Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Stephen C. Carlson" <scarlson AT mindspring.com>]

At 06:11 AM 12/29/99 +0100, Ian Hutchesson wrote:
>At 00.02 29/12/99 -0500, Stephen C. Carlson wrote:
>>At 05:53 AM 12/29/99 +0100, Ian Hutchesson wrote:
>>>But the obscurity of the Genesis citations (5:21-24, 6:1-4)
>>>tells you that the Enoch literature was around and used.
>>
>>This does not follow.  The obscurity of these citations could
>>just as well have motivated the speculation we see in the Enoch
>>literature.
>
>Then you will have to seek elsewhere for the substance to the Gen
>citations, for they imply such substance that is not stated. Yet we have a
>written tradition in Enoch that is acknowledged elsewhere. 

They don't necessarily imply "such substance," but, even so, the
substance could derive from oral tradition.  After all, literacy
levels were very low.  Because of this, the inference that these
citations must derive from the extant Enoch literature is not
justified.  There are too many other possibilities here.

Stephen Carlson
--
Stephen C. Carlson                        mailto:scarlson AT mindspring.com
Synoptic Problem Home Page   http://www.mindspring.com/~scarlson/synopt/
"Poetry speaks of aspirations, and songs chant the words."  Shujing 2.35