The Apocalyptic Technique: Setting and Function in the Book of Watchers

Author(s): JOHN J. COLLINS

Source: The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. 44, No. 1 (January, 1982), pp. 91-111
Published by: Catholic Biblical Association
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 The Apocalyptic Technique:
Setting and Function
in the Book of Watchers

JOHN J. COLLINS
DePaul University
Chicago, IL 60614

The quest for the Sitz im Leben of various forms and genres has been a
vital part of form-critical research since the pioneering work of Gunkel.1
Klaus Koch stood squarely within this tradition when he wrote:

If there was really a community of ideas and spirit between the different books
which we now call apocalypses, these books must go back to a common
sociological starting point; they must have a comparable Sitz-im- Leben.2

Koch went on to note that the majority of scholars hold this assumption, but
that, when they attempt to specify the Sitz im Leben , "the secondary litera-
ture shows an unsurpassed jumble of opinions."3 He concluded that apoca-
lypse is a Gattung whose Sitz im Leben we do not yet know.4

1 K. Koch, The Growth of the Biblical Tradition (New York: Scribners, 1969) 26-38;
W. Klatt, Hermann Gunkel (FRLANT 100; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1969) 1 04-
16, 144-48); R. Knierim, "Old Testament Form Criticism Reconsidered," Int 27 (1973) 435-36;
D. A. Knight, "The Understanding of 'Sitz im Leben' in Form Criticism," SBLASP (1974)
105-6. Gunkel was not the first to relate Sitz im Leben and genre analysis; see M. Buss, "The
Study of Forms," Old Testament Form Criticism (ed. J. H. Hayes; San Antonio: Trinity Uni-
versity, 1974) 1-56.
2 The Rediscovery of Apocalyptic (SBT 2/22; Naperville: Allenson, 1972) 21.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid., 28.

91

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 92 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 44, 1982

A Typology of Settings
The problem of the relation between genres and their settings is not
peculiar to apocalypses. There has been extensive questioning of the form-
critical understanding of Sitz im Leben in recent years. In an important
essay in 1973 Rolf Knierim found that "the conclusion seems unavoidable
that setting in the sense biblical form criticism has understood it, cannot be
regarded indispensably as one of the factors that constitute genres."5 The
reason is not only the obvious practical one that we often do not have the
necessary information to establish the setting of a text. More fundamental is
the realization that settings are of different sorts.6 Some genres may indeed
be generated by an institutional setting, such as form criticism has often
sought, but this is not always the case. Also "the style of an epoch can be
understood as a matrix insofar as it furnishes the codes or raw materials -
the typical categories of communication - employed by a certain society."7
Again, it is possible to speak of, e.g., myth as a "conceptual genre of the
mind"8 or of genres "whose matrix is language itself rather than certain
institutions of the style of an epoch."9 More than one setting may be opera-
tive in shaping a particular text. The generative setting of a genre or text-
type is not necessarily the only, or even the dominant, factor in one of its
concrete exemplars. There are some unique factors in the production of
every individual text. Finally "it is generally known that text-types can be
used in various settings. They are freely available."10 The possibility of the
re-use of a text in a new setting shows that there can be no simple definitive
one-to-one correlation between genre and setting, and so that a literary genre
cannot be defined in terms of its setting. Knierim protests against

the false dilemma in which a great number of form-critical studies are caught.
After a genre has been identified with great effort on morphological grounds,
those studies continue to look for a setting at any cost, postulating, creating,
fabricating one even if - sometimes admittedly - there is no evidence for it."

The setting, and related thereto, the function, remains important, but
Knierim quite rightly calls for a typology of settings which recognizes the
complexity of the issue.12

5 "Old Testament Form Criticism," 441.

6 Ibid., 464.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid., 438.
9 Ibid., 465.
10 Ibid.
1 1 Ibid., 448. It is, of course, possible to classify texts according to their institutional and
social setting, when this information is available. The point is that such a classification will not
necessarily correspond to one based on literary form.

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 APOCALYPTIC TECHNIQUE IN THE BOOK OF WATCHERS 93

In fact, the "jumble of opinions" about which Koch complains is owing

in large part to the lack of such a typology. On one level, there have been
attempts to assign the production of apocalyptic literature to specific parties
or groups - Hasidim, Essenes, Pharisees, etc. - and it is on this level that
scholarly disagreement is most apparent.13 On another level, the issue is the
type of setting , as in P. Vielhauer's thesis that "the home of Apocalyptic is in
those eschatologically excited circles which were forced more and more by
the theocracy into a kind of conventicle existence."14 A still broader issue is
reflected in Vielhauer's further claim that the apocalypses "were frequently
written out of actual distresses and for the strengthening of the community
in them."15 The "actual distresses" are often assumed to consist of persecu-
tion, as in the canonical apocalypses of Daniel and John, but in any case
there is no necessary assertion about the existence of apocalyptic groups on
this level. A further level of the discussion is already suggested by Vielhauer's
comment on the function of apocalypses as one of strengthening the com-
munity. Form critics have usually related the function and intention of a text
to its sociological setting,16 but the relation is not always a necessary one.
Recently Lars Hartman and David Hellholm have focused on the illocution
of a text, or on that which it does in saying what it says.17 Hartman suggests
that consolation and exhortation are typical illocutions of apocalypses. On
this level the setting is less important, as the illocution can be inferred from
the internal signals in the text itself. We should further note that the function
of a text may be more or less specific, even apart from the issue of social
setting. The term "illocution" refers to the rather general level of consola-

12 Ibid., 465.
13 Koch {The Rediscovery , 21) claims that "every one of the groupings of the late Israelite
period for which we have any evidence at all has been suggested as the Sit z-im- Leben of the
apocalyptic writings." On the problems of this enterprise, with special reference to the Hasidim,
see G. W. E. Nickelsburg, "Social Aspects of Palestinian Jewish Apocalypses," Apocalypticism
in the Mediterranean World and the Near East (Proceedings of the International Colloquium
on Apocalypticism, Uppsala, August 1979; ed. D. Hellholm; Tübingen: Mohr [Siebeck],
forthcoming).
14 "Apocalypses and Related Subjects," New Testament Apocrypha (ed. E. Hennecke
and W. Schneemelcher; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1965), 2. 598.
15 Ibid. Vielhauer assumes the conventicle-setting here. Compare J. A. Brashler, The
Coptic Apocalypse of Peter: A Genre Analysis and Interpretation (Claremont, CA: Disserta-
tion, Claremont Graduate School, 1977) 95: Apocalypses "will encourage the recipients in the
face of opposition."
16 E.g., G. M. Tucker, Form Criticism of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress,
1971) 16-17.
17 L. Hartman, "Survey of the Problem of Apocalyptic Genre," in Apocalypticism (n. 13
above); D. Hellholm, Das Visionenbuch des Hermas als Apokalypse (ConB 13/1; Lund:
Gleerup, 1980), 1. 52-58. The term is taken from J. L. Austin, How to do Things with Words
(2d ed.; Cambridge: Harvard, 1975) 98-108.

