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The epistle of Barnabas alludes to 1 Enoch 89, which describes the destruction of a tower and house that was interpreted as the Jerusalem temple. This is one of the earliest authoritative references to 1 Enoch in Christian tradition outside of the New Testament.
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1 Enoch 89:67
Pseudepigrapha
65 But they shall not know it, and you shall not declare it to them, nor admonish them, but only record against each individual all the destruction which the shepherds effect each in his time and lay it all before me.' 66 And I saw till those shepherds pastured in their season, and they began to slay and to destroy more than they were bidden, and they delivered those sheep into the hand of the lions. 67 And the lions and tigers eat and devoured the greater part of those sheep, and the wild boars ate along with them; and they burnt that tower and demolished that house. 68 And I became exceedingly sorrowful over that tower because that house of the sheep was demolished, and afterwards I was unable to see if those sheep entered that house.
Date: 200-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Barnabas 16:5
Epistle of Barnabas
Early Christian
3 Furthermore, He says again: ‘Look, those who tore down this temple will themselves build it.’ 4 So it happens; for since they went to war, it was torn down by their enemies. And now even the servants of their enemies will rebuild it. 5 Again, it was revealed how the city and the temple and the people of Israel would be handed over. For Scripture says: ‘And it will come to pass in the last days that the Lord will hand over the sheep of His pasture, and the fold, and their tower, to destruction.’ And it happened as the Lord said. 6 But let us ask whether there is any temple of God. Yes, there is—the place where He Himself undertakes to make and complete it. For it is written: ‘And it will come to pass, when the week is being completed, the temple of God will be built gloriously in the name of the Lord.’
Date: 80-120 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... James VanderKam notes the widespread use of 1 Enoch in early Christianity and makes the point that it is highly unlikely that the early Christians, who were significantly influenced by Jewish canonical views, would have such high regard for a book that had no standing within the Jewish community. For example, besides the reference to 1 Enoch in the Epistle of Barnabas (16:5) noted above, acceptance of 1 Enoch in early Christianity is among such notables as Athenagoras, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Bardaisan, the author of the Pseudo-Clementine literature, Julius Africanus, Origen, Commodian, Zosimus, Cyprian, as well as some earlier Gnostic literature. The book is also found in the Chester Beatty papyri (ca. 200 CE) along with Sirach, and it is not distinguished from other biblical books. Augustine is apparently the first notable church leader who rejected 1 Enoch as a canonical book. However, that book was translated into Ethiopic (Ge'ez) between the fourth and fifth centuries and continues as a canonical text (as does Jubilees) in the Abyssinian Church today ..."
McDonald, Lee Martin
Forgotten Scriptures: The Selection and Rejection of Early Religious Writings
(p. 136) Westminster John Knox Press, 2009
* 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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