CHAPTER 85
And after this I saw another dream, and I will show thee all, my son.
2. And Enoch began, and said to his son Methuselah: “To thee, my son, I will speak; hear my words, and lend thy ear to the vision of the dream of thy father.
3. Before I took thy mother Ednâ, I saw in a vision on my couch, and behold, a bullock came out of the earth, and this bullock was white; and after him there came a female of the same species, and together with this one came other cattle, one of them was black and one red.
4. And that black one horned the red one, and followed it over the earth; and then I could no longer see that red one.
5. And that black one grew, and a cow came with it, and I saw that many cattle, like it and following it, came from it.
6. And that cow, the first one, came from the presence of that first bullock, seeking that red one, and did not find it, and then raised a great cry, and hunted it.
7. And I looked until that first bullock came to her and quieted her; and from that time she did not cry aloud.
8. And after that she brought forth another white bullock, and after that she brought forth many bullocks and black cows.
9. And I saw in my sleep that white bullock grow and become a large white bullock, and from him came many white bullocks, and they were similar to him.
10. And they commenced to beget many white bullocks, and these were similar to them, and one followed the other.
CHAPTER 86
And again I saw with my eyes, while I was sleeping, and I saw the heavens above, and behold one star fell from heaven, and arose and ate and pastured among those bullocks.
2. And after that I saw the large and the black bullocks, and behold all changed their stalls and their pastures and their cattle, and began to lament one with the other.
3. And again I saw in the vision, and looked at the heavens, and behold I saw many stars; and they fell from heaven, and were thrown from heaven near that first star, and among those cattle and bullocks; there they were with them, pasturing among them.
4. And I looked at them, and behold they all let out their sexual members, like horses, and began to mount the cows of the bullocks; and these all became pregnant, and brought forth elephants and camels and asses.
5. And all the bullocks feared them,
and were affrighted at them; and they commenced to bite with their teeth, and to devour, and to push with their horns.
6. And they then began to devour those bullocks, and behold all the children of the earth began to tremble, and to shake before them, and fled.
CHAPTER 87
And again I saw them as they began to horn each other, and to devour each other, and the earth began to cry aloud.
2. And I again raised my eyes to heaven, and saw in the vision, and behold there came from heaven those who were like white men: one came out from that place, and three with him.
3. And those three who came out last took me by the hand, and bore me away from the generations of the earth, and elevated me to a large place, and showed me a tower higher than the earth, and all the hills were lower.
4. And they said to me: “Remain here until thou seest everything that comes over those elephants and camels and asses, and over the stars, and over all the bullocks.”
CHAPTER 88
And I saw one of those four who had come out before, and he took that star which had first fallen from heaven, and bound it hand and foot, and put it in an abyss; and this abyss was narrow and deep and terrible and dark.
2. And one of them drew his sword, and gave it to those elephants and camels and asses; and they began to beat one another, and the whole earth shook on their account.
3. And as I saw in the vision, behold then one of those four who had descended threw from heaven, and gathered and took all the great stars, whose sexual members were like the sexual members of horses, and bound them all hand and foot, and put them in an abyss of the earth.
CHAPTER 89
And one of those four went to that white bullock, and taught him a mystery while he was trembling; he was born a bullock, and became a man, and he made for himself a large vessel, and lived in it; and three bullocks lived with him in that vessel, and it was covered over above them.
2. And I again raised my eyes towards heaven, and saw a high roof and seven sluices to it; and those sluices emptied much water into a yard.
3. And I saw again, and behold fountains were opened on the earth, in that great yard; and that water began to swell, and to be lifted above the land, and caused that yard to disappear, until all the land was covered with water.
4. And the water and the darkness and the fog increased over it; and as I looked at the height of this water, this water was elevated over that yard, and emptied over the yard, and stood on the earth.
5. And all the bullocks which were in the yard were collected, so that I immediately saw how they sank down and came to naught, and were destroyed in that water.
6. But that vessel swam on the water, and all the bullocks and elephants and camels and asses on the earth sank down, and all the animals; and I was not able to see them, and they were unable to come out, but were destroyed, and sank down into the abyss.
7. And again I saw in the vision till those sluices were put away from that high roof, and the fountains of the earth dried up, and other abysses were opened.
8. Then the
water began to run into these till the earth became uncovered; but that vessel reached the earth, and the darkness retreated, and it became light.
9. But that white bullock, which had become a man, came out of that vessel, and the three bullocks with him; and one of the three bullocks was white, similar to that [first] bullock, and one of them was red like blood, and one black; and that one, the white bullock, went away from them.
10. And they began to bring forth animals of the desert and birds, so that there arose out of them a varied diversity of kinds: lions and panthers and dogs and wolves and hyenas and wild boars and foxes and squirrels and hogs and falcons and vultures and buzzards and eagles and crows; and among them was born a white bullock.
11. And they began to bite one another; but that white bullock which was born among them begat a wild ass and a white bullock with it; and the wild ass increased.
12. But that bull which was born from him begat a black wild boar and a white sheep; and this wild boar begat many boars, but that sheep produced twelve sheep.
13. And when these twelve sheep had grown, they gave one of them to the asses, and these asses then gave that sheep to the wolves, and that sheep grew up among the wolves.
14. And the Lord brought the eleven sheep to live with it, and to pasture with it among the wolves; and they increased, and became many herds of sheep.
15. And the wolves began to fear, and oppressed them till they [the wolves] finally destroyed their [i.e. the sheep’s] young, and threw their young into a stream of much water; but these sheep began to cry aloud, on account of their young, before the Lord.
16. And a sheep which had been saved from the wolves fled, and escaped to the wild asses; and I saw the sheep as they lamented and cried and asked their Lord with all their power, till that Lord of the sheep descended at the voice of the sheep from his high abode, and came and looked after them.
17. And he called to that sheep which had escaped from the wolves, and spoke with it concerning the wolves, that it should counsel them not to touch the sheep.
18. And that sheep went to the wolves by the voice of the Lord; and another sheep met that sheep, and went with it, and these two came together to the abode of those wolves, and spoke with them, and admonished them that henceforth they should not touch the sheep.
19. And then I saw the wolves, and how they exceedingly oppressed the sheep with all their power; and the sheep cried aloud.
20. And their Lord came to the sheep, and began to beat those wolves, and the wolves began to lament; but the sheep became quiet, and from then on did not cry.
21. And I saw the sheep till they had gone away from the wolves, and the wolves were blinded as to their eyes, and those wolves went out that they might follow the sheep with all their power.