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 94 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 44, 1982

tion, exhortation, etc.18 Yet exhortations to pacifism are distinctly different

from exhortations to violence, and either may be the typical message of a
group of texts.
It appears then that Koch's 1972 formulation of the issue was inade-
quate.19 Community of ideas and spirit do not necessarily require a common
Sitz im Leben. Rather than assuming that there is a common setting and
function, and then projecting the better known examples such as Daniel and
Revelation onto the genre as a whole, we need to examine the individual
texts bearing in mind the differentiation of levels demanded by Knierim.
With this in mind, I propose to take the Book of Watchers, 1 Enoch 1-36, as
my test case, since it is now acknowledged as one of the earliest Jewish
apocalypses,20 and since, in contrast to the better-known Daniel, it repre-
sents the type of apocalypse characterized by an other-worldly journey.21

The Book of Watchers

The Book of Watchers has received extensive attention in recent years.22

Much of the discussion has focused on smaller units within 1 Enoch 1-36:
6-1 1,23 6- 16, 24 or 6- 19, 25 or even on earlier stages of the tradition, such as an

18 Austin (Ibid., 98-99) gives as examples: Asking or answering a question, giving some
information or assurance or a warning, announcing a verdict or an intention, etc. He adds "I am
not suggesting that this is a clearly defined class by any means."
19 Koch's methodology has developed in the meantime. See his "Esras erste Vision: Welt-
zeiten und Weg des Höchsten," BZ 22 (1978) 46-75.
20 The oldest Aramaic fragment of the Book of Watchers, 4QEna, is dated by J. T. Milik
to the first half of the second century b.c., allowing for "a fairly wide margin of error" ( The
Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumrân Cave 4 [Oxford: Clarendon, 1976] 5-7). A
definite terminus ante quern of 164 b.c. is accepted by Milik (p. 24) because of the influence of
the Book of Watchers on the Book of Dreams. If we assume that some time elapsed between the
composition and the earliest extant manuscript, a date in the third century is quite possible. The
underlying sources can be said to date from the third century at the latest, but it is difficult to
know the form in which they were extant.
21 J. J. Collins, "The Jewish Apocalypses," in Apocalypse: The Morphology of a Genre
(Semeia 14 [1979] 22-23).
22 E.g., M. E. Stone, Scriptures, Sects and Visions (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980) 30-32;
"The Book of Enoch and Judaism in the Third Century B.C.E.," CBQ 40 (1978) 479-92;
P. Sacchi, "Il 'Libro dei Vigilanti' e l'apocalittica," Henoch 1 (1979) 42-98.
23 P. D. Hanson, "Rebellion in Heaven, Azazel and Euhemeristic Heroes in 1 Enoch 6-1 1,"
JBL 96 (1977) 195-233; D. Dimant, "1 Enoch 6-11: A Methodological Perspective," SBLASP
(1978), 1.323-39; G. W. E. Nickelsburg, "Apocalyptic and Myth in 1 Enoch 6-1 1," 96
(1977) 383-405.
24 D. W. Suter, "Fallen Angel, Fallen Priest: The Problem of Family Purity in 1 Enoch
6-16," H VC A 50(1979) 115-35.
25 C. A. Newsom, "The Development of 1 Enoch 6-19: Cosmology and Judgment,"
CBQ 42 (1980) 310-29.

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 APOCALYPTIC TECHNIQUE IN THE BOOK OF WATCHERS 95

independent Semihazah story.26 There can be no doubt that the book in its
present form is composite, although I am less confident than others that we
can separate the strands exactly or profitably discuss the date and proven-
ance of the components.27 It is also clear that various sources have been
woven together into a unified whole. The earliest fragments (4QEna) already
extend from 1:1-6 to 12:4-6, i.e., the apparently distinct unit of 6-11 was
already integrated into a larger whole. The full book of chaps. 1-36 is frag-
mentarily represented in manuscripts from the first century A.D., but seems
to be presupposed already in the book of Jubilees in the mid second century
b.c.28 J. T. Milik maintains that the Qumran manuscripts "allow us to estab-
lish that from the first half of the second century b.c. onwards the Book of
Watchers had essentially the same form as that in which it is known through
the Greek and Ethiopie versions."29 Our purpose here is to examine the
coherence and function of this final form of the Book of Watchers.30
The book may be readily divided into three main sections: 1-5, 6-16,
and 17-36.

The Introduction

Chapters 1-5 constitute an introduction.31 It consists of the initial

characterization of Enoch's revelation and the prophecy of a theophany in
chap. I,32 and direct exhortations in chaps. 2-5. While this material stands

26 E.g., G. W. E. Nickelsburg, "Apocalyptic and Myth," 386-97; P. D. Hanson, "Rebel-

lion in Heaven," 197-220.
27 See my remarks in "Methodological Issues in the Study of 1 Enoch: Reflections on the
Articles of P. D. Hanson and G. W. Nickelsburg," SBLASP{'91%)% 1. 315-22.
28 J. C. VanderKam, "Enoch Traditions in Jubilees and other Second-Century Sources,"
SBLASP (1978), 1. 235. E.g., Jub. 4:21 refers to Enoch's stay with the angels (/ Enoch 17-36);
Jub. 4:22 refers to the story of the Watchers in 1 Enoch 6-16. On the story of the Watchers in
Jubilees , see ibid., 242-45. On the date of Jubilees , see J. C. VanderKam, Textual and Historical
Studies in the Book of Jubilees (HSM 14; Missoula: Scholars Press, 1977).
29 The Books of Enoch , 25.
30 I cannot follow M. Barker ("Some Reflections upon the Enoch Myth," JSOT 1 5 [1980]
7-29) in her attempt to read all of / Enoch (except the Similitudes) as an expansion of the theme
of the fallen angels. The concentration on a single theme, however important, obscures too
many other significant factors in the make-up of this literature. Further, the distinction of
separate books in 1 Enoch , each with its own integrity despite the dependence on common
traditions, has been well established since the work of R. H. Charles and cannot be denied or
disregarded without refutation of the arguments on which it is based.
31 For detailed discussion, see L. Hartman, Asking for a Meaning: A Study of I Enoch
1-5 (ConB 12; Lund: Gleerup, 1979).
32 On the theophany, see J. C. VanderKam, "The Theophany of Enoch I 3b-7,9," VT 23
(1973) 129-50.

