Book of Noah

Last updated

The Book of Noah is thought to be a non-extant Old Testament pseudepigraphal work, attributed to Noah. It is quoted in several places in another pseudepigraphal work, 1 Enoch, [1] and is mentioned in another, the Book of Jubilees. [2] There have also been fragments attributed to a Book of Noah in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Contents

Fragments

Though this book has not come down to us independently, it has in large measure been incorporated in the Ethiopic Book of Enoch, and can in part be reconstructed from it.

The Book of Noah is mentioned in Jubilees 10:13, 21:10. Chapters 60., 65-69:25 of the Ethiopic Enoch are without question derived from it. Thus 60 runs:

In the year 500, in the seventh month ... in the life of Enoch.

Here the editor simply changed the name Noah in the context before him into Enoch, for the statement is based on Gen. 5:32, and Enoch lived only 365 years. Chapters 6-11 are clearly from the same source; for they make no reference to Enoch, but bring forward Noah (10:1) and treat of the sin of the angels that led to the flood, and of their temporal and eternal punishment. This section is compounded of the Semjaza and Azazel myths, and in its present composite form is already presupposed by 1 Enoch 88-90. Hence these chapters are earlier than 166 B.C. Chapters 106-107 of the same book are probably from the same source; likewise 54:7-55:2, and Jubilees 7:20-39, 10:1-15. In the former passage of Jubilees the subject-matter leads to this identification, as well as the fact that Noah is represented as speaking in the first person, although throughout Jubilees it is the angel that speaks. Possibly Eth. En. 41:3-8, 43-49, 59 are from the same work. The book may have opened with Eth. En. 106-107 On these chapters may have followed Eth. En. 6-11., 65-69:25, 60, 41:3-8, 43-44, 54:7-55:2; Jubilees 7:26-39, 10:1-15.

The Hebrew Book of Noah, a later work, is printed in Adolf Jellinek's Bet ha-Midrasch, 3:155-156, and translated into German in Rönsch, Das Buch der Jubiläen, 385-387. It is based on the part of the above Book of Noah which is preserved in the Book of Jubilees. The portion of this Hebrew work which is derived from the older work is reprinted in Charles's Ethiopic Version of the Hebrew Book of Jubilees, p. 179.

James Charlesworth writes (footnotes used for clarity) [3]

During the early parts of the second century B.C. a pseudepigraphon circulated that contained considerable material concerning Noah. The tradition was not merely oral but had been written down, since the author of Jubilees [4] and of an interpolation in the Testament of Levi 18:2 [5] refer to a 'Book of Noah'. [6]

The work is now lost except for excerpts preserved in 1 Enoch [7] and Jubilees, [8] for 21 fragments preserved in Qumran Cave 1, [9] and for two large fragments found in Cave 4 that are not yet published. [10]

Fragment 4Q534 of the Book of Noah in the Dead sea scrolls describes the physical appearance of the royal messiah:

On his hair a birthmark of reddish colour. And the shape of a lentil will be on his face, and small birthmarks on his thigh. And after two years he will know how to distinguish one thing from another in his heart. In his youth, he will be like ... a man who knows nothing until the time when he knows the three Books. And then he will acquire prudence and learn understanding ... wise seers come to him, to his knees. And with his father and his ancestors .. of brothers will hurt him. Counsel and prudence will be with him, and he will know the secrets of man. His wisdom will reach all the peoples, and he will know the secrets of all the living. And all their designs against him will come to nothing, and his rule over the living will be great. His designs will succeed, for he is the Elect of God. His birth and the breath of his spirit ... and his designs shall be for ever ... [11]

There seems to be some conjecture as to what exactly was contained in the Book of Noah. Cana Werman, who wrote a paper Qumran and The Book of Noah, [12] notes the inconsistency of various sources.

Related Research Articles

Enoch Biblical figure prior to Noahs flood

Enoch is a biblical figure and patriarch prior to Noah's flood and the son of Jared and father of Methuselah. He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible.

Book of Jubilees Ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters

The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters, considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel, where it is known as the Book of Division. Jubilees is considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant Churches. It is also not considered canonical within Judaism outside of Beta Israel.

Jannes and Jambres Magicians mentioned in the Book of Exodus

In Jewish and Christian traditions, Jannes and Jambres are the names given to magicians mentioned in the Book of Exodus. This naming tradition is well-attested in ancient and medieval literature. In Latin manuscripts of the New Testament, and in Latin writing traditions, their names are known as Jamnes and Jambres.

Book of Enoch Hebrew religious text ascribed to Enoch

The Book of Enoch is an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic religious text, ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. Enoch contains unique material on the origins of demons and Nephilim, why some angels fell from heaven, an explanation of why the Genesis flood was morally necessary, and prophetic exposition of the thousand-year reign of the Messiah.

The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan is a 6th-century Christian extracanonical work found in Ge'ez, translated from an Arabic original.

The Book of Moses, dictated by Joseph Smith, is part of the scriptural canon for some in the Latter Day Saint movement. The book begins with the "Visions of Moses," a prologue to the story of the creation and the fall of man, and continues with material corresponding to the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible's (JST) first six chapters of the Book of Genesis, interrupted by two chapters of "extracts from the prophecy of Enoch".

