Under the header of “Some Hermeneutical and Theological Observations,” Nickelsburg and VanderKam wrote the following about tensions one finds in the eschatology of 1 Enoch, something that could also be transposed to other “tensions” one finds within the Bible and other Standard Works of the Church:
For
biblical scholars in the Western tradition, one of the annoying characteristics
of Second Temple Jewish writings has been the perceived internal
"logical" tensions that exist in these texts. For example, an
apocalypse may contain conflicting eschatologies. In the Parables, the dwellings
and resting places of the holy and the righteous dead are in heaven with
the righteous angels and the holy ones (39:4-5). Nonetheless, at the time of
the final judgment all humanity will be raised from Sheol (51:1; 61:5) .
. . Traditionally, the answer to the perceived problem of such inconsistencies
was the posting of multiple sources. While this may indeed explain some
perceived inconsistencies, it is now widely recognized that the authors of
these ancient texts did not work with the canons of logic and consistency that
modern scholarship often considers necessary to good writing. As Krister
Stendahl noted in an early response to the quest for theological consistency,
"Over against the stringent logic stands Jewish thinking in images, where
contradictory facts and conceptions can be put together in a kind of
significant mosaic ("The Called and Chosen," in Anton Fridrichsen,
ed., The Root of the Vine: Essays in Biblical Theology [New York:
Philosophical Press, Westminster: Dacre Press, 1953], 67). Thus, while the
evident tension between 1 Enoch 39:4-5 and 51:5; 61:5 may indicate the author's
use of tradition—possibly in a process of oral composition—the positing of a source
should not obscure the fact that the author of the Parables was in control of
his text. To mix our metaphors, in creating his eschatological landscape, he
could dip his brush into a variety of colors available on his palette without a
concern that they might class with one another. Perhaps in the author's mind,
these notions complemented one another in a single scenario (the souls that
rest in heaven will be joined with bodies restored from the place of their
demise). Just as likely, the author was simply not concerned with
"logical" consistence as he employed a pair of notions in order to
emphasize different aspects of a common topic, namely, God's justice for the
suffering righteous and for all of humanity . . .(George W. E. Nickelsburg and
James C. VanderKam, 1 Enoch 2 [Hermeneia—A Critical and Historical
Commentary on the Bible; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012], 6-7)
For those curious, here are the
texts from 1 Enoch:
1 Enoch 39:4-5
There
I saw other dwelling places of the holy ones and their resting places too.
So
there my eyes saw their dwelling places with the holy angels,
1 Enoch 51:5
And
the earth shall rejoice; and the righteous ones shall dwell upon her and the
elect ones shall walk upon her
1 Enoch 61:5
And
these measurements shall reveal all the secrets of the depths of the earth,
those who have been destroyed in the desert, those who have been devoured by
the wild beasts, and those who have been eaten by the fish of the sea. So that
they all return and find hope in the day of the Elect One. For there is no one
who perishes before the Lord of the Spirits, and no one who should perish.