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 96 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 44, 1982

apart from the narrative which begins in chap. 6, its importance should not
be underestimated.
First, the book as a whole is characterized as "the words of the blessing
of Enoch, according to which he blessed the chosen and righteous who must
be present on the day of distress (which is appointed) for the removal of all
the wicked and impious."33 In its final redaction, at least, the book has an
eschatological focus. While parts of the book may have been originally
independent (such as the Šemihazah story), they are now incorporated into
Enoch's revelation of the destiny of the righteous and the wicked. The revela-
tion is "a holy vision in the heavens which the angels showed to me," pre-
sumably what he sees after his ascent in chap. 14. The story of the Watchers
is not considered by itself but is incorporated into the larger whole which
culminates in the revelation announced in chap. 1.
Second, in chaps. 2-5, a contrast is drawn between the order of nature
and the disorderly conduct of the wicked who "have not persevered, nor
observed the law of the Lord." The "law of the Lord" here is not simply the
law of Moses, which is as yet unknown in the (fictive) time of Enoch. From
the context, it is the law of nature.34 Again there are eschatological implica-
tions. The sinners will not have peace, but will be cursed. The chosen will
"inherit the earth." The details of punishments and rewards are left vague,
but must ultimately be envisaged in the light of the full revelation of the
book. We are told that wisdom will be given to them so that they will not
again do wrong, either through forgetfulness or pride. The association of
wisdom with cosmic order is a commonplace in ancient Near Eastern wis-
dom.35 In view of the revelation which follows, it is significant that wisdom
plays a crucial part in the destiny of the righteous. Presumably the lack of
wisdom is equally significant for the wicked.

The Story of the Watchers

The narrative of the Watchers runs from chaps. 6 to 16, but chaps. 12 to
16 have rightly been recognized as transitional chapters.36 They introduce
Enoch and provide the point of departure for his revelatory journey. As
transitional chapters, they provide a key to the way in which the parts of the

33 Quotations of 1 Enoch are taken from M. A. Knibb, The Ethiopie Book of Enoch
(2 vols.; Oxford: Clarendon, 1978).
34 So also M. Barker, "Some Reflections upon the Enoch Myth," 9.
35 See H. H. Schmid, Gerechtigkeit als Weltordnung (BHT 40; Tübingen: Mohr, 1968);
Wesen und Geschichte der Weisheit (BZAW 101; Berlin: Töpelmann, 1966) 144-68; G. von
Rad, Wisdom in Israel (Nashville: Abingdon, 1972) 144-76; H. Gese, Lehre und Wirklichkeit in
der alten Weisheit (Tübingen: Mohr, 1958) 33-44.
36 C. A. Newsom, "The Development of 1 Enoch 6-19," 315, 322.

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 APOCALYPTIC TECHNIQUE IN THE BOOK OF WATCHERS 97

book are connected. Enoch is introduced specifically in response to the crisis

caused by the Watchers, and he acts as an intermediary between them and
heaven. As the text now stands, all Enoch's heavenly revelation is narrated
to the Watchers - not only the unrelenting judgment of God on the Watchers
themselves, but also the travels in chaps. 17-36. At this point we must distin-
guish between the various levels of communication in the text. On one level,
we may ask how the revelation functions within the text as an act of com-
munication between Enoch and the Watchers; on another level, we may
examine how the entire story of the Watchers plus the revelation functions as
a communication between author and reader, and constitutes the message of
the book as a whole.
The story of the Watchers is itself complicated by the interweaving of
distinct traditions. We may agree with G. W. E. Nickelsburg and others in
distinguishing a Šemihazah tradition where the primary sin is marriage with
humans and the procreation of giants, and an c Asarei tradition where the
primary sin is improper revelation.37 The fact that these distinct traditions
are allowed to stand in a certain degree of tension is already significant for
our understanding of the function of the book. It is readily obvious that both
stories have allegorical potential. Yet, unlike some other apocalyptic alle-
gories, such as Daniel, the story of the Watchers does not have a clearly
identifiable referent. The situation is confused to a considerable degree by
the tension between the c Asarei and Šemihazah material, but even the separ-
ate traditions are quite evasive. Nickelsburg emphasizes the violence which
pollutes the earth and ingeniously detects a reflection of the wars of the
Diadochoi in the Šemihazah material.38 The suggestion is attractive in view
of the pretensions to divinity on the part of the Hellenistic princes and their
irruption into the Near East as aliens from outside. The instruction motif in
the c Asarei tradition could also be easily applied to Hellenistic culture. By
contrast, D. W. Suter emphasizes the sexual sin in the Šemihazah material
and adduces passages from the Testament of Levi and the Damascus Docu-
ment in support of an application to the Jerusalem priesthood.39 These
proposals need not be seen as mutually exclusive. At least the citations from
T. Levi 14: 1-8 and 4QTLevia show that this myth could indeed be applied to
the Jerusalem priesthood in the second century b.c., whether it was origi-
nally composed for that purpose or not.40 Even if Nickelsburg is right that

37 G. W. E. Nickelsburg, "Apocalyptic and Myth," 385. So also P. D. Hanson, "Rebel-

lion in Heaven," 197; C. A. Newsom, "The Development of 1 Enoch 6-19," 313.
38 G. W. E. Nickelsburg, "Apocalyptic and Myth," 391.
39 "Fallen Angel, Fallen Priest," 124-31.
40 4QTLevia 8 iii 6-7 is cited by J. T. Milik ( The Books of Enoch , 23-24) as the earliest
allusion to the Book of Watchers. The context of the fragment is T. Levi 14. It refers to an

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 98 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 44, 1982

the Watchers originally referred to Hellenistic princes,41 we cannot confine

the application of the myth to the periods of outright warfare. It could apply
to the general conditions of Hellenistic rule in the east at any point in the
third century. In any case the myth, as it now stands in combination with the
c Asarei story, must have been re-applied to other situations after the wars of
the Diadochoi. Suter's proposal must also allow for some re-application of
the original c AsaDel material. If the myth of the fallen angels dates to the late
third or early second century b.c.,42 it is clear that its application to the
Jerusalem priesthood would be all the more apt some decades later on the
eve of the Maccabean revolt.

Apocalyptic Polyvalence
What we touch on here is the essential polyvalence of apocalyptic sym-
bolism which enables it to be re-applied in new historical situations. We may
reasonably claim that the myth of the Watchers, both in the separate Šemi-
hazah and c Asarei traditions and in their combined form, reflects some kind
of crisis. The pollution of the earth is a figurative expression in any case, but
the story suggests violence and lawlessness. Even here we should beware of
drawing too firm a conclusion about social reality from symbolic descrip-
tion. 1 Enoch 6-1 1 records perceived crises, whether the perception was gen-
erally shared or peculiar to a small group.43 We have no hard evidence about
the historical specificity of the crises. The author chose not to refer explicitly
to the wars of the Diadochoi or to the Jerusalem priesthood. Instead, the
problem, whatever it was, is transposed to a mythological plane. By telling
the story of the Watchers rather than of the Diadochoi or the priesthood,
1 Enoch 1-36 becomes a paradigmatic model which is not restricted to one
historical situation but can be applied whenever an analogous situation

accusation by Enoch, which is applied to the sons of Levi, and presumably corresponds to his
accusation against the Watchers. The manuscript dates from the second century, but Milik
maintains that its attestation of the Book of Watchers dates from the end of the third century. In
T. Levi 14: 1 (Greek), Levi tells his sons that he has "learnt from the writing of Enoch that in the
end ye will transgress against the Lord" and emphasizes sexual sins and marriage with the
daughters of Gentiles. The reference to the Watchers in CD 2: 16 is not explicitly applied to the
priesthood.
41 Compare the angelic princes in Daniel 10-12 and the seventy shepherds in the Animal
Apocalypse. See G. W. E. Nickelsburg, "Apocalyptic and Myth," 392-93.
42 D. W. Suter, "Fallen Angel, Fallen Priest," 131.
43 Compare G. W. E. Nickelsburg, "Social Aspects of Palestinian Jewish Apocalypti-
cism": "What counts are not the objective facts as a neutral observer would have perceived
them, but the apocalyptisťs perception of his circumstances." Compare also A. Yarbro Collins,
"The Revelation of John as an Apocalyptic Response to a Social Crisis," Currents in Theology
and Mission 8 ( 1 98 1 ) 4- 1 2.