22. And the Lord of the sheep went with them, leading them, and all the sheep followed him; and his face was shining, and this appearance terrible and sublime.
23. But the wolves commenced to follow those sheep till they reached them in a sea of water.
24. And this sea of water was divided, and the water stood from this side and from that before their faces; and their Lord leading them stood also between them and the wolves.
25. And as those wolves did not yet see the sheep, they went into the middle of the sea of water; and the wolves followed the sheep, and ran after them into the sea of water.
26. And when they saw the Lord of the sheep they turned that they might flee from before his face; but this sea of water gathered itself together, suddenly took again its own character, and the water swelled and rose till it covered those wolves.
27. And I saw till all the wolves which had followed those sheep were destroyed, and sank down.
28. But the sheep escaped from that water, and went into the desert, where there was no water and no grass; and they began to open their eyes and to see; and I saw the Lord of the sheep pasturing them and giving them water and grass, and that [former] sheep going and leading them.
29. And this sheep ascended to the height of a high rock, and the Lord of the sheep sent it to them.
30. And after that I saw the Lord of the sheep as he stood before them; and his appearance was terrible and powerful, and all those sheep saw him, and were afraid before his face.
31. And they were all afraid, and trembled before him, and cried after that sheep which was with him to the other sheep which was among them: “We are not able to exist before our Lord, or to look at him.”
32. And that sheep which led them returned, and ascended to the height of that rock; but the sheep began to be blinded as to their eyes, and erred from the path which it had showed to them; but this sheep did not know it.
33. And the Lord of the sheep was enraged over them greatly; and that sheep discovered it, and descended from the height of the rock, and came to the sheep, and found the greater part of them blinded as to their eyes, and erring from his path.
34. And as they saw it they feared and trembled before its face, and desired to return to their folds.
35. And that sheep took other sheep with it, and came to those erring sheep; and then it began to kill them, and the sheep feared its countenance; and thus that sheep brought back those erring sheep, and they returned to their folds.
36. And I saw there in the vision till that sheep became a man, and built the Lord of the sheep a house, and placed all the sheep in that house.
37. And I saw till that sheep that had met the sheep which led the sheep reposed [in death]; and I saw till all the large sheep were destroyed, and small ones arose in their places; and they came to a pasture, and approached a stream of water.
38. And this sheep which led them, and which became a man, was separated from them, and reposed [in death]; and all the sheep sought it, and cried over it exceedingly.
39. And I saw till they became quiet from their crying over this sheep, and they crossed that stream of water; and there always arose other sheep that led them in the place of those which had departed, and led them.
40. And I saw the sheep until they came into a good place, and into a pleasant and glorious land; and I saw these sheep till they were satisfied; but the house stood among them in the beautiful land.
41. And sometimes their eyes were opened, and sometimes they were blinded, till another sheep arose, and led them, and conducted them all back, and their eyes were opened.
42. And the dogs and the foxes and the wild boars began to devour those sheep till another sheep arose, a buck, in their midst, which led them.
43. And this buck began to butt those dogs and those foxes and those wild boars from both sides, till he had destroyed them all.
44. And that sheep had its eyes opened, and saw this buck which was among the sheep departing from his honor, and beginning to butt those sheep, and to tramp on them, and to walk unseemly.
45. And the Lord of the sheep sent that sheep to another sheep, and exalted it to become a buck, and to lead the sheep in the place of that sheep which had deserted his honor.
46. And it went to it, and spoke to it alone, and elevated it to become a buck, and made it the prince and leader of the sheep; but during all that time those dogs oppressed the sheep.
47. And the first buck pursued the second buck, and the second buck arose, and fled before its face; and I saw till those dogs cast down the first buck.
48. And that second buck arose, and led the smaller sheep, and this buck begat many sheep, and reposed [in death]; and a small sheep became the buck in its place, and was the prince and leader of those sheep.
49. And those sheep grew and increased; and the dogs and the foxes and the wild boars were afraid, and fled before it; and that buck butted and killed all the wild beasts, and those wild beasts had no more power among the sheep, and never robbed them of anything.
50. And that house became great and broad, and a large tower was built on that house of the Lord of the sheep for those sheep; and the house was low, but the tower was high and broad; and the
Lord of the sheep stood on that tower, and they placed a full table before him.
51. And I again saw those sheep that they again erred, and went many ways, and left their house; and the Lord of the sheep called some from among them, and sent them to the sheep, but the sheep began to kill them.
52. And one of them was saved, and was not killed, but escaped, and cried over the sheep; and they wanted to kill it, but the Lord of the sheep saved it out of the hands of the sheep, and brought it up to me, and caused it to dwell there.
53. And he sent many other sheep to those sheep to admonish them, and to lament over them.
54. And after that I saw, as they left the house of the Lord of the sheep and his tower, they departed entirely, and their eyes were blinded; and I saw the Lord of the sheep that he caused much death among them in each one of their herds, till these sheep even called for this death, and they betrayed his place.
55. And he left them in the hand of the lions and tigers and wolves and jackals, and in the hand of foxes and all the wild beasts, and these wild beasts began to tear those sheep to pieces.
56. And I saw that he left that house of theirs and their tower and gave them all into the hand of lions that they should tear and devour them, into the hand of all the wild beasts.
57. And I began to cry aloud with all my power, and called upon the Lord of the sheep and showed him this in reference to the sheep, that they were being devoured by all the wild beasts.
58. But he remained silent, seeing it, and rejoiced that they were devoured and swallowed and robbed, and left them in the hand of all the wild beasts as food.
59. And he called seventy shepherds and put away those sheep, in order that they should pasture them, and he spoke to the shepherds and to their companions: “Each single one of you shall now pasture the sheep, and everything I command you, do!
60. And I deliver them over to you according to number, and will tell you which of them shall be destroyed; those kill!”
61. And he gave those sheep over to them. And to another he called and said to him: “Watch, and see everything that the shepherds do concerning these sheep; for they will destroy more of them than I have commanded.
62. And each superabundance and the destruction which the shepherds do to these write down, how many they destroy by my command, and how many they destroy by their own will, and write down separately each destruction by each shepherd.
63. And according to the number recite before me how many they have destroyed of their own account and how many were given them for destruction, that this may be a testimony for me against them, that I may know every deed of the shepherds to give them over, and may see what they do, whether they do my commands which I have commanded them or not.
64. And they shall not know, and thou shalt not let them know nor admonish them, but write down all the destruction of the shepherds, each one in its time, and lay everything before me.”
