Re: Enoch

John W Burgeson wrote:
>
> A question to my theologically-literate friends.
>
> We all know the story of Enoch. The writer of Hebrews suggests that he
> never died, but "God took him."
>
> My understanding from a pastor I very much respect is that this idea was
> a new one in the early A.D. and that it had never occurred to any of the
> Jewish writers before that. As far as they were concerned, Enoch just
> died at an earlier age than his contemporaries.
>
> I challenged my friend but he was pretty sure nobody had thought about
> that possibility prior to the writer of Hebrews. Absence of evidence is
> not conclusive, of course, but in this case it might be persuasive.
>
> Anyone know?

        1st it should be noted that in the Sethite geneaology of Gen.5, the statements
about all the patriarchs from Adam through Lamech conclude by saying ""and he died" -
except for Enoch. v.24b says "then he was no more, for God took him." So some
distinction is made.

        Enoch is mentioned twice in Sirach, 44:16 & 49:14. In both cases he is simply
said to have been "taken up." Wisdom 4:10 (& ff), though it doesn't actually name
"Enoch," is clearly talking about him & is perhaps more interesting. It says of him
/zon metaxu hamartolon metetethe/ which is literally "living among sinners was
translated." That is ambiguous: Does it mean "while living among sinners he died
and was then translated" or "while still living (among sinners) he was translated."
NEB, e.g., opts for the latter possibility (in line with Hebrews) with "God ... took him
while still living from among sinful men."

        It is perhaps of interest that there is the same ambiguity - probably
deliberate - in the 1954 Roman statement on the Assumption of Mary: "the Immaculate
Mother of God, ever-Virgin Mary, on the completion of her earthly life, has been taken
up, in body and soul, to the glory of heaven."

                                                        Shalom,
                                                        George

George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
Received on Fri Mar 26 22:24:02 2004