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 APOCALYPTIC TECHNIQUE IN THE BOOK OF WATCHERS 99

arises. The attempt to specify a single Sitz im Leben is thereby frustrated.

We may still speak of a social setting in some of the broader senses suggested
by Knierim, such as the mood of the age, but we cannot restrict the applica-
tion of the text to one specific situation.

The Transposition of Situations

The myth of the Watchers illustrates the problem of trying to find

specific settings for apocalyptic texts. It is true that in some cases we know
with some exactitude when an apocalypse was written. Daniel 7-12 and the
Animal Apocalypse are well-known examples. Even in these cases, however,
the apocalyptic symbolism does not lose its polyvalence.44 Daniel 7 speaks,
for example, of beasts that come up out of the sea. The referents of this
imagery are indicated in the angel's interpretation, but even there the fourth
kingdom is not explicitly named. Consequently, 4 Ezra 12:1 1-13 could claim
that its vision of the Roman empire was the fourth kingdom that had been
revealed to Daniel. Josephus, writing two and a half centuries after Antio-
chus IV Epiphanes could still affirm the reliability of Daniel's prophecies and
add that he even "fixed the time at which they would come to pass." Though
Josephus recognized the allusions to Antiochus IV Epiphanes in Daniel 8, he
also claimed that Daniel wrote about the empire of the Romans.45 Similarly,
the NT Book of Revelation has retained its vitality through the centuries,
being constantly re-applied to different situations.46
In all the Jewish apocalypses the situation of the historical author is to
some degree concealed.47 This is effected in part through pseudonymity,
which imposes the setting of the fictive author on the historical situation. A
typological view of history is thereby implied - witness the frequency with
which the Babylonian crisis of the sixth century provides the filter through
which later crises are viewed. The concealment is augmented through the
frequent use of traditional patterns, often drawn from myths, as in the Book
of Watchers. The emphasis is not on the uniqueness of historical events but

44 On the paradigmatic character of Daniel's imagery, see J. J. Collins, The Apocalyptic

Vision of the Book of Daniel (HSM 16; Missoula: Scholars Press, 1977) 95-1 18.
45 See Josephus, Ant 10. 1 1, 7 §266-81. R. Marcus in his note in LCL edition suggests that
the reference is to Daniel 11-12. See further F. F. Bruce, "Josephus and Daniel," ASTI 4 (1965)
148-62.

46 On the history of interpretation of Revelation, see W. Bousset, Die Offenbarung

Johannis (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1896) 51-141.
47 Compare the remarks of P. Ricoeur in his foreword to A. Lacocque, The Book of
Daniel (Atlanta: Knox, 1979) xviii.

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 100 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 44, 1982

on recurring patterns, which assimilate the particular crisis to some event of

the past, whether historical or mythical.48
The transposition of situations involved in apocalyptic symbolism is in
itself part of the solution for the problem generating the text. By concealing
the historical specificity of the immediate situation beneath the primeval
archetype, the apocalyptic symbolism relieves anxiety. The resolution of the
ancient conflict generated by the Watchers emerges with an inevitability
which guarantees a similar resolution of the conflicts of the Hellenistic age.
The superhuman status of the actors takes the action out of the sphere of
human control and places the immediate situation in a deterministic perspec-
tive, which also serves to relieve anxiety.49 This transposition of situations
has been aptly illuminated by the application of Levi-Strauss's discussion of
the effectiveness of symbols by analogy with psychotherapy.50 The apocalyp-
tic "cure" is effected by re-experiencing and working through the past. We
might also compare Levi-Strauss's theory of the function of myth: The per-
plexing problems of the present are obscured and so overcome by the super-
imposition of the myth.51 Or again we might compare the cathartic function
of tragedy as expounded by Aristotle.52 The fear and anxiety caused by
violence and lawlessness are not merely avoided. They are aroused on a
grander scale by the story of the Watchers and Giants, but then they are all
the more effectively allayed. Whichever analogy we prefer, the essential point
is that the allegorization of the crisis provides a resolution in the imagination
which detracts from the reality of its threatening power.

48 The use of mythic and historical paradigms to give expression to recurring patterns is
not peculiar to apocalyptic literature but is characteristic of broad areas of the biblical corpus.
See J. J. Collins, "The 'Historical* Character of the Old Testament in Recent Biblical Theol-
ogy," CBQ 41 (1979) 196-99; F. M. Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University, 1973) 91-144; M. Noth, "The Re-Presentation of the Old Testament
in Proclamation," Essays on Old Testament Hermeneutics (ed. C. Westermann; Richmond,
VA: Knox, 1963) 76-88.
49 Compare S. Niditch, "The Visionary" (Ideal Figures in Ancient Judaism: Profiles and
Paradigms [ed. J. J. Collins and G. W. E. Nickelsburg; Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1980]
153-79) on apocalyptic determinism as a relief mechanism.
50 So, independently J.-C. Picard, "Observations sur l'Apocalypse grecque de Baruch,"
Semitica 20 (1970) 87-90; J. G. Gager, Kingdom and Community: The Social World of Early
Christianity (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1975) 54-55 (à propos of Revelation). Com-
pare C. Lévi-Strauss, Structural Anthropology (New York: Basic Books, 1963) 186-205.
51 For a succinct formulation of Levi-Strauss's theory, see E. Leach, "Lévi-Strauss in the
Garden of Eden: An Examination of Some Recent Developments in the Analysis of Myth," in
Claude Lévi-Strauss: The Anthropologist as Hero (ed. E. Nelson Hayes and Tanya Hayes;
Cambridge, MA: M. I. T., 1970) 51.
52 So A. Yarbro Collins, "The Revelation of John as an Apocalyptic Response to a Social
Crisis."

