Commenting on the enthronement of Enoch in 2 Enoch, Finnish New
Testament scholar Timo Eskola wrote:
In 2 Enoch we can
also find the enthronement theme, and here we also have a rather rare
description of an angelic enthronement. In chapter 24 the Lord tells Enoch, “Enoch,
sit to the left of me with Gabriel” (J 24:1). In the A-text this is specified –
“closer than Gabriel.” Gabriel appears to be seated in an honorary place beside
God, even though he must make room for Enoch. On the other hand, the fact that
Gabriel is required to move may indicate that his seating is temporary.
Therefore the angel may in fact be merely escorting Enoch to the throne. His
position is not permanent and therefore this passage reveals much about the
relation of the angels to heavenly thrones.
Because of the
problems involved in the dating of the work it is not possible to decide in
what context such an angelology belongs. It may be a rather late feature, and
in this case its “uniqueness” is no argument for an early date. Therefore the
evidence of 2 Enoch is not sufficient to reach strong conclusions as regards
the interpretation of the angels.
In chapter 22
there is, however, a reference to some
kind of transformation. Here, too, we find a description of a heavenly
consecration. Enoch is anointed and clothed in glorious garments. After this he
declares, “And I looked at myself, and I had become like one of his glorious
ones, and there was no observable difference” (J 22:10). It is not clear,
however, whether an actual ontological transformation is meant here. (Timo
Eskola, Messiah and the Throne: Jewish
Merkabah Mysticism and Early Christian Exaltation Discourse [Studies in
Jewish and Christian Literature; Dallas: Fontes Press, 2019], 104, emphasis
added)
A note for the above reads thusly:
Himmelfarb thinks,
however, that there is a transformation
and that this is linked to the act of clothing. “The combination of
clothing and anointing suggests that the process by which Enoch becomes an
angel is a heavenly version of priestly investiture.” M. Himmelfarb, Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian
Apocalypses (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 40. (Ibid., 104 n.
123, emphasis added)
What is significant is that this supports the thesis that clothing
imagery is not supportive of
imputation but is an outward sign of an inward
reality (and change [transformation]), something I have written about,
including:
Martha Himmelfarb on Clothing Imagery and Transformation in 2 and 3 Enoch
Clothing Imagery, Psalm 109:29, and Romans 5:19: Further Proof that the Reformed Understanding of Imputation is Unbiblical
See also:
Response to a Recent Attempt to Defend Imputed Righteousness
Clothing Imagery, Psalm 109:29, and Romans 5:19: Further Proof that the Reformed Understanding of Imputation is Unbiblical
See also:
Response to a Recent Attempt to Defend Imputed Righteousness
