Texts in Conversation
1 Enoch 106 uses imagery like Daniel 10 to describe Noah’s birth, especially his glowing eyes, and in Daniel this describes a divine figure. In 1 Enoch it belongs to the newborn Noah, causing others to wonder if he is part angel.
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Daniel 10:6
Hebrew Bible
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month I was beside the great river, the Tigris. 5 I looked up and saw a man clothed in linen; around his waist was a belt made of gold from Ufaz. 6 His body resembled yellow jasper, and his face had an appearance like lightning. His eyes were like blazing torches; his arms and feet had the gleam of polished bronze. His voice thundered forth like the sound of a large crowd. 7 Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men who were with me did not see it. On the contrary, they were overcome with fright and ran away to hide.
Date: 2nd Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
1 Enoch 106:3
Pseudepigrapha
1 After some days my son Methuselah found a wife for his son Lamech, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. 2 He said to him: “Here I am, my son. Why have you come to me?” 3 His body was white like snow and red like a blooming rose. The hair on his head and his long curls were white like wool, and his eyes were beautiful. When he opened his eyes, he lit the whole house like the sun, and the house shone brightly. 4 Then he rose up in the hands of the midwife, opened his mouth, and spoke with the Lord of righteousness.
Date: 200-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... miraculous Noachic birth stories are attested in other Second Temple literature, such as Genesis Apocryphon, 1 Enoch 106, and 1Q19, and can therefore be used to set a precedent for the presentation of a Noachic figure in 4Q534–536. On the other hand, the details of the birth narrative in 4Q534–536 do not match other stories of Noah’s birth. In 4Q534–4Q536, for example, the infant is described as having red hair, a lentil on his face, and small birthmarks on his thigh. He is born in “the fifth hour” of the night, comes out “whole” at a weight of “350 shekels,” and “sleeps until half his days are done.” In contrast, 1 Enoch 106:2–3 states ... In 1 Enoch, Noah is described as angelic because the author is attempting to contrast Noah with the Watchers, and also to foreshadow the salvific mission that Noah has been chosen to undertake. Lamech unsurprisingly suspects Noah of being the offspring of a Watcher because of his angelic appearance. He goes to Methuselah, who in turn travels to the “ends of the earth” to ask Enoch about the truth of Lamech’s son Noah (106:8–18). Enoch, however, explains to Methuselah that Noah is in fact Lamech’s child, and he will “be righteous and blameless. And call his name Noah for he will be your remnant from whom you will find rest” (1 Enoch 106:18). Thus, in its present context, the imagery used to describe Noah’s birth signifies his righteous perfection as well as his salvific mission to be carried out six hundred years later. It was on account of the Fallen Angels that the world will be destroyed, but it will also be saved on account of an angel-like man, Noah ..."
Penner, Jeremy
"Is 4Q534-536 Really About Noah?" in Stone, Michael E., et al. (eds.) Noah and His Book(s)
(pp. 97-112) Society of Biblical Literature, 2010
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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