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 APOCALYPTIC TECHNIQUE IN THE BOOK OF WATCHERS 101

The Mission of Enoch

The allegorization of the crisis is not the only way in which the apoca-
lypse provides a therapy. The more obvious and elaborate response is found
in the mission of Enoch and his heavenly journey. Whatever the stages of
composition of the Book of Watchers, the heavenly revelation is now
presented in the context of Enoch's address to the Watchers. Only a brief
part of that address is concerned with the divine response to their petition.
The journeys of Enoch are related to the story of the Watchers insofar
as they present a proper revelation, in contrast to the improper revelation
of the Watchers.
To appreciate the coherence of the heavenly revelation with the story of
the Watchers, we must observe that the two strands of tradition associated
with Šemihazah and cAsa3el are not merely juxtaposed but are carefully
intertwined. So, in chap. 7, after the Watchers have chosen wives, we read,
"And they began to go in to them and were promiscuous with them. And
they taught them charms and spells, and showed to them the cutting of roots
and trees. And they became pregnant and bore large giants. ..." It is true
that the instruction here breaks the sequence between the sexual union and
the pregnancy,53 but we should not too easily assume editorial carelessness.
The sexual sin of the giants is immediately associated with the improper
revelation. Further, chap. 7 concludes with the violence caused by the giants,
which evokes the complaint of the earth. In chap. 8 the violence, and also
fornication, result from the revelations of the Watchers, and again the earth
cries out. The complaint of the angels in chap. 9 puts the sin of c Asarei first,
and says that Šemihazah revealed spells before mentioning the illicit union
with women. Moreover, the fornication appears in chap. 9 as the occasion of
the revelation: the Watchers "lay with these women, and became unclean,
and revealed to them these sins" (9:8). The divine judgment in chap. 10 gives
first and longest attention to Šemihazah's revelation of a mystery. In
chap. 15 the main indictment is directed against the sexual sin of the
Watchers, but the conclusion of chap. 16 returns to the "worthless mystery"
which they made known to the women.54
The cry of the earth is caused by pollution55 - mainly through violence

53 See G. W. E. Nickelsburg, "Apocalyptic and Myth," 385.

54 I Enoch 16:3. The Greek reads "a mystery which was from God." R. H. Charles ( The
Ethiopie Version of the Book of Enoch [Oxford: Clarendon, 1906] 47) suggested that the
Ethiopie presupposed mysterion to exouthenemenon instead of mysterion to ek theou
gegenēmenon.
55 See H. D. Betz, "On the Problem of the Religio-Historical Understanding of Apoca-
lypticism," JTC 6 (1969) 146-54. Betz discusses parallels from the Kore Kosmu and Pseudo-
Clementine Homilies.

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 102 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 44, 1982

but also through fornication. Two accounts of the source of that violence are
interwoven side by side. If recent critics are correct in holding that the
c Asarei/ revelation material was added last, we must consider whether the
redactor wished to offer a re-interpretation of the sexual myth in terms of
inappropriate revelation. In chap. 7, and again in 16:3, the sexual union
becomes the occasion of the revelation. Given the long traditional usage of
fornication as a metaphor for religious infidelity in the Hebrew prophets, it is
even possible to take the story of the descent of the Watchers as a metaphor-
ical expression of illicit revelation. The understanding of the sin of the
Watchers as improper revelation provides the obvious counterpart to the
proper revelation of Enoch in the rest of the book. In view of these consider-
ations, it would seem that the c Asarei tradition was not merely added, but
significantly influenced the final shape of the book.

The Throne-Vision

The heavenly revelation of Enoch occupies more than half the entire
Book of Watchers. The revelation begins with Enoch's ascent to heaven in
14:8. The ensuing throne-vision has recently attracted attention as "the old-
est Merkavah vision we know of from the literature outside of the canonical
Scriptures."56 The vision raises intriguing questions about the development
of Jewish mysticism. The detailed observations on the heavenly "house," its
effect on Enoch, and the throne itself go beyond the biblical prototypes and
surely presuppose mystical speculation.57 The vision also illustrates the mys-
tical component in apocalyptic literature. The correspondences with Daniel 7
in the appearance of the divinity, the rivers of fire beneath the throne, and
the entourage of Holy Ones (ten thousand times ten thousand)58 suggests
that even the more historically oriented apocalypses drew on mystical tradi-
tions.59 The context of the vision here must also be noted. While the scene is
not specifically a court-scene, as in Daniel, it is the setting for the divine

56 I. Gruenwald, Apocalyptic and Merkavah Mysticism (AGJU 14; Leiden: Brill, 1980)
36. See also C. Rowland, "The Visions of God in Apocalyptic Literature," JSJ 10(1979) 137-54.
57 For the biblical precedents and later elaborations, see I. Gruenwald, Apocalyptic and
Merkavah Mysticism , 29-72.
58 There is an apparent contradiction between the statement that no angel could enter
before God and the multitude of Holy Ones who surround him. Presumably different orders of
angelic beings are distinguished.
59 T. F. Glasson ("The Son of Man Imagery: Enoch xiv and Daniel vii," NTS 23 [ 1 976-
77] 82-90) goes further in arguing that the "Son of Man" imagery in Daniel is derived from the
ascent of Enoch. There is a limited similarity in the entourage of clouds, but the figure of Enoch,
ascending as a mediator, is very different from that of the "one like a son of man" coming
(descending?) as victor.

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 APOCALYPTIC TECHNIQUE IN THE BOOK OF WATCHERS 103

condemnation of the Watchers. The numinous elements in the vision60 and

the careful observation of Enoch's terrified reaction61 acquire added signifi-
cance in this context. If the vision is so awesome that even the righteous
Enoch shakes and trembles, how much more should those who face con-
demnation be terrified. Moreover, Enoch's acceptance into the presence of
God inevitably enhances the status of his entire revelation.

The Otherworldly Journey

In chap. 17 Enoch begins his guided tour. It is not clear whether the
entire tour is located in the heavens. In many cases the location is rather the
outer limits of creation. At any rate the regions which Enoch traverses are
accessible to no other human. What he sees are the foundations of the
universe from the water of life to the mouth of the deep. Again, this material
surely draws on a learned tradition of cosmological speculation.62 In the
context of 1 Enoch 1-36, however, the speculation is by no means disinter-
ested. The first stage of the tour culminates with "the prison for the stars of
heaven and the host of heaven" (18: 14), where they are kept until the great
judgment day. If the book at one time ended at 19:3, 63 the point of the tour in
chaps. 17-19 would seem to be to reinforce the certainty of the judgment by
showing that the place of judgment is "really" there, and thereby amplify the
fear of God.
As it now stands, however, the tour is prolonged in chap. 21. As Milik
has observed, the extension in chaps. 21-23 is primarily eschatological.64
Chapter 22 makes provision for "the spirits of the souls of the dead" and for
the retribution of mankind, not just the Watchers. This may represent an
extension of the original book, but it is only making explicit what was
implied all along. The punishment of the Watchers is paradigmatic for
human sinners. The eschatological interest persists in chap. 25 in the dis-

60 I. Gruenwald ( Apocalyptic and Merkavah Mysticism , 33) notes that fire is mentioned
twelve times in the vision.
61 1 Enoch 14:13-14, 24-25.
62 M. E. Stone, Scriptures, Sects and Visions, 39-40. Compare, in general, his thesis on
learned tradition in apocalyptic writings in "Lists of Revealed Things in the Apocalyptic Litera-
ture," Magnolia Dei : The Mighty Acts of God: G. Ernest Wright in Memoriam (eds. F. M.
Cross et al.; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976)414-52. It is possible that chaps. 17- 19 were "a
pre-existing piece of Enochic tradition," as suggested by C. A. Newsom ("The Development of
1 Enoch 6-19," 323).
63 See J. T. Milik, The Books of Enoch , 25. This contention is supported by the apparent
finality of 19:3: "And I Enoch alone saw the sight, the ends of everything; and no man has seen
what I have seen."
64 Ibid.