65. And I saw till those shepherds pastured in their times and began to kill and to destroy more than was commanded them, and left those sheep in the hands of the lions.
66. And the lions and the tigers devoured and swallowed the greater part of those sheep, and the wild boars devoured with them; and they burned that tower and demolished that house.
67. And I mourned a great deal over that tower because that house of the sheep was demolished; and after that I could no longer see those sheep whether they entered that house.
68. And the shepherds and their companions delivered over those sheep to all the wild beasts to devour them, and each one of them received in his time a certain number, and of each one the other wrote down in a book how many he destroyed.
69. And each one killed and destroyed more than was ordered him; and I began to cry and to lament exceedingly concerning those sheep.
70. And in the vision I saw that scribe as he wrote each one that was destroyed by those shepherds on each day and brought up and opened and showed this whole book to the Lord of the sheep, everything that they had done and every one that each single one had removed and every one that they had handed over for destruction,
71. And the book was read before the Lord of the sheep, and he took the book in his hand, and read it and sealed it and laid it down.
72. And after that I saw that shepherds pastured twelve hours, and behold, three of those sheep turned around and came and entered and began to build everything that was demolished of the house, but the wild boars attempted to hinder them, and they could not.
73. And they again began to build, as before, and put up that tower, and it was called “the high tower”; and they again began to place a table before that tower, and all the bread on it was unclean and not pure.
74. And concerning all this the sheep were blinded as to their eyes, and did not see, and their shepherds likewise; and a great many were delivered to their shepherds for destruction, and they trod on the sheep with their feet and devoured them.
75. And the Lord of the sheep remained quiet till all the sheep were scattered in the field and mixed themselves with them and did not save them from the hands of the wild beasts.
76. And he who wrote the book brought it to the houses of the Lord of the sheep, and showed it and read it and petitioned him on their account and asked him, while showing him all the deeds of their shepherds and testifying before him against all the shepherds.
77. And he took the book and laid it beside him, and departed.
CHAPTER 90
And I saw to the time when thirty-six shepherds thus pastured, and each one completed his time like the first; and others received them in their hands to pasture them in their time, each shepherd in his own time.
2. And after that I saw in the vision all the birds of heaven coming: the eagles and the vultures and the buzzards and the crows; but the eagles led all the birds; and they began to devour those sheep and to pick out their eyes and to devour their flesh.
3. And the sheep cried out because their flesh was being devoured by the birds. And I cried and lamented in my sleep over that shepherd who was pasturing the sheep.
4. And I saw until those sheep were devoured by the dogs and the eagles and the buzzards, and they did not leave on them meat or skin or muscles till the skeletons stood there alone, and the skeletons fell to the ground also, and the sheep became less.
5. And I saw to the time when twenty-three shepherds pastured, and they completed, each in his time, fifty-eight times.
6. But small lambs were born from those white sheep, and they began to open their eyes and to see and to cry to the sheep.
7. But the sheep did not cry to them and did not hear what they said to them, but were exceedingly deaf, and their eyes exceedingly and powerfully blinded. 8. And I saw in the vision that the crows flew on to those lambs and took one of those lambs, but broke the sheep and devoured them.
9. And I saw till horns came to those lambs and the crows threw down those horns; and I saw till ONE great horn came forth, ONE of those sheep, and their eyes were opened.
10. And it looked at them, and their eyes were opened, and it cried to the sheep, and the bucks saw it, and all ran to it.
11. And with all that those eagles and vultures and crows and buzzards to that time were tearing those sheep to pieces, and flew down on them and devoured them; but the sheep remained quiet, and the bucks lamented and cried out.
12. And those crows fought and battled with it and sought to remove that horn, but had no power over it.
13. And I saw them till the shepherds and the eagles and those vultures and buzzards came, and they cried to those crows that they should break that horn of the buck; and they fought and battled with it, and it fought with them and cried that its help might come to it.
14. And I saw till that man who had written down the names of the shepherds and brought them up to the Lord of the sheep came, and he helped that buck and showed it everything, that its help had come down.
15. And I saw till that Lord of the sheep came to them in anger, and all who saw him fled, and all fell into his shadow before his face.
16. All the eagles and vultures and crows and buzzards assembled and brought with them all the sheep of the desert, and they all came together and assisted one another in order to break that horn of the buck.
17. And I saw that man who had written the book by the voice of God till he opened that book of destruction which those last twelve shepherds had practiced, and showed that they had destroyed more that those before them, before the Lord of the sheep.
18. And I saw till the Lord of the sheep came to them and took the rod of anger in his hand, and struck the earth so that the earth was rent apart, and all the beasts and the birds of heaven fell away from those sheep, and sank down into the earth, and it was covered over them.
19. And I saw till a great sword was given to the sheep, and the sheep came to those wild beasts to kill them, and all the beasts and the birds of heaven fled from their face.
20. And I saw till a throne was built on the earth in the pleasant land, and the Lord of the sheep sat upon it, and he took all the sealed books and opened those books before the Lord of the sheep.
21. And the Lord called to those first six white ones, and commanded that they should bring to him, from the first star on, which had come forth, all the stars whose sexual members had been similar to the sexual members of horses, and also the first star that had first fallen; and they brought all before him.
22. And he said to that man who wrote before him, who was one of the six white ones, and said to him: “Take those seventy shepherds to whom I have delivered the sheep, and taking them, they of their own account killed more than I had commanded them.”
23. And behold I saw them all bound, and all stood before him.
24. And the judgment was first over the stars, and they were judged and were found to be sinners, and went to the place of judgment and were thrown into an abyss filled with fire and burning and filled with pillars of fire.
25. And those seventy shepherds were judged and were found to be sinners, and THEY were thrown into this abyss of fire.
26. And I saw at that time that an abyss like it was opened in the middle of the earth, which was full of fire, and they brought those blinded sheep, and they all were judged and were found to be sinners, and were thrown into the abyss of fire and burned; and this abyss was to the right of that house.
27. And I saw those sheep burning, and their bones burned.
28. And I stood looking till he enveloped that old house, and they took out all the pillars, and all the planks and the ornaments of that house were wrapped in with it, and they brought it out and put it in one place, on the right [i.e. south] of the earth.
29. And I saw the Lord of the sheep till he produced a new house, larger and higher than that first, and put it in the place of the first, which had been enveloped, and all its pillars were new, and the ornaments new and larger than of the first old one, which he had removed, and all the sheep were in its middle.
