authorship and pseudepigraphy in early christian literature 39
without knowing a guide or another’s care... 280 It therefore seems to me, in
view of the things foretold by daniel, that they are very far from holding a
true opinion who declare that god takes no thought for human affairs. for if
it were the case that the world goes on by some automatism, we should not
have seen all these things happen in accordance with his prophecy.
Josephus, antiquitates 11.337
Josephus wrote about alexander the great’s visit in Jerusalem in the fourth
century bce. 54
and, when the Book of daniel was shown to him (i.e., alexander), in which
he had declared that one of the greeks would destroy the empire of the
Persians, he believed himself to be the one indicated.
Jubilees 4:16–26
the Book of Jubilees (from the second century bce) described the antedi-
luvian prophet enoch as the first man who learned writing and who left
behind one or more books which he himself had composed for posterity.55
and in the eleventh jubilee Jared took for himself a wife... and she bore a
son for him... and he called him enoch...
17 this one was the first who learned writing and knowledge and wisdom,
from (among) the sons of men, from (among) those who were born upon
earth. and who wrote in a book the signs of the heaven according to the
order of their months, so that the sons of man might know the (appointed)
times of the years according to their order, with respect to each of their
months. 18 this one was the first (who) wrote a testimony and testified to
the children of men through the generations of the earth. and their weeks
according to jubilees he recounted; and the days of the years he recounted,
just as we made it known to him. 19 and he saw what was and what will
be in a vision of his sleep as it will happen among the children of men in
their generations until the day of judgment. he saw and kept everything and
wrote his testimony and deposited the testimony upon the earth against all
the children of men and their generations...
21 and he was therefore with the angels of god six jubilees of years. and
they showed him everything which is on earth and in the heavens, the
dominion of the sun. and he wrote everything, 22 and bore witness to the
Watchers, the ones who sinned with the daughters of men because they
began to mingle themselves with the daughters of men so that they might
be polluted. and enoch bore witness against all of them.
54 trans. by Marcus, lCl 326:477.
55 trans. by o. s. Wintermute, OPT 2.62–63.
