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Vol. 32 (2025)

Artykuły

A Critical Analysis of the Ethiopic Manuscript of 1 Enoch (Kebrān 9) and the Theological Implications of Textual Variants in 1 Enoch 1:9, 14:2, and 15:11

  • Rev. Adrian Mętel
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52097/rs.2025.249-272  [Google Scholar]
Publiée: 2026-08-17

Résumé

The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch) is a key document in Second Temple Jewish literature and early Christianity, but it has survived in a complete form only through an Ethiopic translation in the Geʿez language. This article addresses the research problem of reconstructing the original text of 1 Enoch and analyzing the religious ideas contained in it. The study employs classical methods of textual criticism, and the analysis focused on three selected pericopes (1 Enoch 1:9; 14:2; 15:11). The results indicate substantial stability in the textual tradition: no significant interpolations or omissions were found, only minor scribal variants. The oldest known manuscript, Kebrān 9 (dated to the 14th–15th centuries), preserves an exceptionally faithful version of the 1 Enoch text, which makes it especially significant for philological and theological research on this book. In conclusion, the main findings of the variant analysis are summarized, the importance of the manuscript K-9 is emphasized, and the need for a further critical edition of the Book of Enoch using the Ethiopic witnesses is highlighted.

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