30. And I saw all the sheep that had been left and all the animals on the earth and all the birds of the heavens, falling down and worshiping those sheep and petitioning and obeying them in every word. 31. And after that those three who were dressed in white, who had led me up before, took me by the hand, and the hand of that buck taking
hold of me, they raised me, and put me down in the midst of those sheep before the judgment took place.
32. But those sheep were all white, and their wool large and clean.
33. And all that were destroyed and scattered, and all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven were collected in that house, and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced greatly, for they were all good and had returned to his house.
34. And I saw till they laid down that sword which had been given to the sheep, and returned it to his house; and it was sealed before the face of the Lord, and all the sheep were closed up in that house, but it could not contain them.
35. And the eyes of all of them were opened, and they saw the good, and there was not ONE among them that did not see.
36. And I saw that that house was large and broad and exceedingly full.
37. And I saw that a white bullock was born, and his horns were large, and all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven feared him and petitioned him at all times.
38. And I saw till all their generations were changed, and they all became white bullocks, and the first one of them [was the word, and that word] was a great animal, and had on its head large and black horns; and the Lord of the sheep rejoiced over them and over all the bullocks.
39. And I reposed in their midst, and I awoke and saw everything.
40. And this is the vision that I saw as I was asleep; and I awoke and blessed the Lord of justice and gave him glory.
41. And then I cried greatly, and my tears did not stand still till I was not able to endure it; when I looked they flowed on
account of that which I saw, because everything will come and be fulfilled; and all the deeds of men in their order appeared to me.
42. And in that night I remembered my first dream, and on its account I cried and trembled, because I had seen that vision.
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CHAP. 85. The second vision, which reaches to chapter 90, gives a history of the world from the beginning to the completion in the Messianic times. As in Daniel, the men of Israel and of other neighbors are given under the symbolism of animals. The representatives of the “plant of righteousness” are pictured as tame animals, the patriarchs are bullocks, and in later times the faithful are sheep; names suggested by the gradual decrease of faith and fidelity in Israel. Those not of the people of God and the enemies of Israel are symbolized as wild beasts and vultures. Single persons are individuals of the species to which they belong, the nations are herds. The account itself is based chiefly on the Old Testament record.—1. Another, cf. 83:2.—2. Cf. Prov. v. 1.—3. Edna, cf. note on 83:2. This bullock is Adam. White is the color of the theocratic line of descent, 85:3; 87:2; 90:6, 21, 31-37, symbolizing moral purity; cf. Isa. I. 18; Ps. li. 10; Dan. vii. 9; Cant. iv. 2. A female etc., designating Eve as a virgin; after verse 6 she is called a cow. Cain is black, the emblematic color of sin; Able is red, a color in token of this martyrdom; cf. 22:7 and Num. xix.—4. Death of Abel.—5. A cow is Cain’s wife, according to Jewish tradition, his sister.—6. Eve seeking Abel. The Book of the Jubilees, chap. 4, relates that Adam and Eve lamented over Abel “four times seven years.”—8. White bull, i.e. Seth. The cows are called black to explain how afterwards the daughters of men were so easily enticed by the fallen angels. Dillmann thinks black should stand before bullocks; cf. Gen. v. 4.—9. Origin of the Sethites, opposed to the Cainites.
CHAP. 86. As 88:1 shows, this fallen star is Azazel. Bullocks, both Sethites and Cainites.—2. The result was tumult and confusion among mankind. The large are probably the Sethites, the black certainly the Cainites.—3. Fall of the rest of the angels. The three kind of giants; cf. note on 7:2.—6. Children of the earth; the angels being children of heaven; cf. 6:2. CHAP. 87. The contest between the bullocks and the giants; the former horn the latter, the latter devour the former; cf. 7:4.—2. Like white men, i.e. angels. Throughout the whole tableau angels are always dignified as men. The are white because holy and pure; cf. 85:3. The four are probably Michael and three other archangels; cf. note on 81:5.—3, 4. This removal of Enoch is explained by the prominent part he takes in the punishment of the angels; cf. chap. 12 sqq. On this tower he remains also till the Messianic judgment, 89:52; 90:31. Where that tower was is uncertain.
CHAP. 88. Rufael binds Azazel, 10:4-8.—2. The work of Gabriel described in chap. 10:9, 10.—3. Michael, according to 10:11-14.
CHAP. 89. These four, i.e. the four archangels. Mentioning Noah as that white bullock, as if he had been spoken of before, is surprising. The author knew he would be immediately recognized by the context. But as a bullock cannot build a vessel, i.e. an ark, Noah becomes a man. The three that lived with him are his sons. Covered, cf. Gen. vii. 16 and En. 67:2.—2. As men are symbolized as animals, the earth is consistently called a yard, and the heavens above, a high roof. Seven, cf. 77:4.—4. The deluge.—6. And all the animals, i.e. all the real animals.—7. Other abysses were opened, to receive the mass of water, as verse 8 shows.—8. Darkness, cf. verse 4.—9. The white bullock is, as is interpolated in one MS. Shem, the patriarch of the Israelites as a link in the theocratic chain. The red one is Japheth, the black one Ham. The white bullock went away, .e. Shem became isolated as the bearer of the theocratic idea.—10. The origin of the different anti-theocratic nations from the three sons of Noah.
The white bullock that was born is Abraham.—11. The first clause is unintelligible, but may refer to Gen. xiv. 1 sqq. The wild ass is Ishmael, the white bullock, Isaac. In the following verses, 13 and 16, the Arabs, the descendants of Ishmael, are called wild asses; cf. Gen. vi. 12.—12. The black wild boar is Esau, the white sheep is Jacob.—The name sheep for Jacob can scarcely indicate a decrease in faith towards Jehovah, but was probably suggested by his profession.—13. One of them, i.e. Joseph. Asses, i.e. the Midianites, one of the tribes of Arabia. Wolves is the constant name for the Egyptians.—15. The oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.—16. Moses.—18. Another sheep, i.e. Aaron.—20. Beat refers to the plagues.—22. His face was shining refers to the cloud of fire.—28. Commenced to see must, according to the usus loquendi in this and the next chapter, be interpreted according to Ex. xiv. 31; Hos. ii. 15; Jer. ii. 2.—29. Sinai, cf. Ex. xix.—30. Powerful is about GTR.—31. With reference to Ex. xx. 18 sqq.; Deut. v. 19 sqq. That sheep is Moses, the other sheep is Aaron.—32. Ex. xxiv. 12 sqq. and xxxii. sqq. and Book of the Jubilees, chap. I.—34. It, i.e. Moses.—35. Cf. Ex. xxxii. 26-29.—36. This sheep, i.e. Moses, becomes a man for the same reason that Noah did, vs. 1 and 9, for he here builds the tabernacle, which became the centre of Israel’s worship.—37.
