David C. Sim
Rivḳa Nir
The
volume is a commentary on 1 Enoch chapters 91-108 that begins with the
Ethiopic text tradition but also takes the Greek and Aramaic (Dead Sea
Scrolls) evidence into account. This section of 1 Enoch, which contains
material from at least five different documents composed some time
during the 2nd century BCE, provides a window into the early stages of
the reception of the earliest Enoch tradition, as it was being
negotiated in relation to elitist religious opponents, on the one hand,
and in relation to other Jewish traditions that were flourishing at the
time. The commentary, at the beginning of which there is an extensive
introduction, is structured in the following way: there is a translation
for each unit of text (including the Greek and Aramaic where it exists,
with the Greek and Ethiopic translations presented synoptically),
followed by detailed textual notes that justify the translation and
provide information on a full range of variations among the manuscripts.
This, in turn, is followed by a General Comment on the unit of text;
after this there are detailed notes on each subdivision of the text
which attempt to situate the content within the stream of biblical
interpretation and developing Jewish traditions of the Second Temple
period. The five documents in 1 Enoch 91-108 are dealt with in the
following order: (1) Apocalypse of Weeks (93:1-10; 91:11-17); (2)
Admonition (91:1-10, 18-19); (3) Epistle of Enoch (92:1-5; 93:11-105:2;
(4) Birth of Noah (106-107); and (5) the Eschatological Appendix (108).
Daniel,
with an Introduction to Apocalyptic Literture is Volume XX of The Forms
of the Old Testament Literature, a series that aims to present a
form-critical analysis of every book and each unit in the Hebrew Bible.
Fundamentally exegetical, the FOTL volumes examine the structure, genre,
setting, and intention of the biblical literature in question. They
also study the history behind the form-critical discussion of the
material, attempt to bring consistency to the terminology for the genres
and formulas of the biblical literature, and expose the exegetical
process so as to enable students and pastors to engage in their own
analysis and interpretation of the Old Testament texts. In his
introduction to Jewish apocalyptic literature, John J. Collins examines
the main characteristics and discusses the setting and intention of
apocalyptic literature. Collins begins his discussion of Daniel with a
survey of the book's anomalies and an examination of the bearing of form
criticism on them. He goes on to discuss the book's place in the canon
and the problems with its coherence and bilingualism. Collins's
section-by-section commentary provides a structural analysis
(verse-by-verse) of each section, as well as discussion of its genre,
setting, and intention. The book includes bibliographies and a glossary
of genres and formulas that offers concise definitions with examples and
bibliography.
