Iranian Details in the Book of Heavenly Luminaries (1 Enoch 72–82)

The Book of Luminaries contains two enigmatic details which can be compared to Iranian ideas: the concept of astronomical solar “gates,” and a sevenfold mythical geography in chapter 77. Although the document overall is highly indebted to Mesopotamian traditions, the source of these two details can better be explained as Iranian. The ultimate Mesopotamian origin of the astronomy cannot be gainsaid, but the exact formulations of some of the details found in the extant book may have been in dialogue with or shaped by Iranian scholarship. If so, further work on what this means for the interaction of systems and communities in the ancient Near East (which of course already includes things Persian) may be justified.