SECRETS OF CREATION

TNDL: SECRETS OF CREATION IN 2 (SLAVONIC) ENOCH

[ published in Henoch 22 (2000) 45-62]
(This paper requires the fonts SP Tiberian, SP Ionic, SP Atlantic and Kirillica Wincyr)
Enoch was found blameless,
and he walked with the Lord
and he was taken away
a sign of t(d for generations
(Cairo Geniza Ms. B Sirah 44:16)
.... the learned savant
who guards the secrets of the great gods.
(Tablet from Nineveh, 19)
I. The Secrets
The notion of "secrets" occupies a distinct place in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch. The importance of this terminology is highlighted by its prominent position in the title of the book. While various manuscripts of 2 Enoch are known under different titles, most of them[1] include the word "secrets."[2] In some of these titles the term is connected with Enoch's books - "The Secret Books of Enoch."[3] In other titles "secrets" are linked either to God ("The Book[s] [called] the Secrets of God, a revelation to Enoch")[4] or to Enoch himself ("The Book of the Secrets of Enoch").[5] This consistency in the use of the term "secrets," in spite of its varied attribution to different subjects, may indicate that the authors and/or the transmitters of the text viewed the motif of "secrets" as a central theme of the apocalypse. The purpose of this article is to call attention to some details of this theme in 2 Enoch.
The Story
Despite the prominent role the word "secrets" seems to play in the titles of the book, it occurs, quite unexpectedly, only three times in the main body of 2 Enoch, twice in chapter 24 and once in chapter 36. It is not, however, coincidental that the term is found in this section of the book. Chapters 24-36 of 2 Enoch can be viewed as the climax of angelic and divine revelations to Enoch during his celestial tour. From these chapters we learn that Enoch, previously described to have been "placed" into the clothes of glory and instructed by the archangel Vereveil, was called by the Lord. The book tells that the Lord decided to reveal to Enoch the secrets of His creation, which he never explained even to his angels. Further the term "secrets" is applied only to this account of God's creation, conveyed to Enoch by the Lord himself, "face to face."[6] The content of these revelations includes the following details:
1. Prior to the Creation the Lord decided to establish the foundation of all created things;
2. He commanded one of the invisible "things" to come out of the very lowest darkness and become visible;
3. By Lord's command a primordial "great aeon," bearing the name Adoil, descended and, disintegrating himself, revealed all creation which the Lord "had thought up to create;"[7]
4. The Lord created a throne for himself. He then ordered to the light to become the foundation for the highest things;
5. The Lord called out the second aeon, bearing the name Arukhas, who became the foundation of the lowest things;
6. From the waters the Lord "hardened big stones," establishing the solid structure above the waters;
7. The Lord fashioned the heavens and the sun;
8. From fire the Lord created the armies of "the bodiless ones;"
9. The Lord created vegetation, fish, reptiles birds and animals;
10. The Lord created man.
While the general structure of the account of creation appears to be similar in the shorter and the longer recension, the latter offers a lengthy account dedicated to Adam's creation and his transgression.
Let it be also noted that the notion of "secrets" sets symbolic boundaries for the story of creation; it begins and closes the account of creation. In chapter 24 the Lord tells Enoch that he wants to instruct him in His secrets. In some manuscripts of the longer recension, chapter 24 even has a specific heading, "About the great secrets of God, which God revealed and related to Enoch; and he spoke with him face to face."[8] In chapter 36, which serves as a conclusion of the Lord's instruction, the Lord promises Enoch the role of the expert in His secrets--"Because a place has been prepared for you, and you will be in front of my face from now and forever. And you will be seeing my secrets[9]...."[10]
Expert in Secrets
The tradition about Enoch as an expert in God's secrets does not begin in 2 Enoch. Already in the earliest Enochic bookletes of 1 (Ethiopic) Enoch, the knowledge and the revelation of secrets become major functions of the elevated Enoch.[11] Later Enochic traditions also emphasize the role of Enoch as the "Knower of Secrets" (Myzr (dwy). According to 3 Enoch, Enoch-Metatron is able to behold "deep secrets and wonderful mysteries."[12] In this Merkabah text Metatron is also responsible for transmitting the highest secrets to the Princes under him, as well as to humankind. H. Kvanvig observes that "in Jewish tradition Enoch is primarily portrayed as a primeval sage, the ultimate revealer of divine secrets."[13]
Two recent important studies[14] in Enochic traditions trace the origin of the image of Enoch as a primeval sage preoccupied with divine secrets to some heroes of the Mesopotamian lore. According to these studies, one of these possible prototypes can be an intriguing character of the "Sumerian" Kings list--Enmeduranki, king of Sippar. In three copies of the List he occupies the seventh place, which in Genesis' genealogy belongs to Enoch. In other Mesopotamian sources Enmeduranki appears in many roles and situations remarkably similar to Enoch's story. One of these roles is that of the knower and the guardian of the secrets of gods.