3 Enoch 25
3 Enoch 25
Section: Metatron’s Rank and Cosmic Form
Translated by Hugo Odeberg (1928)
CHAPTER XXV
“Ophphanniel, the prince of the ‘Ophannim. Description of the ‘Ophannim
R. Ishmael said: Metatron, the Angel, the Prince of the Presence, said to me:
(1) Above these there is one great prince, revered, high!, lordly, fearful, ancient and strong. ’OPHPHANNIEL H” is his name.
12-12 B om. 13-13 B: ‘the Holy Throne’ E: ‘the Throne of His Glory’ cf. vs. 22. 14-14 ED om. 15-15 Bom. 16 B ends with this chapter.
1 DE: ‘honoured’
(19-23) The Chariots of his Holy Throne…of the Throne of Yah…of the Throne of Judgement. . .of the Throne of Glory.. .of the High and Exalted Throne. The word ‘chariots’ seems here to be merely a metaphorical ex- pression (= the vehicle of God’s manifestation?). For the different ‘Thrones’ of God see Mass. Hek. i, ii. All the names of ‘Thrones’ of the present verses recur there, partly with the same scriptural references.
Ch. xxv. The continuation of ch. xxii.
(1) Above these…The opening words of the chapter make it evident that it cannot possibly be a continuation of the preceding chapter, as it appears to be from its present place. With ch. xxii, however, it fits in well, both with regard to style, phraseology and general arrangement. It treats of the third class of Merkaba- angels, the ‘Ophanninm, and their prince, ‘OPHPHANNIEL, in a manner very similar to that of chh. xix-xxii, with regard to Chayyoth and Kerubim. ’Ophphanniel. The name occurs, chh. xiv. 10 and xvii. 5, as the name of the angel set over the course of the moon. Cf. S. Raziel, 19 b. No instance attributing to ‘OPHPHANNIEL the function assigned to him in the present chapter is found among the references in Schwab, V A.
There seem to have been two different traditions concerning the name of the
88 THE HEBREW BOOK OF ENOCH [CH. XXV
(2) He has sixteen faces, four faces on each side, ?(also) hundred wings on each side?. And he has 8466 eyes, corresponding to the days of the year.
A: DE:
2190—and some say 2116—o0n 2191 (E: 2196) and sixteen on each side?. each side.
(3) And those two eyes of his face, in each one of them lightnings are flashing, and from each one of them firebrands are burning; and no creature 1s able * to behold them: for anyone who looks at them is burnt instantly.
(4) His height is (as) the distance of 2500 years’ journey. No eye® can behold and no mouth can tell the mighty power of his strength® save the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, alone.
(5) Why is he called ‘oPHPHANNIEL?
Because he is appointed over the ‘Ophannim and the ‘Ophannim
2-2 D om. 3 A repeats the last sentence. 4 so DE. A ins. ‘to stand (and)’ 5 so D. A: ‘house’ 6 so DE. A: ‘eyes’
leader of the ’Ophannim. According to one it was.’OPHANNIEL, according to the other RAPHAEL. The former tradition is represented by this chapter, the latter by Zohar, Ex. xliii. In Masseket ’Asilut the two are foisted together, so that there RAPHAEL and ’OPHANNIEL are given as the chieftains of the ’Ophannim.
(2) he has 8466 eyes etc. The number of the eyes is a calendary one. The text is, however, corrupt, the reading of DE worse than that of A. If, instead of ‘days of the year’, we read (as Jellinek suggests in note, ad locum, in E) ‘hours of the days of the year’, the number 8466 would correspond to a lunar year of 3522 days; the fourth part of 8466 is 2116 (plus 4), the number of eyes on each of the four sides, according to one of the variants of A. The other variant, 2190, is the exact fourth part of the number of hours of the solar year, if counted as 365 days of 24 hours each. The variants of A thus point to two different readings, one of which used ‘solar’ numbers, the other ‘lunar’ ones. This fact does not imply any contention between solar and lunar calculations as in the earlier Apocrypha. In the present book the solar and lunar numbers are merely cosmic numbers, used side by side, apparently of equal value, although the solar ones are more frequent. The only reason to consider the variant, giving the lunar numbers, as the original in this case, is the fact that ?OPHANNIEL elsewhere—chh. xiv. 10 and xvii. 5 of the present book and S. Raziel, 19 b—is connected with the course of the moon (notice the use of the number 354 in connection with ’OPHANNIEL, ch. xvii. 5). Besides, the numbers 8466 and 2116 may be corrupt for 8496 and 2124 resp., to a lunar year of 354 days.
