Metametametadata

Who is Metatron?

I can't seem to find time to close down the movable type engine and clean up the wordpress templates. I can't seem to refrain from making blogging either. So here goes, sans comment.

For the inquisitive mind, a few introductory rants and rambles concerning those early Jewish inquirers(?), the Merkabah Mystics.

The Pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch A nut's website, in which he has managed to gather all the important bits and pieces of scholarship and then made nonsense of them via filtering through his own jumbled mind.

The Enoch Literature. A fine primer on the subject of the Enoch/Metatron tradition in Hebrew literature for a course on Old Testament Pseudepigraphia. This site is chock full of good stuff. Start here and just wander around: Introduction. More Enoch explanation: Abstract: The Epistle of Enoch and Enoch as a Divine Mediator. Here's A Bibliography. I've been trying to get my hands on the Odeberg volume for years. Manichean stuff here: Summary of the Book of Giants. And of course it would be metametadata worthy if there weren't a whole website dedicated to the website, if you know what I mean. Enoch in Cyberspace

Primary Written Sources of the Merkabah Mysticism. Again, a stellar textual history from a crackpot website. Is it just me that finds their legitimate areas of scholarly interest and exploration dominated by people "on the edge" of reality? Of course it takes a certain special something to find interest in such things as the Shiur Qomah. I'm just glad someone's made an effort to put the primary source documents online, even if you can't fully trust their translations.

Wikipedia entry for Merkabah

Titles of Enoch-Metatron in 2 Enoch

Pantheon Article on Metatron

I've tried to point you to the scholarly literature and not the internet crazies. Please follow the bibliographies at the university websites for further reading. Especially Gershom Scholem. If you want more, I recommend getting your hands on the "Origins of the Kabbalah" or "Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism and Talmudic Tradition". I have both books.

I couldn't resist:

And it came to pass after this that my spirit was translated.
And it ascended into the heavens,
And I saw the holy sons of God.
They were stepping on flames of fire,
Their garments were white (and their raiment),
And their faces shone like snow.
And I saw two streams of fire,
And the light of that fire shone like hyacinth,
And I fell on my face before the Lord of Spirits.
And the angel Michael seized me by my right hand,
And lifted me up and led me forth into all the secrets,
And he showed me all the secrets of righteousness.
And he showed me all the secrets of the end of the heavens,
And all the chambers of all the stars, and all the luminaries,
Whence they proceed before the face of the holy ones.

And he translated my spirit into the heaven of heavens,
And I saw there as it were a structure built of crystals,
And between those crystals, tongues of living fire.
And my spirit saw the girdle that girt that house of fire,
And on its four sides were streams full of living fire,
And they girt that house.
And round about were Serafim, Kerubim, and Ofanim;
And these are they, who sleep not,
And guard the throne of His glory.
And I saw the angels, who could not be counted,
A thousand thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand, encircling that house.
And Michael, and Rafael, and Gabriel, and Paniel,
And the holy angels who are above the heavens go in and out of that house.
And they came forth from that house,
And many holy angels without number.
And with them the Head of Days, His head white and pure as wool,
And His raiment indescribable.
And I fell on my face, and my whole body became relaxed.
And my spirit was transfigured, and I cried with a loud voice.

And just one more:

1. I asked Metatron and said to him: " Why art thou called by the Name of Thy Creator, by seventy Names? Thou art greater than all the princes, higher than all the angels, beloved more than all the servants, honored above all the mighty ones in kingship, greatness, and glory. Why do they call thee 'Youth' in the high heavens?"
2. He answered me and said to me: "Because I am Enoch, the son of Yared."
3. "For when the generations of the Flood sinned and were confounded in their deeds, saying unto God (Job 21.14): "Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways." Then the Holy One, blessed be He, removed me from their midst to be a witness against them in the high heavens to all the inhabitants of the world, that they may not say: "The Merciful One is cruel'."
4. Hence, the Holy One, blessed be He, lifted me up in their lifetime before their eyes to be a witness against them to the future world. And the Holy One, blessed be He, assigned me as a prince and a ruler among the ministering angels.
5. In that hour three of the ministering angels, Uzza, Azza, and Azzael came forth and brought charges against me in the high heavens, saying before the Holy One, blessed be He: "Said not the Ancient Ones (First Ones) rightly before Thee: Do not create man!"
The Holy One, blessed be He, answered and said unto them (Isaiah 46.4): "I have made and I will bear, yea, I will carry and will deliver."
6. As soon as they saw me, they said before Him: "Lord of the Universe! What is this one that he should ascend to the height of heights? Is he not one from among the sons of (the sons of) those who perished in the days of the Flood? What doeth he in the Firmament (raqia)?"
7. Again the Holy One, blessed be He, answered and said to them: "What are ye, that ye enter and speak in My Presence? I delight in this one more than in all of you, and hence he shall be a prince and a ruler over you in the high heavens."
8. Forthwith all stood up and went out to meet me, prostrated themselves before me and said: "Happy art thou and happy is thy father for thy Creator doth favor thee."
9. And because I am small and a youth among them in days, months, and years, therefore they call me "Youth" (Na'ar).

Some places for a youth in search of a reading list to start.

Barbelith

The Sourcery Forge

Man, I really like the Enoch as a Divine Mediator piece. That about sums up my interest in getting to know Metatron.