Andrei Orlov, «Moses’ Heavenly Counterpart in the Book of Jubilees and the
Exagoge of Ezekiel the Tragedian», Vol. 88 (2007) 153-173
The paper provides conceptual background for the idea of the angel of the presence as the heavenly counterpart of Moses in the Book of Jubilees and the Exagoge of Ezekiel the Tragedian. The identity of the celestial scribe in the form
of the angel of the presence found in the Book of Jubilees and some other Second Temple materials might further our understanding of the enigmatic process of
mystical and literary emulation of the exemplary figure, the cryptic mechanics of which often remains beyond the grasp of our post/modern sensibilities. It is possible that in the traditions of heavenly counterparts where the two characters
of the story, one of which is represented by a biblical exemplar, become eventually unified and acquire a single identity, we are able to draw nearer to the very heart of the pseudepigraphical enterprise. In this respect, it does not appear to be coincidental that these transformational accounts dealing with the heavenly doubles of their adepts are permeated with the aesthetics of penmanship and the
imagery of the literary enterprise. In the course of these mystical and literary metamorphoses, the heavenly figure surrenders his scribal seat, the library of the celestial books and even personal writing tools to the other, earthly identity who now becomes the new guardian of the literary tradition.
158 Andrei Orlov
difference between his human body and the Lord’s body, but to
emphasize the distinction between this Enoch, a human being “created
just like yourselvesâ€, and the other angelic Enoch who has been
standing before the Lord’s face. Enoch’s previous transformation into
the glorious one and his initiation into the servant of the divine
presence in 2 Enoch 22,7 support this suggestion. It is unlikely that
Enoch has somehow “completely†abandoned his supra-angelic status
and his unique place before the Face of the Lord granted to him in the
previous chapters. An account of Enoch’s permanent installation can be
found in chapter 36 where the Lord tells Enoch, before his short visit to
the earth, that a place has been prepared for him and that he will be in
the front of Lord’s face “from now and forever†(22). What is important
here for our research is that the identification of the visionary with his
heavenly double involves the installation of the seer into the office of
the angel (or the prince) of the presence (sar happanim). The
importance of this account for the idea of the heavenly counterpart in 2
Enoch is apparent because it points to the simultaneous existence of
Enoch’s angelic double installed in heaven and its human counterpart,
whom God sends periodically on missionary errands. Targumic and
rabbinic accounts about Jacob also attest to this view of the heavenly
counterpart when they depict angels beholding Jacob as one who at one
and the same time is installed in heaven and is sleeping on earth (23). In
relation to this paradoxal situation when the seer is able not only to be
unified with his heavenly counterpart in the form of the angel of the
presence but also retain the ability to travel back in earthly realm,
Jonathan Smith observes that “the complete pattern is most apparent in
the various texts that witness to the complex Enoch tradition,
particularly 2 Enoch. Here Enoch was originally a man (ch. 1) who
ascended to heaven and become an angel (22,9, cf. 3En 10,3-4 and
48C), returned to earth as a man (33,11), and finally returned again to
heaven to resume his angelic station (67,18)â€(24).
What is also important in 2 Enoch’s account for our ongoing
investigation of the traditions found in the Jubilees is that while the
“heavenly version†of Enoch is installed in heaven his “earthly
(22) 2 Enoch 36,3. ANDERSEN, “2 Enochâ€, The Old Testament
Pseudepigrapha, I, 161.
(23) Tg. Neof. to Gen 28,12: “and behold, the angels from before the Lord
ascended and descended and observed him [Jacob]â€. Targum Neofiti 1: Genesis,
140; GenR 68,12: “they ascended on high and saw his features and they
descended below and found him sleepingâ€. Midrash Rabbah , II, 626.
(24) J.Z. SMITH, “Prayer of Josephâ€, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, II, 705.
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