Enoch and the Mosaic Torah- The Evidence of Jubilees

Jubilees and the Samaritan Tradition

Pentateuch. The supposed critical edition by A. von Gall^4 is based on several
manuscripts, but the editor made arbitrary emendations, especially in the
orthography. A. Tal has produced an edition based on manuscript no. 6 of
the Samaritan synagogue in Shechem, which will be the basic text used
here.^5 Editions of other Samaritan writings will be noted when they are re­
ferred to. Fortunately, for Jubilees we are in a better position.^6

Chronology

It is interesting that chronology is important both to the book of Jubilees
and such Samaritan writings as the Tulidah^7 and the Asatir} The Asatir is es­
sentially a paraphrase of much of Genesis, and is thus a literary parallel to
Jubilees. This suggests that it might provide traditions in common with Ju­
bilees. Both put a lot of chronological detail into their text. Modern scholars
can either regard this as a waste of space on inconsequential information or
assume that the writers thought such data was important. It is well known

maritan Documents Relating to Their History, Religion, and Life, Pittsburgh Original Texts
and Translations 2 (Pittsburgh: Pickwick, 1977).

4. A. F. von Gall, ed., Der Hebraische Pentateuch der Samaritaner (Giessen: Topel-
   mann, 1918; reprint, Berlin: Topelmann, 1966).


5. A. Tal, ed., The Samaritan Pentateuch Edited according to MS 6 (C) of the Shekhem
   Synagogue, Texts and Studies in Hebrew Language and Related Subjects 8 (Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv
   University Press, 1994).


6. Text and translations of the Ethiopic text are cited from J. C. VanderKam, ed., The
   Book of Jubilees: Text and English Translation, 2 vols., CSCO 510-11, Scriptores Aethiopici 87-
   88 (Louvain: Peeters, 1989).


7. None of the editions of the Tulidah is satisfactory (also called Chronicle 3 in the
   numbering by J. Macdonald [ The Theology of the Samaritans, NTL (London: SCM, 1964),
   44-49])' The published editions include A. Neubauer, "Chronique samaritaine, suivie d'un
   appendice contenant de courtes notices sur quelques autres ouvrages samaritains," JA 14
   (1869): 385-470 (text and French translation); M. Heidenheim, "Die Samaritan. Chronik des
   Hohenpriesters Elasar," Vierteljahrsschrift fur deutsch und englisch-theologische Forschung
   und Kritik 4 (1871): 347-89 (German translation only); J. Bowman, Transcript of the Original
   Text of the Samaritan Chronicle Tolidah (Leeds: University of Leeds, 1954 [text only, using a
   different manuscript from Neubauer; apparently a number of transcription errors]).


8. These are part of the so-called Samaritan chronicles. The Asatir is labeled Chroni­
   cle 1 in Macdonald's scheme of chronicle references (see previous note). A standard edition of
   the Asatir is M. Gaster, The Asatir: The Samaritan Book of the "Secrets of Moses" Together with
   the Pitron or Samaritan Commentary and the Samaritan Story of the Death of Moses (London:
   Royal Asiatic Society, 1927). A better edition of the text is Z. Ben-Hayyim, "TODS 130,"
   Tarbiz 14 (1942-43): 104-90; Tarbiz 15 (1943-44): 71-87.