1 Enoch (Ethiopic Text)

in the course of tradition, and may, therefore, go back to a date, when the Book of Enoch was not generally rejected original: "reprobated", and when a Latin translation would have been acceptable. (3) It does not show signs of being an excerpt from a collection of excerpts, such as we find in the Greek fragment of Enoch, chapters 89:42-49; but standing as it does without any introductory note or explanation, it looks as if it had been drawn directly from at least a larger Latin fragment of Enoch.

It is possible that the absurd statement with which the fragment opens—‘[When Lamech was three hundred and fifty years old] a son was born to him’—originally referred to Methuselah, who was 355 years old when Noah was born according to the Septuagint The Septuagint (LXX) is the earliest Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. Chronology. The Ethiopic version referred to as 'E' speaks here of Methuselah taking a wife for his son Lamech and of a son being born to him.

Latin Quotations. These have been collected most fully by Dr. Lawlor in his article in the Journal of Classical Philology, volume 25, pages 164-225. They will be dealt with at some length in my new edition of the Book of Enoch.

§ 6. THE ETHIOPIC VERSION AND MANUSCRIPTS.

The Ethiopic Version has been preserved in twenty-nine manuscripts abbreviated as MSS. of which fifteen are to be found in England, eight in France, four in Germany, one in Italy, and one in America. Of these manuscripts there are only three of which my knowledge is indirect and slight, but not yet too slight to enable me to estimate their value and their relationships original: "affinities" with the other manuscripts. These manuscripts are p and z, z₁. Of these z indeed was most kindly lent to the Bodleian Library for my use, but unhappily I was absent part of the time of its stay there, and whilst I was present the officials of the Bodleian did not notify me of its arrival. z₁ is of no account as it is merely an exact transcript of b. Next as regards p, this manuscript formerly belonged to Lord Crawford and was lent by him to the editor of the German edition of the Ethiopic text of Enoch which appeared in 1901, but since that date this manuscript has passed into the hands of a lady, who refuses to lend it or any other manuscript in her possession to the Bodleian Library for the use of English editors. Of the remaining manuscripts I have directly examined twenty-two, that is: g, g₁ m q t u, a b f h i k l n o, and s u v w y a₁ b₁. Of these I photographed thirteen, that is: g, g₁ m q t u, f h i k l n o. Five others, that is: a b y a₁ b₁, I had no need to photograph, as