Philological and Epistemological Remarks on Enoch’s Science
Philological and Epistemological Remarks on Enoch’s Science
Response to Papers by Seth Sanders and James VanderKam
This chapter comments on papers by Seth L. Sanders and James VanderKam, both of whom identify and problematize our understanding of the Astronomical Book of Enoch as a product of emerging Jewish tradition that drew upon and departed from received traditions found in the Bible, Ancient Near East, and Hellenistic ideas. It considers the degree to which the Astronomical Book relates to ancient “science”, and whether revelation is always understood as essentially passive or whether there was a role for observation. It also examines the question of the practical role of the Astronomical Book in time-keeping and ritual and finally, whether this cosmic order was interpreted as eternal or itself a temporary part of a larger historical structure.
Keywords: ancient science, Astronomical Book, Enoch, Jewish tradition, time-keeping, ritual, cosmic order
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