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 104 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 44, 1982

course on the fragrant tree, and in chaps. 26-27 in the description of

Gehenna. Only in the concluding chaps. 28-36 is explicit eschatological focus
lacking. These chapters fill out the comprehensive tour of the ends of the
earth and include the Garden of Eden in chap. 32.

Traditio-historical Background
Two main questions arise in connection with this material. One is its
derivation, the other its function. The derivation, if we knew it, could pre-
sumably throw light on the function. Recently Carol A. Newsom has pro-
posed that the material in chaps. 17-19 is derived from "royal wisdom" and
that the tour is modelled on ancient Near Eastern diplomacy, as illustrated in
2 Kings 20 where Hezekiah displays his treasures to the Babylonian envoys.65
The function of the display is to impress and intimidate. This proposal is
helpful up to a point in clarifying the rationale for the tour. It is, of course,
true that much ancient Near Eastern mythology modelled its portrayal of the
heavenly realm on earthly royalty - hence such conceptions as the divine
council, the celestial guardians, and perhaps also the treasuries. Yet the
analogy with royal diplomacy does not adequately account for some funda-
mental aspects of the Enoch story. It is of crucial importance that Enoch's
journey takes him outside the world which is normally accessible to
humanity.66 His successful and appropriate elevation to the heavenly world
provides the counterpart to the disastrous descent of the Watchers. It is
because of the supernatural location of his journey that his revelation
qualifies as a "mystery" surpassing the worthless mystery of the giants. The
elements of mystery and mysticism in the ascent and journey are not clarified
by the diplomatic practice reflected in 2 Kings 20. Again, the story in 2 Kings
provides no explicit analogy for the correlation of cosmology and judgment,
which is not only essential to I Enoch , but is also typical of other apoca-
lypses.67 Even the details of the tour are necessarily concerned with cosmo-
logical marvels of a different order from the splendors of an earthly king-
dom. It is possible that some of the data is drawn from a tradition of wisdom
speculation, such as is reflected negatively, and in effect rejected, in Job 38-
41, but it is not apparent that such wisdom is necessarily royal in any sense.
In short, while the model of royal diplomacy is of limited relevance, it is
scarcely adequate as a generative model for the entire conception.

65 "The Development of 1 Enoch 6-19," 323-29.

66 See U. Luck, "Das Weltverständnis in der jüdischen Apokalyptik," ZTK 73 (1976)
283-305.

67 J. J. Collins, "The Genre Apocalypse in Hellenistic Judaism," Apocalypticism (n. 13

above).

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 APOCALYPTIC TECHNIQUE IN THE BOOK OF WATCHERS 105

On a more general level, Susan Niditch has proposed that Enoch's

journey may be clarified by shamanistic vision-experiences.68 The familiar
overview of shamanism by M. Eliade is, of course, drawn from widely
diverse societies, nearly all of which are remote in time, place, and culture
from ancient Judaism.69 There is no question of specific historical influence
on this level. However, the recurrence of closely similar motifs and patterns
in, e.g., Eskimo shamanism and Jewish apocalypses suggests "an almost
archetypal set of notions and images about encounters with the other
world"70 and raises the question whether Enoch's journey may reflect the
actual experience of a visionary. This question is complicated by the pheno-
menon of pseudepigraphy, which makes for an essential difference between
the apocalypses and any variant of shamanism. Whereas the shaman is of
necessity a public figure, available for consultation in his community, the
identity of the Jewish visionary is concealed behind that of Enoch. Ulti-
mately, we cannot determine the authenticity of the underlying experience,
but we can say, with Niditch, that the apocalypses reflect "a genuine notion
of that which visionaries do, how they experience visions, the sorts of things
they see and so on."71 The shamanistic model also provides a general sugges-
tion on the social matrix, since visionary activity is known to proliferate in
times of crisis, but it cannot, of course, clarify the specific Sitz im Leben of a
particular apocalypse.
Even if we suppose that the account of Enoch's otherworldly journey
was generated by an actual visionary experience, the problem of the deriva-
tion of the material remains. Eliade tells us that shamans "interiorize" their
mythology and cosmology, which then provides the itinerary for their
ecstatic journey.72 The mythology and cosmology must be learnt from tradi-
tion.73 The actual journey of Enoch draws in part on biblical tradition and in
part on Judean geography.74 There are also significant echoes of Mesopo-

68 "The Visionary," 153-79.

69 Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (Bollingen Series 76; Princeton: Princeton
University, 1964). See further R. W. Firth, "Shaman," A Dictionary of the Social Sciences
(ed. J. Gould and W. L. Kolb; New York: Free Press, 1964) 638-39; M. Bouteiller, Chamanisme
et guèrison magique (Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1950). R. R. Wilson ( Prophecy
and Society in Ancient Israel [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1980] 23-24) follows Firth in arguing for
a more restricted definition of shaman.
70 See S. Niditch, "The Visionary," 162.
71 Ibid., 158.
72 See M. Eliade, Shamanism, 266.
73 R. R. Wilson ( Prophecy and Society , 54-56) gives examples of the learning of tradi-
tional techniques and knowledge, such as the names of the spirits. The latter point provides an
interesting parallel to the importance attached to the names of the angels by the Essenes
(Josephus, J. W 2.8,7 §142).
74 J. T. Milik, The Books of Enoch , 25-28, 36-37. The Judean geography is found in

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 106 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 44, 1982

tamian lore.75 P. Grelot has shown persuasively that the conception of

Enoch is shaped to a great extent by the roles of Enmeduranki (seventh or
eighth antediluvian king) and Xisouthros, the transmitter of antediluvian
wisdom.76 Babylonian lore is clearly prominent in the astronomical section
of 1 Enoch , which rivals the Book of Watchers in antiquity.77 Yet we do not
have a direct prototype from which Enoch's journey might be derived. It is
quite possible that we have here an original combination of diverse elements.
Enoch's ascent in chap. 14 might have been developed from the elevation of
exceptional individuals, whether Mesopotamian kings or Hebrew prophets,
to stand in the divine assembly, although we have no precise parallel for the
ascent-narrative.78 The case of Enmeduranki, who is enthroned in the
assembly and given "the tablets of the gods," is intriguing because of his
other correspondences with Enoch.79 The original journey might have been
developed from that of Gilgamesh,80 but again considerable development
would have to be posited. Otherworldly journeys are attested in the Greek
world well before the Hellenistic age, and the use by Plato, in the myth of Er,
is surely secondary and presupposes an independent tradition.81 In Persian

