Chapter xv. page 20. "They shall be concealed and shall not rise up, &c." The Greek has no negative.

Chap. xvi. page 20. "As to the death of the

giants, wheresover their spirits depart from their bodies, let their flesh, that which is perishable, "be without judgment. Thus shall they perish "till the day of the consummation of the great "world. A destruction shall take place of the "watchers and the impious."

The Greek has, "From the time of the slaugh"ter, the death and the destruction of the giants, "the Naphelim, and the great ones of the earth, "the men having great names, the souls which "have departed from their spiritual, even as from "their fleshly state, shall be invisible without pun"ishment; thus shall they be invisible, even until "the day of consummation, until the great judgment, in which the great period (awv) shall be "fulfilled, shall be fulfilled at once for ever."

In comparing these passages, it is not only obvious that they must have been extracted from different copies, but that the Greek must have been translated from a Hebrew original, by some

name.

one who did not think that the word Naphelim required to be rendered otherwise than as a proper It is derived from the root "Napal," to fall down, to be cast away, or rejected, and thus having the signification of apostates, seems here to be applied to "the watchers," the angels "which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation." In the books of Genesis and Numbers* this word is translated, giants, but it appears that there must have been in the original of this passage, two different words which were made use of, as the word giants occurs in apposition with the Naphelim. But while we have thus a distinct evidence of a Hebrew original, it will be not less evident, that the prototypes from which these two several passages are translated did not exactly agree; and hence we may infer, that the original manuscripts must have been in some degree corrupted, before the time at which this translation was made.

The testaments of the twelve Patriarchs, are contained in an apocryphal book which has been described by Cave, by Dodwell, and by Grabe, who published it with a preface; and it forms a

* Gen. vi. 4. Num. xiii. 33.

part of the collection of Fabricius, in his codex

Pseudepigraphus.

All these authors agree in considering it to be at least, as early as the middle of the second century. In the time of Origen, (A. D. 180) it was of sufficient age for him to ground his rejection of it, on the fact that it was not included in the canon, which certainly implies, that the memory of its author was already lost.

Grabe quotes a passage of Epiphanius,* who, he observes, relates that this was one of the apocryphal books which formerly existed, and were sent by the Jews to Ptolemy together with the canonical Scriptures. From hence Grabe concludes that it was originally written by a Jew previous to the Christian æra. It appears to me more probably to have been written at the time assigned to it by Cave and Dodwell, and I shall not assume for it any greater age than is apparent from the quotation of Origen. The author professed to relate the testaments delivered by the twelve Patriarchs at their several deaths. His object therefore was to give his

* Epiph de mensuris et ponderibus.

† Origin Homilia xv. in Josuam.

writing an appearance of great antiquity. For this purpose he has in several places quoted the book of Enoch, as if the age of that book were, at the least, sufficient to make it doubtful whether it had been handed down by tradition or not. Hence, it is evident, that at this early period, the origin of the book was involved in obscurity; and so far as it was known, it must have been considered as authentic; or else the quotations from it which were made use of in the testaments, would have tended to injure instead of to benefit the cause which they were meant to serve. But my present purpose is chiefly, to shew that these quotations tend towards a probability that the book of Enoch was then in a dilapidated state and that the more ancient part concerning the judgment had not been seen in its present form either by the author of the testaments, or by Origen.

The former author quotes the book so innaccurately, that although it is evident that he must have seen or heard of at least a portion of it, the whole could hardly have been within his reach; and it seems probable that he derived his knowledge of the book, from the report of others.

In Test. Juda. page 609 of Fabricius, we find, "I have also read in the book of Enoch the Just, that you will act with impiety in the last days."

In Enoch, page 136 of Translation, "For I "know that oppression will exist and prevail on "earth; that on earth great punishment shall in 'the end take place; and that there shall be a

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consummation of all iniquity, which shall be cut "off from its root, and every fabric raised by it "shall pass away. Iniquity however shall again "be renewed and consummated on earth. Every "act of crime and every act of oppression and im"piety, shall be a second time embraced."

The Testament of Levi also, appears to allude "And now my

to the same place, page 577.

children, I have learnt from the writing of Enoch, that in the end you will act with iniquity "towards the Lord," &c.

And again in the testaments of Dan, page 652. "I know that in the last days you shall depart from "the Lord, and will offend Judah, and oppose Levi, "but you shall not prevail against them."

But if these extracts shew, as I think they do, that the author was partially acquainted with the