1 Clement 19-20
As
part of his moral instruction, Clement of Rome (ca. 100 C.E.) cites the example
of the obedience of the inanimate creation. The passage closely parallels 1
Enoch 2-5 and 101 and seems to reflect knowledge of either 1 Enoch or a Jewish
instructional tradition on which 1 Enoch also drew . . . (George W. E.
Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1 [Hermeneia—A Critical and Historical Commentary
on the Bible; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001], 87)
The Epistle of Barnabas
Writing
ca. 135-138 C.E., probably in Egypt, the author of the Epistle of Barnabas paraphrases
1 Enoch 89:56, 60, 66-67 with reference to the destruction of the temple,
introducing his source with the formula, “For Scripture says” (λεγει γαρ η γραφη,
16:5). To support the notion of a new temple, he quotes loosely 1 Enoch 91:13,
again introducing it as Scripture (“For it is written,” γεγραπται γαρ, 16:6).
In Barn. 4:3 the author quotes a text of uncertain origin, which
describes the tribulations of the end time, introducing it with the words, “concerning
which it is written, as Enoch says.” Although the quotation may be spurious,
the attribution to Enoch, alongside the genuine Enochic quotations, indicates
that the author’s community ascribed scriptural authority to the writings of
Enoch the prophet. (Ibid., 87)
Justin
Martyr
In
his Second Apology (5:2), written in Rome between 148 and 161 C.E. Justin
ascribes the origins of sins to the watchers, referring to the angels’
assignment to look after humans and earthly things (ο θεος
. . . την μεν των ανθρωπων και των υπο τον ουρανον προνοιαν αγγελοις . . . παρεδωκεν) (cf. Jub. 4:15 . . . ). His knowledge
of the story in 1 Enoch is evident in the details of is account. The angels had
intercourse with women, this violating their order (ταξις; cf. 1 Enoch 15:3-7), and they begat demons
(1 Enoch 15:9-16:1). Moreover, they (the demons) revealed magic to humans (cf.
1 Enoch 7:1) and became the cause of all manner of sin (cf. 10:8). This focus
on the havoc wreaked by the demonic progeny of the angels is consonant both
with 1 Enoch 15:9-16:1 and the extension of the notion in Jubilees 10 .
. . Justin recognizes the parallel between the story of the watchers and Greek
myths about the amours of the gods . . . Asserting the authority of the Jewish
story, however, he claims that the Greek poetics and mythmakers ascribed to the
gods the deeds of the wicked angels. (Ibid., 87-88)
Irenaeus
Irenaeus,
a native of Asia Minor, probably Smyrna, who became bishop of Lyons (ca. 180
C.E.), makes several references to the sin of the angels (Adv. haer. 1.10.1,
3; 1.15.6; 4.16.2; 4.36.4; 4.37.1, 6; Dem. 18). Although these
references indicate knowledge of the tradition about the angels’ intercourse
with women (4.36.4), different from Justin and Athenagoras, Irenaeus never attributes
to them the begetting of children who would become a demonic horde that foster
sin in the world. He cites the tradition, rather, to prove that sin, a function
of free will, meets with divine judgment. Irenaeus’s knowledge of the Enochic source
of the tradition about the angels is indicated in Adv. haer. 4.16.2;
although he was a man, Enoch was sent as God’s legate to announce judgment to
the angels (1 Enoch 12:4-5; 13:4-7; 15:2). In addition, his reference to Enoch’s
role as witness at the judgment indicates knowledge of other traditions
attested in Jubilees and the Testament of Abraham . . . His reference
to Azazel in connection with astrological prognostication and the magical arts
(1.15.6), while it does not correspond exactly with 1 Enoch 8:1, is close
enough to indicate that the elder whom he cites had at least secondhand
knowledge of the tradition. A final, clear reference to the Enochic tradition appears
in the Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching 18, where he refers not
only to “illicit unions” but also to many details in the lists of teaching in 1
Enoch 8:1-3 and 9:8: roots, herbs, dyeing, cosmetics, sorcery, and hate producing
potions. (Ibid., 88)
Clement
of Alexandria
Clement’s
Eclogae propheticae (ca. 200 C.E.) is a collection of excerpts from
gnostic writings with brief commentary in which it is not always possible to
separate the excerpts from Clement’s commentary. Chapters 1-2 quote and
comments on the Song of The Three Young Men in Daniel 3 (LXX). In chap. 2, Dan 3:54
and its reference to God looking upon the abyss is likened to a statement by
Enoch, “And I saw all matter” (και ειδον τας υλας πασσας,
GCS Clement 3). The quotation is usually seen as a rough paraphrase of 1
Enoch 19:3. The preserved Greek of 1 Enoch (τα περατα παντων) and its Ethiopic translation seem to refer
to Enoch’s seeing the ends of the earth . . . But the Greek in Clement may be
an attempt to take the concluding statement of chaps. 17-19 as a summary of
the contents of the whole section, in which Enoch has seen the whole of the
created world. The same quotation appears in Origen . . . The name of Enoch appears
again in Eclogae propheticae 53. Chapters 51-63 comment on Psalm 19.
With respect to the demons’ knowledge of Christ, chap. 53 states, “Already
Enoch says that the transgressing angels taught humans astronomy and
prognostication and the other arts” (ηδη δε και ‘Ενωχ φησιν τους παραβαντας αγγελους διδαξαι τους ανθρωπους αστρονομιαν και μαντικην και τας αλλας τεχνας, GCS Clement 3). Thus the text
summarizes 1 Enoch 8, identifying it as an Enochic composition and in some
indefinite way connecting demonic knowledge with angelic revelations. The motif
of angelic instruction appears also in Stromata 5.1.10.2. After mentioning
the Greeks’ “theft” of ideas from Moses and the prophets, Clement states that
certain angels of high rank, “having sunk into pleasures, uttered unspeakable
things to the women, which had come to their knowledge” (κατολισθησαντες εις ηδονας εξειπον τα απορρητα ταις γηναιξιν οσα γε εις γνωσιν αυτων αφικτο,
GCS Clement 2). The passage appears to paraphrase 1 Enoch 16:2 . .
.(Ibid., 90)