A parallel passage in Mass. Hek. iv runs (using solar numbers): “ m each Hall there are 8766 gates of lightnings, corresponding to the number of hours of the days of a year”. ‘This parallel is pointed out by Jellinek in his note (referred to above) and is the point of support for the emendations suggested by him.
(3) two eyes that are in his face. His face, being pictured as that of a man, has two eyes only, whereas the rest of his body is wholly covered with eyes: see the preceding verse.
(4) appointed over the ‘Ophannim. On the ‘Ophannim cf. Introduction. The ‘Ophannim have here, as well as in 1 Ext. lxi. 1o, Ixxi. 7, 2 En. xxix. 3, Yer. Ber. iv. 5,
CH. Xxv] ANGELOLOGICAL SECTION (AI) 59
are given in his charge.” He stands 9 every day and attends and beautifies? them. And he exalts and orders their apartment (DE: runnings) and !?polishes their standing-place!? and makes bright their dwellings, makes their corners even™ and cleanses their seats. And he waits upon them early and late, by day and by night, to increase their beauty, to make great their dignity and to make them ‘diligent in praise of their Creator.
(6) And all the ’Ophannim are full of eyes, “and they are all full of brightness”; “seventy two sapphire stones are fixed on their garments on their right side and seventy two sapphire stones are fixed on their garments on their left side®.
(7) And four” carbuncle stones are fixed on the crown of every single one, the splendour of which proceeds in the four directions of ‘Araboth even as the splendour of the globe of the sun proceeds in all the directions of the universe. 17And why is it called Carbuncle (Baréget)? Because its splendour is like the appearance of a light-
7 A ins. ‘And he is appointed to attend the ’Ophannim’ 8 A ins. ‘over them’ 9 E: ‘makes them to fear and refreshes them’ 10-10 E: ‘assembles their meeting (congregation) ’ 11 DE instead of ‘makes even’ read: ‘refreshes’ 12-12 DE: ‘and all of them are full of wings, eyes over against wings, wings cor- responding to eyes, and in between them splendour and radiance are shining as
the light of the planet Venus’ 13-13 E om. 14-14 D om. 15 E: “seventy two’ 16 so D. EA: ‘sapphire’ 17-17 so D, A: (Why is 1t - called Beragot (lightnings) (carbuncles)’ E: ‘Why is he called by the name of SIDQIEL?’
lost all traces of their original character of wheels (galgallim). Cf. the similar development of the traditions concerning the Galgallim (see note on ch. xix. 2).
Here the ‘Ophannim are depicted as one of the classes of Merkaba-angels, with the regular appearance of angels (with eyes, garments, crowns etc. cf. vs. 6).
Later the ‘Ophannim are identified with the Galgallim, e.g. in the cabbalistic treatise on the Throne, the Merkaba and the Shekina, contained in Harley Or. 5510, fol. 127 a: “the ’Ophannim, they are (the same as) the Galgallim”.
When the Galgallim are identified with the spheres or heavenly bodies, the conception of the ‘Ophannim as those who ‘move the spheres’ arises. Such is the representation of the ‘Ophannim in Shefa ‘Tal (by R. Sheftel Horwitz, ed. 1612), fol. 41 c:“…the ’Ophannim, who act in the ‘Asiyyatic world (the world of creative matter’) and move the spheres, as it is written (Ezek. 1.15) ‘… behold one ’Ophan upon the earth’ etc.”
It was, no doubt, through the connection of the ‘Ophannim with the ‘globes’ that ‘OPHANNIEL was made the prince appointed over the ‘ globe of the moon’.
(6) 72 sapphire stones are fixed on their garments. Cf. ch. xii. 1, and for the use of the number 72, vs. 1 of ch. ix.
(7) four carbuncle stones on the crown… Carbuncle stone is mentioned as one of the different kinds of precious stones fixed on “the floor of the ‘Araboth”’ in Mass. Hek. iv, where a similar statement is made to its splendour as here: “its splendour procéeds through the whole universe and through all the seven heavens”.
why is it called Carbuncle? There is a certain confusion in the readings of the latter part of the verse. T’he reading of D is adopted in the translation, as being
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ning!? (Baraq). And tents of splendour, tents of brilliance, tents of brightness as of sapphire and carbuncle inclose them because of the shining appearance of their eyes™.