The death of Aaron (the phase form verse 18) and of the older generations in the desert. The stream of water is the Jordan.—38. Cf. Deut. xxxiv.—39. Crossing the Jordan, and the rule of the judges.—40. Palestine; cf. also 26:1. Satisfied, cf. Deut. xxxii. 14, 15.—41. Their religious condition during the period of the judges to the time of Samuel.—42. The dogs are the Philistines (cf. vs. 46 and 47), the wild boars are the Edomites (cf. vs. 12), the foxes, probably the Amalekites. The lately discovered Greek fragment of verses 42-49 has 42ª as two clauses as follows: GTR. The Ethiopian translator, by uniting the subjects, makes the sentence smoother and avoids the unnecessary repetition of GTR, and, besides that, is more definite in its harânja hakel, i.e. wild boars, than the Greek with its indefinite GTR. According to most MSS. 42 would read: till another sheep was raised to the Lord of the sheep.
This senseless statement is fully cleared up by the better Greek text, which reads: GTR,—43. Wars of Saul against his enemies. The Ethiopic is somewhat abbreviated, but it is questionable whether the many of the Greek is, in view of verse 49, and that the Hebrew frequently uses all for many, e.g. Gen. xli. 57, a better reading than the all of the Ethiopic.—44. There is no reason to think that the Greek reading which says that the eyes of the sheep were opened, and not the eyes of Samuel, is better than the Ethiopic. Although the expression is generally used of a return to God and his covenant, it is manifestly used here in the modified sense of learning the true character of Saul. Samuel, too, had been deceived in Saul, hence his eyes were opened. And, besides, we have no evidence whatever that Israel became more faithful and theocratic after discovering Saul’s wickedness. In fact, Samuel suits better as subject, as it is to furnish a motive for his mission described in the following.—45. Samuel anoints David. In this and the two next verses the Greek and Ethiopic are virtually the same.—48, 49.
Small sheep, i.e. Solomon. The account in vs. 49 is, beyond all doubt, a description of the reign of David, and not of Solomon, Hoffmann therefore proposes to change the place of this verse. The Greek solves the enigma, as there vs. 49 is immediately joined to 48ª.—50. The tower is, beyond all doubt, the temple; but what is the house? It might seem from vs. 36 and 40 that it is the tabernacle, but if we notice that in vs. 66 sq. and 72 sq. this house is mentioned as still existing, even after the Exile, when there was neither temple nor tabernacle, and that vs. 72 speaks of the rebuilding of the house, there can scarcely be any doubt but that Jerusalem, as the central point of Israel’s worship, is intended to be understood. And thus, too, from a religious point of view the house was by no means as important as the tower, for God dwells in his temple. This interpretation proposed by Dillmann, p. 262, and accepted by Vernes, p. 89, is certainly correct. With this cf. Test. Levi. x. GTR. Table, i.e. offerings.—51. The religious fall of the Israelites and the fate of the prophets.—52. The escape and translation of Elijah. That Enoch should especially note this is natural, since he and Elijah were the only persons who escaped death; cf. 93:8.—53, 54. The fruitless labors of the prophets to the time of the Exile. In each one of their herds, i.e. in each tribe of Israel. Till, etc. refers to the calling in of foreign heathen nations to their support, thereby hastening their own destruction. By allowing strange nations to influence the fate of Israel they virtually betrayed “his place.”—Verses 55-58, evidently refer to unfortunate wars of the Israelites immediately before and at the Exile; but just what nations are symbolized by the animals here mentioned can scarcely be determined with any degree of confidence. Devoured, vs. 57; cf. Jer xii. 9; Ezek. xxxiv. 5, 8; Isa. lvi. 9. Vs. 56 is almost literally quoted in Barnabae Epist. xvi. 5.—59.
Seventy shepherds, a first class crux interpretum. It almost seems as if the different interpreters vied with each other in misunderstanding the object and character of these shepherds. Accepting as self-evident that shepherds must mean men, and in this connection rulers, the commentators have sought high and low, in Israel and out of Israel, in Egypt, Chaldea, Babylonia, Greece, and other countries for seventy shepherds who superintended the oppression of the chosen people. Others, again, have thought of seventy periods of time or periods of government, and, based on their respective suggestions, have placed the origin of the book at all times from the period of Judas Maccabi to the revolution of Bar-chochbas. It is impossible to mention all the various theories circulating on these seventy shepherds, for that would require too much space; it is also unnecessary to do so and to refute them, for this has been done to the satisfaction of all candid seekers of truth by Gebhardt in Merx’s Archiv, II. 2, p. 163-246, who has made these seventy shepherds a special topic of inquiry, and has conclusively shown the utter impossibility of accepting any of the explanations that make them leaders or rulers of heathen nations. We therefore turn immediately to the only true, legitimate, and satisfactory explanation.
This was first mentioned by Hofmann (Schriftbeweis, I. p. 422), accepted and strengthened by Schürer, p. 531, and lately adopted by Drummond, p. 40. According to them these shepherds are not men, not rulers of heathen nations, but they are angels. There can be no doubt whatever of the truth of this interpretation, for the following reasons: 1. Throughout all this symbolism men are always represented as animals, and the heathen nations as wild beasts or birds of prey. That Noah and Moses are pictured as men in 89:1, 9, 36 finds its explanation in the peculiar object in which they are engaged. Besides, it is expressly stated that they became men; cf. notes. Now, in contradistinction from men symbolized by animals, angels are symbolized by men, as 87:2; 90:14 clearly demonstrate. Angels alone are dignified as men; and what possible reason could there be for calling the leaders of the wild beasts and of the birds men, and thus giving them a name even more dignified than the names given to the Israelites? 2. Before they go out to pasture they all appear contemporaneously before the Lord, 89:59, and how could that suit successive rulers? Schürer ironically asks if these rulers were to be regarded as pre-existing? 3. In the last judgment they are associated with the fallen angels, 90:20 sqq. 4. The angel who keeps the record of the deeds of the shepherds is simply called another, 89:61, thus signifying their oneness of being with him. 5.
