Reception of 1 Enoch in the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Tradition: A Look at Manuscripts

A noticeable aspect of Ethiopian Christian Orthodox scribal culture is the lack of (Christianizing) interpolations into texts originally composed by Jews during the Second Temple period. Nevertheless, paratextual features in manuscripts (marginal notes, liturgical guides, quotations, and commentary traditions) make clear that these writings were being received and interpreted along Christian lines. Taking the Book of Enoch as an example, the paper will illustrate instances in which the conservative copying culture is apparent (e.g., when comparing the text with the fragmentary Greek versions), discuss known examples of Christianizing paratextual features among the manuscripts of 1 Enoch, and indicate a very few passages in which a light form of Christianizing has actually entered into one of the manuscripts.