1 Enoch 26. Pace J. T. Milik it does not prove that the author was a Judean, since any Jew
could regard Jerusalem as the center of the world. Milik further argues that 28:1-32:1 reflects
real geography of neighboring countries.
75 Ibid., 29-30, 38; P. Grelot, "La géographie mythique d'Hénoch et ses sources orien-
tales, M RB 65 (1958) 33-69. Grelot draws his main parallels from the Gilgamesh epic. We should
note, however, that not all mythological elements are Mesopotamian. J. T. Milik ( The Books of
Enoch , 39) notes Ugaritic parallels for the mouth of the deep. Grelot also recognizes Ugaritic
and biblical parallels.
76 "La légende d'Hénoch dans les apocryphes et dans la Bible: Son origine et significa-
tion," RSR 46(1958) 5-26 and 181-210. R. Borger ("Die Beschwörungsserie Bit Mēseri und die
Himmelfahrt Henochs," J NES 33 [1974] 183-96) proposes another Babylonian model for
Enoch: the seventh antediluvian wise man, Utuabzu, counsellor of Enmeduranki. The various
models are not mutually exclusive. Enoch takes over and surpasses the functions of various
Mesopotamian culture heroes. He is not simply identified with any one.
77 J. T. Milik, The Books of Enoch , 13-18; P. Grelot, "Le géographie," 34-36. Note
especially the analogies with the Babylonian Mappa mundi.
78 For the Mesopotamian material, see G. Widengren, The Ascension of the Apostle and
the Heavenly Book (Uppsala Universitets Ârsskrift 1950:7; Uppsala: Lundeqvist, 1950) 7-21.
For the Hebrew material, see E. T. Mullen, The Assembly of the Gods: The Divine Council in
Canaanite and Hebrew Literature (HSM 24; Missoula: Scholars Press, 1980).
79 G. Widengren, The Ascension , 7-8. Enoch is said to have had access to the heavenly
tablets in I Enoch 81:1; 93:2; 103:2; 106:19. He is not explicitly enthroned. Enthronement may
be implied by his identification with the "Son of Man" in I Enoch 71, but that identification is a
secondary development in the Similitudes. See J. J. Collins, "The Heavenly Representative: The
'Son of Man' in the Similitudes of Enoch," Ideal Figures , 1 1 1-33.
80 See P. Grelot, "La géographie," 69.
81 On the motif of the otherworldly journey, see C. Colpe, "'Die Himmelsreise der Seele*
ausserhalb und innerhalb der Gnosis," Le origini dello gnosticismo (ed. U. Bianchi; Studies in

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 APOCALYPTIC TECHNIQUE IN THE BOOK OF WATCHERS 107

literature, the clearest example of a heavenly journey is in the late book of

Arda Viraf, but the motif has been thought to be quite ancient.82 The judg-
ment motif is found in both Greek and Persian apocalypses. The uncertain
dating of the Persian material is, of course, a major obstacle to the study of
the development of the Jewish apocalypses; but the motif of the other-
worldly journey was sufficiently widespread, and its connection with judg-
ment well established, so that we must assume that in some form it provided
the generative model for Enoch. Since the figure of Enoch is so heavily
influenced by Mesopotamian models, we might expect to find models for his
journey in that quarter too; but evidence to satisfy this expectation is lack-
ing.83 The biblical tradition provides only a faint analogy in Ezekiel's vision
of the new Jerusalem in chaps. 40-48. Yet scattered biblical passages such as
Isa 24:21-24, which speaks of the imprisonment of the host of heaven and of
the kings of the earth to await punishment, suggest that Enoch's journey may
be more deeply rooted in native Israelite traditions than we can document
from the canonical sources.84 In short, there is a wealth of suggestive pos-
sibilities and an acute lack of decisive evidence. The attempt to clarify
Enoch's journey from a traditio-historical viewpoint has hitherto had very
limited success, and progress in this area is unlikely without new discoveries.

The Question of Function

Fortunately the question of function is not entirely dependent on deri-
vation, helpful though the latter might be. Newsom rightly sees in the tour a
display of God's wisdom and power.85 The tour certainly establishes the
wisdom of the visionary, but this wisdom depends on divine revelation, and

the History of Religion 12; Leiden: Brill, 1967) 429-47; J. Schwartz, "Le voyage au ciel dans la
littérature apocalyptique," L'Apocalyptique (ed. J. Ménard; Etudes d'Histoire des Religions 3;
Paris: Geuthner, 1977) 89-126; for the Greek evidence see H. W. Attridge, "Greek and Latin
Apocalypses," Semeia 14 (1979) 159-86; M. Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism (Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1974), 1. 210-18. On the myth of Er, see H. D. Betz, "The Problem of Apocalyptic
Genre in Greek and Hellenistic Literature: The Case of the Oracle of Trophonius," Apocalyp-
ticism (n. 13 above).
82 See G. Widengren, "Iran and Israel in Parthian Times with Special Regard to the
Ethiopie Book of Enoch," Religious Syncretism in Antiquity (ed. B. Pearson; Missoula: Schol-
ars Press, 1975) 126-27.
83 Lucian ( Menippus sive Nekyomantia 6) has Menippus consult the Magi in Babylon,
because they were reputed to be able to conduct people to the netherworld and bring them back;
but the historical value of this satirical document is, of course, problematic.
84 Compare M. Barker ("Some Reflections upon the Enoch Myth"), who speculates that
1 Enoch draws on an ancient Israelite stream of tradition which was suppressed by the deutero-
nomic perspective.
85 See C. A. Newsom, "The Development of 1 Enoch 6-19," 327.

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 108 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 44, 1982

so on the power and wisdom of God. This dependence is also made very
explicit in Daniel and is indeed typical of apocalyptic literature.86 The
intimate connection of power and wisdom is also shown in the equiv-
alence of the "tablets of wisdom" and the "tablets of destiny" in Meso-
potamian texts.87
The demonstration of power has a clear enough purpose. On the level of
communication internal to the text, it invites the Watchers to look on the
mighty works of God and despair. On the external level, the reader too must
share Enoch's awe before the mysteries of creation and judgment. H. D. Betz
has shown how otherworldly journeys were used by Greek philosophers
from Plato to Plutarch to induce a sense of phobos and to give emotional
power to the philosophical and ethical teachings.88 The emotion aroused by
Enoch's journey is not so much fear as awe - including a strong component
of fear but also of hope and reassurance.
The demonstration of wisdom is no less important.89 On one level, it
convinces the Watchers of the reality of the judgment, since the place of
judgment is already in situ. On the other level, it enables the human beings
who are submerged by the violence and corruption expressed in the story of
the Watchers to believe that there is another dimension to the world. The
sufferings of the present can be viewed from the perspective of ultimate
transcendence.90 What is offered is not only hope, but knowledge, guaran-
teed by supernatural revelation. Its certainty is established by the wealth of
cosmological detail. The comprehensive tour of the cosmos is designed to
show that the destiny of humanity is not left to chance but is built into the
structure of the universe. The eschatological focus is shown by the climactic
location of the prison of the Watchers in chaps. 18-19 and the amount of
space devoted to eschatology in chaps. 21-27. It is true that eschatology is
only one component in the comprehensive view of the cosmos, but it is an
essential component, and fully integrated with the cosmological speculations.
More definitively than the allegorization in chaps. 6-16, the other-
worldly journey provides the response to the crisis evoked by the Watchers.

