Enoch and the Mosaic Torah- The Evidence of Jubilees

David W. Suter

riod. The problem is that the writer's clever use of selective anachronism

makes it difficult to reconstruct that system.

In Jubilees, Enoch is presented for the first time as an authority on sac­

rifice, and the book presents sanctuaries and temple service as essential to

the stability of the created order. The selective anachronism of the narrative

portrays Israel as a nation of priests^32 whose presence and rule in the navel

of the earth, the land of Israel, are essential to universal order. At the same

time, this nation of priests will be served by a Levitical priesthood of ritual

specialists whose role is reflected in the blessing and investiture of Levi as

priest. The ultimate vision of the book sees this order inherent in creation

with the inclusion of sanctuaries of Eden, Zion, and Sinai in the created or­

der, and it anticipates the restoration of that order with the appearance of

the eschatological temple on Mount Zion, built by the hand of God.

32. Himmelfarb, "A Kingdom of Priests," 89-104.