The shepherds are appointed, according to 89:75, to protect the sheep from the wild animals, i.e. from the heathen nations, Interpreting the shepherds as heathen rulers would give the senseless sentence that the heathen rulers were to protect the Israelites from themselves, i.e. from these rulers! The author’s idea is simple and plain. During the time that Israel, by the will of God, was to be oppressed and overcome by the nations around her, he had placed them in the hands of seventy shepherds, as guardians, who should watch that Israel should not suffer and endure more than was God’s will. This the shepherds neglect to do, and deliver to the wild beasts and birds of prey more than they should have done; hence these shepherds shall be punished, and be cast with the fallen angels, who had also proved faithless, into the fiery abyss. The idea that Israel suffered more than her sins deserved is not strange or unexpected. It is the author’s exegesis of passages like Isa. xl. 2b (according to the true interpretation of the Targumim, Luther, Authorized Version, Delitzsch, and others), Isa. lxi. 7 and Jer. xvi. 18, where it is stated that Israel has received double for all her sins. The choice of the mystical and sacred number seventy can be no surprise to the student of the Old Testament.
Although all these shepherds appear contemporaneously before the Lord when they receive the commission, they shall not pasture together, but one after the other. That God speaks here directly to the shepherds, and not through the medium of angels, as we should expect from the analogy of the rest of the book and from the example of the Old Testament if they were men, and especially heathen rulers, shows conclusively that the shepherds were beings enjoying intimate communication with God, in other words, were angels. An author who but once (14:24 permits even the sacred person of Enoch to go into the presence of God, could under no circumstances have imagined heathen rulers, the oppressors of God’s children, as standing before him, and receiving their orders from his own mouth.—60. According to number, i.e. a certain number. These shepherds were not to act independently, but, like the angels in the Old Testament and in Enoch, were simply executors of God’s will and command. These are functions that a Jew, writing not in the time of the return from the Exile when the heathen Cyrus had appeared as the instrument in God’s hand for the benefit of his people, but in a time when experience had exhibited the surrounding heathen nations as the most bitter haters and revilers of Israel’s God and persecutors and tormentors of the people, in the time when the cruel scenes inaugurated by Antiochus Epiphanes were still vivid before the author—these are functions, we say, that a Jew at that time could never have ascribed to Gentile rulers.—61. God calls another shepherd, i.e. angel, to keep record of the deeds of these seventy shepherds. The “other one” is clearly and evidently an angel, as is seen from 90:22 and 14, probably the archangel Michael, the patron angel of Israel; cf. Dan. x. 4 sqq.—62. Superabundance, GTR, Uebermass, the number slain above those intended by God.
These shall be written down that the shepherds may be judged accordingly.—63. Give them over, i.e. to punishment.—64. These shepherds knowing God’s will that only a certain number should be destroyed are not to be disturbed or advised in their labor. But how could we suppose that, e.g. Antiochus Epiphanes should have a knowledge of the fact that he was to be an instrument to punish Israel, and should also be able to determine how far the divine will would allow him to go? For this knowledge, presupposed here as the basis of the just judgment of God over the shepherds for the transgression of God’s law, is clearly in possession of these shepherds, according to vs. 59 and 60.—65. Shows that the killing of the sheep consisted in giving them over into the hands of the wild beasts, as also that the shepherds were beings entirely different from the lions. Did the ridiculous incongruity of calling princes and leaders of wild beasts “shepherds” never strike the advocates of the heathen potentate theory? As the lions are in all probability the Assyrians, the author evidently places the beginning of the reign of the shepherds in the time of the struggle of the northern kingdom with Assyria.—66.
The fall of the two kingdoms is summed up in the attack of the lions and the tigers, the latter being the Chaldeans. The wild boars are the Edomites (cf. vs. 12), who also took part in the destruction of Jerusalem; cf. Obad. 10-12; Lam. iv. 21; Ezek. xxv. 12 sqq.; xxxv. 12 sqq.; Isa. xxxiv. 35; lxiii. 1-4; Ps. cxxxvii. 7.—67, 68. Could no longer see, i.e. the Israelites were led into captivity. This being a break in the history of Israel, he remarks that the sins of the shepherds in this first period of Israel’s humiliation and the partly undeserved sufferings are recorded by the other angel; cf. vs. 61. Cf. also Jer. xii. 9; Ezek. xxxiv. 5, 8; Isa. lvi. 9.—71. With the sealing of the book the first scene is closed. How many shepherds pastured, and how long each one pastured, in the period just closed is not mentioned.—72. Embraces the whole period of the captivity, which is stated in round numbers to have been twelve hours. That these twelve hours are to designate the time of the captivity alone is as clear as daylight from the after that, i.e. after the events to the destruction of Jerusalem, just mentioned, had transpired, then a certain number of shepherds pastured till the time when three sheep returned. How Dillmann can say that these hours embrace the time from Jojaqim to Cyrus is incomprehensible.
Cyrus is certainly the terminus ad quem, but that Jojaqim is not the terminus a quo is equally certain. Three returned; Dillmann thinks this a corruption for two, i.e. Zerubable and Joshua. If the word three is a change made by the Ethiopic translator, he probably means by this third one not Nehemiah or Ezra, but Jeremiah. The Ethiopic church has in many of her biblical codices a unique Book of Baruch, that claims inspiration and was extensively used in Ethiopia; in which book it is expressly stated that Jeremiah returned to Jerusalem, and a record is made of his labors and death there. (Cf. Dillmann Chrest. Aethiop., pp. 1-15, or my translation of it in Lutheran Quarterly, July 1878, pp. 333-352.) The rebuilding of Jerusalem and the interruption as recorded Ezra iv-vi.—73. The building of the temple. Table and bread, i.e. offerings; cf. vs. 50. The contempt here expressed for the second temple is no indication that the author was an Essene, as Tideman asserts, as others could have felt the same contempt. The expression here is not any stronger than we find in Mal. I. and ii.; nay, the very words here seem to be taken from Mal. I. 7.—74. The reason why this second temple was unclean was because even after the captivity the Israelites were still blinded, i.e. had not returned to God.
Passing over the efforts of Ezra for the strengthening of the law shows that our author was certainly no Pharisee. It is the author’s view of the religious condition and fate of Israel in the Persian period.—75. In addition to internal sinfulness, Israel forgot that it was the people of God, and sinned by mixing themselves with the wild beasts of the field, i.e. with the nations of the world. The author here refers to the beginning of the diaspora. With this another period closes.
