Ebook
Since its publication in English translation in 1821, the book of Enoch has enjoyed immense popularity in Western culture as a variety of religious groups, interested historians, and academics have sought to illuminate the Jewish context of Christian beginnings two thousand years ago. Taking the quotation of 1 Enoch in Jude 14 as its point of departure, the present study explores the significance of Enochic tradition within the context of Christian tradition in the Horn of Africa, where it continues to play a vital role in shaping the diverse yet interrelated self-understanding of Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches. As discussions on the importance of 1 Enoch from antiquity to the present take on new dimensions among increasingly global and diverse voices, 1 Enoch as Christian Scripture offers a rare orientation into a rich culture in which the reception of the book is "at home" as a living tradition more than anywhere else in the world today. The present work argues that serious attention to 1 Enoch holds forth an opportunity for church traditions in Ethiopia--and, indeed, around the world--to embrace some of their indigenous roots and has the capacity to breathe life into time-worn expressions of faith.
“Western biblical scholarship has typically approached the
Ethiopian book of Enoch with a predetermined and narrow set of
interests: to understand the New Testament and unlock the origins
of Christianity. First Enoch is thus reduced to an object of
critical inquiry without any appreciation for the living African
subjects that have harbored and practiced its traditions for
centuries up until the present. In this regard, Bruk Asale’s study
is a breath of fresh air that fills a gap still largely missing in
Enochic studies even when it is attentive to reception history.
Readers will greatly benefit from this book as they learn about the
rich tapestry of Ethiopian Christianities and, dare I say, about 1
Enoch itself as they see this literary corpus come alive.”
—Isaac W. Oliver/de Oliveira, Bradley University
“This study on 1 Enoch by Dr. Bruk Ayele Asale is of particular
importance because, as an Ethiopian scholar, he is particularly
attentive to the Ethiopian appropriation of this work. The New
Testament quotes it as Scripture and several parts of it have been
found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, but the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahǝdo Church is the only present-day context in which the book
is still ‘alive’ and part of the canon.”
—Paul B. Decock, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
“Bruk Ayele has given us a fine study on the 1 Enoch in Jude and
the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, one of the ancient churches
in the world. The book offers a rich treatment of 1 Enoch from a
Protestant perspective, a masterful survey of modern scholarship,
and a lucid exposition of the text in Ethiopian context. It is a
remarkable achievement.”
—Samuel Yonas Deressa, Concordia University, St. Paul
Bruk Ayele Asale is president of Mekane Yesus Seminary and
Lecturer of New Testament at Mekane Yesus Seminary and the
Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. He
is a member of SBL and the Enoch Seminar and has published several
articles on a number of topics.