The Greek Translation of Enoch’s Journeys to the Ends of the Earth and the Redaction of the Book of the Watchers
Abstract
This study argues for a new understanding of the process of redaction that produced the Book of the Watchers (1 En. 1–36). The argument is based on an analysis of the Greek version of the two journeys to the ends of the earth (1 En. 17–19; 1 En. 20–36). The analysis demonstrates significant differences between the Greek vocabulary for seeing and going in the two journeys, vocabulary of particular importance because the verbs in question structure the narratives of the journeys. The differences indicate that the journeys were put into Greek by different translators. The translations must thus have been made while the journeys were still independent works, before they became part of the Book of the Watchers. If so, the final stages of the redaction of the Book of the Watchers must have taken place in Greek.
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References 4
- Authors
- Himmelfarb, M.
- Affiliations
- Princeton University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Himmelfarb, Martha
- ORCID
- Himmelfarb, Martha
- Venue
- Dead Sea Discoveries
- Publisher
- Walter de Gruyter GmbH
- Published
- 2025-08-29
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 186-232
- ISSN
- 0929-0761 (ISSN-L)
- 1568-5179
- OpenAlex
- W4413853872
- Cited by
- 0
- References
- 4
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Dead Sea Discoveries (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Biblical Studies and Interpretation
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Historical and Linguistic Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Translation Studies and Practices
- Keywords
- Book of the Watchers, 1 Enoch, Greek translation, editorial history, Enochic literature, narrative structure, pseudepigrapha
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