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MRS. WALTER MAUNDER, ON ASTRONOMICAL 



Dr. Charles writes of it* : — 



" This must he set down as earlier than a.d. 70. For (1) the 

 Temple is still standing — see lix, 2.f (2) Our text was probably 

 known to some of the writers of the New Testament.^ (3) It was 

 known and used by the writers of the Epistle of Barnabas', and of 

 the latter half of the Ascension of Isaiah. \Ve may, therefore, 

 with reasonable certainty assign the composition of our text to the 

 period a.d. 1-50." 



But assuming with Dr. Charles that Slav. Enoch was composed 

 in the first half of the first century of our era, we are brought 

 up against this amazing proposition. Here is a Greek manu- 

 script of such great import that it served as the basis of our 

 Lord's great discourse, that it coloured His spiritual outlook 

 and that of His disciples, that it inspired many writers in the 

 first five centuries, that it remained as an actual document 

 throughout nearly a thousand years, that it was then translated 

 into the newly written Slavonic language, yet of all the many 

 Greek transcriptions that must have been made of this original 

 Greek work of such transcendent importance, not one single 

 vestige remains — we are indebted for our knowledge of its very 

 existence to a single translation into Slavonic, or rather to a 

 few copies of that single translation. 



In view of the difficulties inherent in this proposition, it is 

 worth while to examine whether the astronomy in the book 

 bears out its early date, for they were astronomical " secrets " 

 that formed " the Secret Books of God which were shown to 

 Enoch." 



The first twenty-two chapters of Slav. Enoch give a detailed 

 description of his journey through the " seven heavens." Tn 

 the first heaven are the elders and rulers of the stars; the 

 second heaven is its counterpart hell, for here are confined the 

 angels who fell " awaiting the eternal judgment." With the 



* §7 of the Introduction. 



t This is argued from the passage in chap, lix, 2 : " For a man offers 

 clean animals and makes his sacrifice that he may preserve his soul. 

 And if he otter as a sacrifice from clean beasts and birds, he preserves his 

 soul.' - ' It is assumed that no Jew would refer to sacrifice unless such was 

 actually being offered in the Temple at Jerusalem. But see Taanith, 

 fol. 27, col. 2, on this very matter. 



I This is because of the " striking parallelisms in diction and thought." 

 The particular instance adduced is the supposed adoption by our Lord, 

 in His Sermon on the Mount, of the beatitude : " Blessed are the peace- 

 makers " as from the passage in Slav. Enoch, " Blessed is he who 

 establishes peace " ! 



