David,
I haven't read Boccaccini's Sources of Rabbinic Judaism yet, so the
following comment may not accurately apply to his theory of the post-exilic
origins of what he terms Zadokite and Enochic Judaism. But it seems to me
the one Biblical book for which a case may be made that it fed into the Enoch
literature is Ezekiel. The book of Ezekiel has a heavenly ascent.
Furthermore, it is heavily indebted to the Babylonian text The Poem of Erra
(see most recently D. Brodi, _The Book of Ezekiel and the Poem of Erra_
[Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis, 104; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht,
1991]). The figures of Enoch and Uriel in the Astronomical Book of Enoch are
modeled on the Babylonian prototype, the sage Uanadapa, and there are
numerous other Mesopotamian influences on the Enoch literature, so I think an
argument is to be made that the Enoch literature and Ezekiel may come from
the same social milieu. I don't think an early date for Ezekiel can be
sustained, the most obvious evidence being its reference to Persia, so
Ezekiel may well come close to the time of the earliest Enoch literature.
Yet as I recall Ezekiel is explicit in supporting the Zadokite priesthood
(even at the expense of the Levites).
On the other hand Ezekiel is closely related to the Holiness Code (H) in
Leviticus, a priestly code which is heavily influenced by the humanitarian,
social justice outlook of the Deuteronomist (D). Some recent thought sees P,
D and H more-or-less contemporary (see for instance Ranier Albertz, _History
of Religion_, who puts all of these, or ast least their social groups, down
into exilic times). There is thus an argument for a dispute within Judaism
between (P) priests concerned mainly with the temple cultus and (H) priests
with more of a lay social consciousness outlook. Ezekiel, written by a
priest, yet aligned with (H), is also influenced by heavenly ascents and
Babylonian motifs, but also supports the Zadokite priesthood. So while the
Enoch literature may be related to priestly disputes - at least this is a
hypothesis worth fully exploring - the split may not be between Zadokites and
Enochians as Boccaccini proposes. However, I haven't read Boccaccini's
latest, and his analysis may be different.
Best regards,
Russell Gmirkin
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