8.3a
The Book of Enoch 8.3a · Spells and roots📜 Charles 1906, the printed page
The teachers are named one by one, with what each taught.
· · ·
አሚዚራስ፡1
ʾAmizirās
Amiziras
መሀረ፡2
mahara
taughthe taught
መሳብዕያነ፡3
masābǝʿǝyāna
enchantersspell-casters
ወመታርያነ፡4
wa-matārǝyāna
and cutters of
ሥርዋት፤5
śǝrwāt
roots;
; ወአርማሮስ፡6
wa-ʾArmāros
and Armaros
ፈቲሐ፡7
fatiḥa
taught the loosing of
ስብዐታተ፡8
sǝbʿatāta
enchantments,incantations
, Amiziras taught enchanters and cutters of roots; and Armaros taught the loosing of enchantments,
Amiziras taught enchanters and cutters of roots; and Armaros taught the loosing of enchantments,
8.3b
The Book of Enoch 8.3b · The stars, the signs and the moon📜 Charles 1906, the printed page
The last four teachers give the arts of the sky.
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and Baraqiel taught the observers of the stars; and Kokabiel taught the signs; and Tamiel taught the sight of the stars; and Asradel taught the course of the moon.
The Ge’ez names the practitioners where we would name the crafts. Masābǝʿi is an enchanter (Dillmann: incantator, with a reference to this verse). Matāri is a cutter (sector, secans), and Dillmann’s example is these very words, “cutters of roots”. They are the herbalists of 7:1, who gather the plants that heal and poison alike. The second craft is the undoing of spells. Fatiḥa is “loosing”, from the verb Dillmann glosses solvere, exsolvere, and for the sense of this verse he gives “to loose” a ban or a charm. The verb “taught” is not repeated for Armaros; it is understood from the first clause.
The word for the spells is sǝbʿat. Dillmann has it as ስብዕ sǝbʿ or ስብዐት sǝbʿat, incantatio, and sets it beside Hebrew nišbaʿ, “he swore”. His references are Enoch 7:1, 8:3 and 9:7, the first two marked as variant readings. His comparison ties the word for a spell to the word for an oath.