86 See J.J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Vision , 44-45.

87 See G. Widengren, The Ascension of the Apostle , 10. The association of power and
wisdom in the biblical tradition is especially conspicuous in Second Isaiah and Daniel 2-6, both
of which have a Babylonian setting. See further P. von der Osten-Sacken, Die Apokalyptik in
ihrem Verhältnis zu Prophetie und Weisheit (Theologische Existenz heute 157; Munich: Kaiser,
1969) 18-27.
88 See. H. D. Betz, "The Problem of Apocalyptic Genre."
89 See J. J. Collins, "Cosmos and Salvation: Jewish Wisdom and Apocalyptic in the
Hellenistic Age," HR 17 (1977) 121-42.
90 Compare J. J. Collins, "Apocalyptic Eschatology as the Transcendence of Death,"
CBQ 36(1974)41-43.

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 APOCALYPTIC TECHNIQUE IN THE BOOK OF WATCHERS 109

Enoch's tour of the hidden regions of the cosmos provides a frame within
which human problems are seen in reduced perspective. Whatever crisis
pollutes the earth, the foundations of the cosmos, its outer regions, and the
places of judgment remain intact, as of course does the heavenly court. The
frame is both spatial and temporal: the pollution of the earth will be relieved
by the judgment. The Book of Watchers does not convey a sense of immi-
nent eschatology, which is characteristic of some apocalypses. It is sufficient
that there is an eventual judgment.91 It is also important that the places of
judgment are there in the present and can be contemplated through the
revelation of Enoch.
The transcendent perspective of the Book of Watchers diminishes the
reality of the earthly crisis. While it contains provision for the punishment of
the Watchers, it also distracts the attention away from human troubles to
contemplate the wonderful mysteries. We are reminded of the response to
the destruction of Jerusalem in 3 Baruch , where the angel tells the visionary,
"Do not worry too much about the salvation of Jerusalem. . . . Come, and I
will show you the mysteries of God."92 J.-C. Picard has described this pro-
cess as an "apocalyptic cure" by analogy with the "shamanistic cure" ana-
lyzed by Lévi-Strauss.93 We are reminded again of Levi-Strauss's view of
myth - the imagined world traversed by Enoch serves to obscure and render
less final the crisis-ridden world which generated the vision. The apocalypse
proper, then, the revelation of transcendent reality mediated to Enoch by the
angels during his otherworldly journey,94 provides a framework within
which crises are shrunken in significance and become easier to endure. As we
have seen, the specific crisis underlying this apocalypse is uncertain. The
apocalytpic framework may have been applied to different crises at different
times. It is important to see that Enoch's revelation is applicable to virtually
any kind of crisis. Persecution is only one of many possibilities.

Implications for the Genre

We may now return to the question of the Sitz im Leben of Jewish

apocalypses. Though we cannot generalize for all apocalypses on the basis of
the Book of Watchers, we can at least recognize some constraints that must

91 This lack of imminent expectation is also typical of other apocalypses with heavenly
journeys. See J. J. Collins, "The Genre Apocalypse in Hellenistic Judaism."
92 3 Bar. 1:3,8.
93 J.-C. Picard, "Observations," 90.
94 Compare the definition of apocalypse in Apocalypse: The Morphology of a Genre
( Semeia 14 [1979] 9).

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 1 10 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 44, 1982

apply to any generalizations about them and can also venture some sugges-
tions about what seems to be typical of the genre, pending further verification.
The Sitz im Leben of the Book of Watchers cannot be specified with
any historical precision, but its allegorical language is such that it can be
applied to various situations. We have noted that even apocalypses which
reflect a specific situation were, in fact, frequently re-applied by virtue of
their polyvalent imagery. It seems safe to say that all the Jewish apocalypses
reflect some sort of crisis, but that crisis is not necessarily political, and does
not require persecution or conventicles. It may be no more specific than the
general inequity of society and no more extraordinary than the inevitability
of death (as is the case in the Testament of Abraham). In fact, some of the
best known and clearly dated apocalypses, such as 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch ,
were not written in the heat of persecution but in the general depression
which persisted for a quarter of a century after the fall of Jerusalem. It is
increasingly probable that the NT Apocalypse of John was not generated by
any intense persecution either.95
Despite the uncertainty of Sitz im Leben , the function of the Book of
Watchers can be seen to a considerable extent from its internal structure.
Here we can speak with L. Hartman of the illocution of the text. Consola-
tion of the righteous is clearly implied, and conversely, intimidation of
sinners. There is also implicit exhortation. The righteous are encouraged to
be faithful to the law of God. The specific message of the book - virtues to be
practised and sins to be avoided - is left rather vague. The law of God is
apparently envisaged as the law of nature rather than the specific Mosaic
law. The righteous are certainly encouraged by the revelation to have faith in
the supernatural world, but this appears to be the means to steadfastness
rather than an end in itself.96
It seems clear enough that the specific conduct required may differ from
one apocalypse to another (note the contrasting attitudes to the Maccabean
revolt in the Animal Apocalypse and Daniel). It seems also safe to say that
consolation and exhortation are typical illocutions of apocalypses. I would
wish to argue, however, that the apocalypses have a common function which
is more specific and distinctive than these illocutions, and which is a matter
of method rather than of message. We have seen that the Book of Watchers

95 A. Yarbro Collins, "Persecution and Vengeance in the Book of Revelation," Apocalyp-

ticism (n. 13 above) and "Myth and History in the Book of Revelation: The Problem of Its
Date," Traditions in Transformation: Turning Points in Biblical Faith (ed. J. Levenson and
B. Halpern; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1981). Also J. P. M. Sweet, Revelation (Philadel-
phia: Westminster, 1979) 27-35.
96 A much stronger focus on faith in the heavenly world is found in the Similitudes of
I Enoch. See J. J. Collins, "The Heavenly Representative," Ideal Figures , 116-19.

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 APOCALYPTIC TECHNIQUE IN THE BOOK OF WATCHERS 1 1 1

relativizes its underlying crisis by setting it in the perspective provided by

Enoch's heavenly journey. That perspective is framed spatially by the super-
natural world and temporally by the eschatological judgment. Not all apoca-
lypses share the journey motif, but all involve a revelation of transcendent
reality which is both spatial and temporal. I suggest that the typical apoca-
lyptic technique lies in the transposition of the frame of reference from the
historical crisis experienced by the author to this transcendent world. The
transposition may be accomplished through mythological allegory or celes-
tial geography or by both (as in the Book of Watchers). In Jewish apoca-
lypses it is always reinforced by the further transposition of situations
through the use of pseudonymity. The transposition of the frame of refer-
ence makes possible distraction from the immediate specificity of the crisis
and permits a definitive, eschatological resolution in the transcendent world.
The apocalyptic vision does not, of course, have a publicly discernible effect
on the historical crisis, but it provides a resolution in the imagination by
evoking a sense of awe and instilling conviction in the revealed knowledge it
imparts. This technique, rather than a specific Sitz im Leben or a particular
message, is what I find to be characteristic of the genre apocalypse.97

97 The variety of functions served by later Christian apocalyptic writings is illustrated by

B. McGinn, Visions of the End: Apocalyptic Traditions in the Middle Ages (New York:
Columbia, 1979) 28-36.

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