1 Enoch 2:1
Pseudepigrapha
1 Observe everything that occurs in the heaven, how the celestial bodies do not alter their paths, and the luminaries in the sky, how they all rise and set orderly, each in its own season, without deviating from their assigned courses. 2 Look at the earth, and pay attention to the things that unfold from beginning to end, how consistent they are, how nothing on earth changes, how all of God’s works appear to you. 3 Observe the summer and winter, how the entire earth is filled with water, and how clouds, dew, and rain cover it.
Date: 200-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Sirach 16:26
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
26 When the Lord created his works from the beginning, and, in making them, determined their boundaries, 27 he arranged his works in an eternal order, and their dominion for all generations. They neither hunger nor grow weary, and they do not abandon their tasks. 28 They do not crowd one another, and they never disobey his word. 29 Then the Lord looked upon the earth, and filled it with his good things. 30 With all kinds of living beings he covered its surface, and into it they must return.
Date: 195-175 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Texts in Conversation
1 Enoch and Sirach both describe the natural order as perfectly consistent, using the movements of stars and the cycles of seasons to illustrate stability in creation. The similar language highlights a common cosmological tradition that viewed the heavens as evidence of a fixed cosmic structure and divine calendar.
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Notes and References
"... Although some details in the verse are uncertain, due to textual variation, the major point in 1 Enoch 2:1 is clear. Heavenly bodies move with a regularity that accords with the divinely ordained structures of creation. God has set their paths through the heavens and has fixed the tuning of their movement along these paths: as obedient creatures, they do not change God's order and thus transgress God's commands. This assertion is demonstrated at great length in the astronomical and calendrical treatise(s) now summarized in chapters 72-82. The specific wording of this passage, moreover, is paralleled in the Enochic tradition in the later Book of Parables (41:5; 43:2; 69:20). The point is also made, in similar language in Sirach 16:26-28; Psalms of Solomon 18:10-12; 1Q34 - evidence that the present text reflects tradition ..."
Nickelsburg, George W. E.
A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108
(pp. 155-156) Fortress Press, 2001
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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