<i>The Book of Giants</i> Apocryphal Jewish book

The Book of Giants is an apocryphal Jewish book which expands upon the Genesis narrative of the Hebrew Bible, in a similar manner to the Book of Enoch. Together with this latter work, the Book of Giants "stands as an attempt to explain how it was that wickedness had become so widespread and muscular before the flood; in so doing, it also supplies the reason why God was more than justified in sending that flood." The text's composition has been dated to before the 2nd century BC.

The Second Book of Enoch is a pseudepigraphic text in the apocalyptic genre. It describes the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, ancestor of Noah, through ten heavens of an Earth-centered cosmos.

Letter of Jeremiah Deuterocanonical book of the Old Testament of the Bible

The Letter of Jeremiah, also known as the Epistle of Jeremiah, is a deuterocanonical book of the Old Testament; this letter purports to have been written by Jeremiah to the Jews who were about to be carried away as captives to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. It is included in Roman Catholic Bibles as the final chapter of the Book of Baruch. It is also included in Orthodox Bibles as a separate book.

James H. Charlesworth

James Hamilton Charlesworth was the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature until January 17, 2019, and Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at the Princeton Theological Seminary. His research interests include the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, the Historical Jesus, the Gospel of John, and the Revelation of John.

The Enoch calendar is an ancient calendar described in the pseudepigraphal Book of Enoch. It divided the year into four seasons of exactly 13 weeks each. Each such season consisted of two 30-day months followed by one 31-day month, with the 31st day ending the season, so that Enoch's Year consisted of exactly 364 days.

Robert Charles (scholar)

Robert Henry Charles, was an Irish Anglican theologian, biblical scholar, professor, and translator from Northern Ireland. He is known particularly for his English translations of numerous apocryphal and pseudepigraphal Ancient Hebrew writings, including the Book of Jubilees (1895), the Apocalypse of Baruch (1896), the Ascension of Isaiah (1900), the Book of Enoch (1906), and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (1908), which have been widely used. He wrote the articles in the eleventh edition of Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) attributed to the initials "R. H. C."

Genesis Apocryphon

The Genesis Apocryphon (1Q20), also called the Tales of the Patriarchs or the Apocalypse of Lamech and labeled 1QapGen, is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1946 by Bedouin shepherds in Cave 1 near Qumran, a city in the northwest corner of the Dead Sea. Composed in Aramaic, it consists of four sheets of leather. Furthermore, it is the least well-preserved document of the original seven. The document records a pseudepigraphal conversation between the biblical figure Lamech, son of Methuselah, and his son, Noah, as well as first and third person narratives associated with Abraham. It is one of the nonbiblical texts found at Qumran. A range of compositional dates for the work have been suggested from the 3rd century BCE to 1st century CE. Palaeography and Carbon-14 dating were used to identify the age of the documents. It is 13 inches in length and 2.75 inches in width at its widest point in the middle.

Loren T. Stuckenbruck is an historian of early Christianity and Second Temple Judaism, currently professor of New Testament at the University of Munich, in Germany. His work has exerted a significant impact on the field.

Aramaic Enoch Scroll Non-published, Dead Sea scroll

The Aramaic Enoch Scroll is a non-published, complete copy of the Book of Enoch that is rumored to be in the possession of private investors.

Michael E. Stone

Michael Edward Stone is a professor emeritus of Armenian Studies and of Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is also a published poet.

Reverend George Henry Schodde [ Allegheny City, April 15, 1854 - September 15, 1917] was a scholar of coptic language and Old Testament pseudepigrapha.

In the Book of Enoch and Book of Jubilees, copies of which were kept by groups including the religious community of Qumran that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Elioud are the antediluvian children of the Nephilim, and are considered a part-angel hybrid race of their own. Like the Nephilim, the Elioud are exceptional in both ability and wickedness.

Testament of Qahat

The Testament of Qahat is a text found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.The manuscript has been dated on palaeographic grounds to 125-10 BCE, and the composition of this manuscript even earlier. It was written as a continuation to the Words of Levi, followed by the Visions of Amram.

References

  1. ↑ 6-11; 39:1-2a; 54:7-55:2; 60; 65:1-69:25; and 106-107.
  2. ↑ 10:13 and 21:10.
  3. ↑ The Pseudepigrapha and Modern Research, pp. 166-167.
  4. ↑ SPR NH, 10:13; cf. 21:10.
  5. ↑ en te graphe tes biblou tou Noe, vs. 57 in Greek MS e; cf. R. H. Charles, The Greek Versions of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs . Oxford: OUP, 1908 [repr. 1960]; pp. liii-lvii, 252; APOT 2, pp. 364-67.
  6. ↑ J. P. Lewis, no. 448, questions the existence of a book of Noah.
  7. ↑ viz., 6:1-11:2, 54:7-55:2, 60:1-24, 65:1-69:25, 106:1-107:3.
  8. ↑ viz., 7:20-39, 10:1-15, 20:7, 21:10.
  9. ↑ 1QNoah, cf. DJD 1, pp. 84-86, 152, pl. XVI.
  10. ↑ Cf. J. Starcky, 'Cave 4 of Qumran,' BA 19 [1956] 94-96.
  11. ↑ Géza Vermès (31 May 2004). The complete Dead Sea scrolls in English, pp. 554 & 555. Penguin. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Werman: Qumran and the Book of Noah

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.