CHAP. 90. Critics are unanimous that the thirty-six, or as some MSS. have it thirty-seven, is an error for thirty-five. That this correction is not only legitimate, but is demanded by the account that follows will be seen presently. The seer sums up his vision in the words that so far thirty-five shepherds, including those that had ruled twelve hours, 89:72, had governed. Like the first; as those governing twelve hours completed their times, thus did also the rest of the thirty-five.—2. Introduces a new period and new enemies. They are pictured as birds of prey to show that they are distinct from the previously mentioned enemies, from an altogether different stock or family. It is the period of the invasion of the Greeks and their allies. The eagles leading the rest are naturally the Greeks, or, more specifically, the Macedonians. The crows, according to vs. 8, 9, and 12, are the Syrians. Who the vultures and buzzards are does not appear; most probably these are general terms to designate the other nations allied with the Greeks, so that the author did not intend to designate any particular nations with these names. Pick out the eyes and devour their flesh, because they were birds.
The statements of the author are so broad that it is impossible to fix them to any particular historical events, except in general that the fate of the people under Alexander the Great and his successors are portrayed.—4. Who the dogs are cannot be determined; but cf. Tideman, p. 281. Above, 89:46, 47, they were the Philistines, who cannot, even with Sir. l. 26 on hand, be meant here. He mentions the dogs, a domestic animal, hence belonging to a class of enemies of the period preceding the Grecian, since the period of the birds of prey and the eagles designate the enemies of the period just under consideration, to show that at the end of the Greek period Israel had to suffer from both their former and their present enemies, an idea well suiting the struggles between the various successors of Alexander the Great in the East and in the West; cf. Mic. iii. 2, 3.—5. This Greek period was superintended by twenty-three shepherds, and thus all from the beginning, the thirty-five of vs. 1 and the twenty-three here, had completed fifty-eight times. Here we see the necessity of correcting the thirty-six or thirty-seven of vs. 1 into thirty-five. Thus, then, each shepherd completes one time, and in 89:72, then, there must have been twelve shepherds for the twelve hours. With this another period closes. It is interesting to see what martyrdom history must suffer to furnish the advocates of the heathen rulers theory with kings enough to satisfy the demands of this verse.—6. The last period of heathen rule.
This epoch is marked by the birth of small lambs, or, more literally, small male lambs, who began to open their eyes, i.e. began to return to the God of Israel. He designates by this name those in Israel who, about this time, especially in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, when the leaders of the people and the sheep themselves began to adopt Greek ideas and manners (cf. 1 Macc. I. 11-15), took a firm position for the religion and law of their fathers. In short, they are the well-known HTR, 1 Macc. vii. 13; 2 Macc. xiv. 6, the pious. They are called small on account of their small number, and lambs because they were the generation of the future, destined to grow and increase. They cried to the sheep. i.e. to the renegade Israelites; warned them, and appealed to them for help.—7. But this cry was in vain, the Greek party would not depart from its erring ways or assist the faithful.—8. The crows, i.e. the Syrians, attack these lambs and kill one. Who this one is will be seen in verse 9. But they alone are not the sufferers, the sheep too, the other unfaithful Israelites, are “broken.” In this verse he pictures the beginning of the struggle of the faithful under Mattathias and his sons.—9. The preceding has brought us to the beginning of the struggle between the Chasidim and the Greek party. Naturally we should then expect that the great horn would be no one else but the great Judas Maccabi. To this, however, Ewald, Dillmann, and nearly all other investigators object, and find this horn in John Hyrcanus.
The only reason for doing so is acknowledged to be the fact that the time from Antiochus Epiphanes, with whom this last period commences, to Judas is too short a period for either twelve foreign, heathen kings, or for the rule of twelve angel shepherds (Schürer). This objection is, however, not valid, for it should be especially noted—what has been so far overlooked entirely—that the writer does not consider the period of the last twelve shepherds closed with the coming of the great horn, but only by the inauguration of the Messianic kingdom. The great horn, and with it the writer, is in the middle and midst of this last epoch, the rule of the last shepherds. Just how many of these had governed before the rise of the horn, and how many were to arise yet until the new kingdom was established, is nowhere stated. The horn itself is historically not the terminus ad quem for this rule, but only an important factor in the events of this rule. We are, then, not even allowed to seek twelve periods from Antiochus Epiphanes to the great horn, but must place the horn rather early in this last period, as great struggles are still expected before the ungodly rule of the shepherds will end. The period will be short, for only twelve shall rule, and the character of this period is reflected in the words “that these last shepherds had slain more than the rest,” and thus certainly points to the eventful days of Judas Maccabi, and not to the comparatively peaceful days of John Hyrcanus.
Then the specific number twelve further than indicating a short period, should have little weight in determining who the great horn was, as this twelve is simply the completion of the author’s arbitrary and unhistorical system of the rule of the shepherds in Israel, enigmatically dividing them into four periods of 12+23_23+12 shepherds. Other reasons, too, point to Judas, and not to John Hyrcanus. 1. It is impossible that an author like ours, reciting the weal and woe of the faithful, should have passed over in silence, or in insignificant words, the events of the Maccabean period, which was so important just for him, the establishment of religious and political freedom, purification of the temple, the power of the Chasidim in the days of John Hyrcanus. 2. If the one slain in the previous verse is Jonathan (Dillmann), how can it be said that after that period horns grew for the lambs? Did political enthusiasm and success not take place until after the death of Jonathan? Besides it was only a lamb, i.e. a man of lesser importance who was slain,—in all probability the High Priest Onias III., one of the faithful, murdered 171 B.C.; cf. 2 Macc. iv. 33-35. 3. The spirit of the book points to the tumultuous days of Judas, and not to the quiet times of Hyrcanus; cf. Special Introd. § 4.—10. Appeal of Judas to the Jews. All, not in an absolute sense, but rather many, a fact proved by the victories of Judas.—11-15. Struggle between the horn and its enemies.
This appears here as a struggle for the very existence of that horn, and hence cannot find an explanation in the rather insignificant two wars of John Hyrcanus against the Antiochus Sidetes and Antiochus Cyzicenus, especially as the latter was an aggressive measure of John Hyrcanus in which he was not even present,—something that is demanded by the context. The words can be properly understood and appreciated only by referring them to the ever-memorable events in the times of Judas Maccabi, and regarding them as a reflex of those bloody, but glorious days. Dillmann himself admits that in this manner vs. 13 could aptly find its explanation in 1 Macc. iii. 7; vi. 53; v.; then 2 Macc. vi. 8 sqq., 13, 14; 1 Macc. vii. 41, 42; and in 2 Macc. xv. 8 sqq. In this struggle against so many foes Judas is represented as being assisted by the man, i.e. angel, who wrote the names of the unfaithful shepherds.—15. In the midst of this contest the Lord himself comes to take part in the struggle. With this the author goes from an historical basis into a prophetic vision of the future, and what follows cannot be regarded as historical, but only as showing how the writer thought, from the present state of affairs, the future would shape itself. We see, then, the author stands in the midst of the Maccabean struggle. the horn Judas has already conquered in battle; his enemies are preparing to crush him. So far the author’s knowledge goes. Of the death of Judas he knows nothing.
