scan of Charles' APOT translation, so ignore the
verse markers that were picked up at the beginning of the
printed line rather than at the beginning of the verse]
Here this author is suggesting that there is a direct
correlation between the organization of the luminaries
(lightnings and stars) in heaven and the organization of
"the holy who dwell on the earth and believe in the name of
the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever." I do not know if he
means the luminaries can be figuratively understood in this
fashion or whether the human faithful have intentionally
organized themselves after the manner of the heavenly
luminaries. In any event, "stars" and "lightnings" appear to
be classes within the organization to which the author
belonged, and I would imagine that just as stars vary in
brightness and activity (planets on the plane of the
ecliptic vs fixed stars rotating along the celestial
equator) so do the functions and activities of the classes
within his group.
I do realize that the parables of Enoch is not attested
among the Qumran finds, but I do think this passage refers
to a group along similar organizational lines with the
sectarian practices described in the DSS. Comparison between
this symbolism with similar symbolic representations of
group structure along astronomical lines, such as that
attributed to John the Baptist's/Simon Magus' group in the
PseudoClementine literature or among Gnostic Aeons, perhaps
it might be possible to trace the influence of such groups
(Essene of not) on later thought.
Respectfully,
Dave Hindley
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
For private reply, e-mail to "David C. Hindley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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