The expected assistance from God himself, together with what follows, is the prophetic picture he draws of the future fate of this great horn.—16. The last attack of the enemies, a feature frequently found in Messianic portions of apocryphal writers. And in this contest the sheep of the desert, i.e. the renegades in Israel, shall side with the open enemies of the faithful. The attack is still against that horn, showing that this horn existed even after the author had to leave the past and go to the future.—17. During this time, from vs. 6, twelve shepherds had ruled. The terrible sufferings of Israel during that short period find expression in the words, that in spite of so short a period of time more had been destroyed than ever before. These twelve added to the fifty-eight of vs. 5 give us the whole sum of seventy shepherds. Now their times are completed, they can be judged and the Messianic kingdom inaugurated.—18. The Lord himself destroys these last enemies of Israel. The picture is taken from the destruction of Korah and his adherents, Num. xvi. 31 sqq.—19. With this the Messianic times commence. The first thing is the subjection of the old enemies by the sheep, mentioned also 91:12.
Temporally the hopes expected here are certainly to be fulfilled before those of the previous verse.—20. Then follows the judgment, according to the books that were sealed (cf. Dan. vii. 10) at different periods, and deposited with God. This judgment takes place in a pleasant land, in Palestine, 89:40. This involves no contradiction with 1:4, as it is not stated there that God will judge from Mount Sinai. Unlike the Parables the Messiah has nothing to do here with the judgment.—21. Six white ones are archangels, in vs. 31 those three white ones. Whether we are to read six or seven here cannot be determined from the MSS. Were chap. 20 an authentic part of the book, six would be preferred, but from Tob. xii. 15 seven is to be preferred. But if, as Dillmann supposes, reference is here made to Ezek. ix. 2 sqq., then six is the number. Star, cf. chap. 86-88.—22. Before these are judged the seventy shepherds are associated with them, thus showing that they were beings of the same kind.—23. Cf. 53:5; 54:1, 2.—24. Cf. 55:4. Abyss of fire, cf. 18:11; 19:1-3; 21:7-10.—25. The shepherds are cast into the same place of punishment. According to chap. 18 and 21, the angels have also their own place of punishment, different from the account in the Parables, 54:1, 2.—26. Now follows the punishment of the renegades in Israel, but in a different place, in the midst of the earth (cf. 26:1), i.e. in the valley of Hinnom; cf. chap. 27. To the right of the house, i.e. south of Jerusalem, 89:50.
The judgment here is partial and not universal; cf. chap. 51.—28, 29. Removal of the old and building of the new Jerusalem; cf. 61:1 sqq.; Ezek. xl.-xlviii.; Isa. liv. 11 sqq.; lx.; Hag. ii. 7-9; Zech. ii. 6-17; xiv. 6-9; and passages like Isa. iv. 5, 6; Zech. ix. 8. Planks, Dillmann in his translation has Balken, but in Lex. col. 565 gives the meaning as paxillus, GTR, i.e. a small stake or post. A new Jerusalem belongs to apocryphal visions of the Messianic times; cf. 4 Ezra ix. 23-x. 55; cf. Drummond, p. 337 sqq.—30. But the animals themselves that did the wicked deeds shall not be judged, but will take part in the Messianic kingdom; cf. (Mic. vii. 16, 17); Isa. xiv. 2 (xlix. 22, 23; lv. 5; lx. 4-16; lxii. 5 sqq.); lxi. 12, 19-21; Zech. viii. 20-28.—31. That buck is probably Elijah, 89:52. Those three in white, cf. 81:5. They brought him to Palestine, where the judgment takes place. To explain how he knew of this judgment just mentioned he says that this transportation took place before the judgment, i.e. the statement here temporally precedes the facts recorded in the verses from vs. 16 on.—32. Those who are to enjoy the Messianic kingdom are white, i.e. are pure and holy; cf. 85:3. Cf. Isa. I. 26; iv. 3; xi. 9; lx. 18, 21, etc.
Their wool is large, i.e. their deeds of righteousness and their virtues are many.—33. Those destroyed, i.e. those that had been slain in the persecutions, shall rise again; cf. notes on 22:12, 13; and those in the diaspora shall again be assembled; cf. Mic. iv. 6, 7. The seat of this new government shall be in the new Jerusalem. Then the Lord will rejoice; cf. vs. 38; Zeph. iii. 17; Isa. lxii. 3-5; lxv. 19; and also 10:21.—34. End of the period of the sword, vs. 19. This sword being no longer required is sealed up. The Messianic kingdom will not be disturbed in its tranquillity. The number of the saints is so large that Jerusalem cannot contain them; cf. Isa. xlix. 19-21; liv. 2, 3; Zech. ii. 8 sqq.—35. This multitude has not one that does not see, that is spiritually blind.—37. The appearance of the Messiah. In the Parables the Messiah appears before the judgment and conducts it; in chap. 1-37 and 72-105, God conducts the judgment, and the Messiah does not appear until the Messianic kingdom has been established in all its glory. He is here a product of the kingdom, while in the Parables the kingdom proceeds from him. He is born as a bullock to show his superiority over the sheep and the lambs, and this puts him on an equal footing with the patriarchs; cf. above. His horns were large, an indication of his power.—38.
In its perfection the members of the congregation become, like the Messiah, white bullocks. But the Messiah, too, increases, and becomes a certain large animal with large, black horns, i.e. with increased power; cf. Zech. xii. 8. The words in brackets cause some difficulty. They are not a Christian interpolation with reference to the Logos, as the classical term for GTR is not nager, which we have here, but qâl, while nagar is GTR, although it sometimes translates GTR. Most probably the text read HTR, the name of the mysterious animal in the Old Testament, usually, after the LXX, rendered unicorn. The Greek translator, knowing no word equivalent to HTR, simply transcribed it GTR, which the Ethiopian took for GTR = word. The original then read: “and the first of these was a HTR, and this,” etc.; cf. Hommel, Physiologus, p. xx. and chap. 22. Over them, i.e. over the sheep that had become bullocks.—39. During his sleep he had been among these saints, and awakening he finds himself in their midst.—40. In a sleep; cf. 85:1.—41, 42. The threatenings of God had not been in vain, and the present condition of the author’s contemporaries causes tears to flow for their fate.
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